I remember the old days of scale in the early 1960's. The event was basically all static with a token takeoff and landing. The scale flights were typically the last flights of the day. The static points were announced in advance so only the top three bothered to fly, unless one of them failed.
The models LOOKED great, but didn't fly very well. The event died out because the same three guys always won.
Surprisingly, they're trying it again in Toronto, except with profile models. I actually built one. It's ready to go if the border ever opens.