While none of the top five are a big surprise it was neat to contemplate my memories of the guys other than Billy (will he ever take up rocking chairs!). It's going to be tough but if Billy gets beat it is as apt to be any one of the other four because they are all more than capable.
I think back to a lot of top five flyoffs that I've witnessed and remember a lot of amazing flights by the "usual" names. What is really cool about this list (save the included legend) is that I pretty much have memories of each of them flying patterns as sharp and memorable as those from all those top five flyoffs.
Sort of proves the value of having a Nats where the "expected" crew is away climbing other mountains. Although there have been many debates about the "halo" effect (and by and large I've been supportive of the judges doing their job as honestly as possible), the fact remains that none of the "top dogs" are unknown to 99.9% of the judges. Like a Championship fight that goes fifteen rounds without a knockout, it takes an overwhelmingly good performance from a new guy to overcome the routinely excellent flight of the established pilots. IOW, it takes a knockout performance! That is tough to do because the established guys are established for very good reasons...the fly damn well and don't leave a lot of openings for a knockout punch. It's not unfair, it is reality in a subjectively decided outcome. Anything and everything impacts the bottom line.
The value of a Nats like this, with some of the hot shots away, is that it allows the competition to take place without the influence that is inherent to established championship performance. At the end of the day, the outcome of tomorrow's flying has an 80% chance of putting at least one more name into that mix of fliers that are expected to be competitive no matter who shows up.
That is a really good thing.
Ted Fancher
Topic: Top 5 (Read 4568 times)