Just a note to, first of all, thank Mssrs Shupe, TF, Damian et al and MaddogK for their efforts to broaden the horizons of long distance racing!
For the rest of you out there that have dreams of increasing the flock, these are two good examples of the process - keep in touch with the Committee, keep users updated, try to stay true to the real aircraft and not try to build a 'hotshot' winner, and accept that not all things will happen magically! While, in this case, both aircraft are going to be close to deadline you can see that the committee is willing to work WITH you if you make the same effort.
On another line of thinking, when possible make an effort to model the other aspects (fuel, fuel consumption, weight, etc.) as accurately as the speed values - you never know when there might be another event that meters efficiency, cost, or ???
Historically we've had a lot of attention paid to the beautiful visual model, but as we are seeing, a great model also has a good/great airfile. It's a tricky subject but there are lots of people out there willing to help turn out a quality project that flies as "right" as it looks.
I'm looking forward to watching the 10,000 mile beta test
Rob