"Why on earth would anyone be satisfied to be an LSF Sportsman Level V when you could be a 'real' LSF Level V with just a little more dedication and perseverance?"
I'll tell you exactly why. It may be a surprise to know that there is a world beyond New Jersey or Michigan or California or wherever you live where people do not have access to the smorgasboard of LSF Level V quality competitions within a few hours drive. I am an LSF Level IV who completed a significant portion of that award driving from Salt Lake City to Southern California. (For those of you who are not up on your geography, thats over 600 miles one-way) I don't need a lecture from anyone on persistence and perserverance. I'm retired and determined to chase the elusive Level V even in spite of the 30-50,000 miles I estimate that it will take me to get it. But I won't do it for a stinkin' badge. I wouldn't cross the street for another badge. It will be for the pleasure I get associating with other fliers. It seems from all of these threads that the multitude of flyers who live near this country's soaring centers simply don't care what happens to the hicks in the sticks. How about the guy from Anchorage who posted a note that he just wanted a relevant challenge beyond Level II (which he will probably have to work on for more than a year)? How about those of us who live in places where participation has diminished to the point that the nearest qualifying contests are over 250 miles away and most qualifying events are over 500 miles away (my homeTulsa for example). Some people will be satisfied with an LSF Sportsman Level V because they don't have the choices that you apparently have. Your chauvinism in this respect is sad. Is a holder of a "real" Level V something akin to a "real" man? I think not, he is someone who has made different choices more often than not because he had different "real" choices from which to select. As important as soaring is to many of us, I have immense respect for people who have "real" lives and are forced to make hard decisions that I will never have to face. You know in the end we all love the same sport -- why can't we respect the fact that everyone else isn't like us. Why can't we enjoy our own individual quests for excellence without denigrating the quests of others. Don -- dharban ------------------------------------------------------------------------ dharban's Profile: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=31927 View this thread: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=569425 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
