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Mike, re the authenticity scoring. Originality used to be pretty minor point in warbird judging, you were seeing T-34s and P-51s winning awards with interiors that looked more like a King Air, pimped out to the custom max. Others complained like you have. The judgeing has been adjusted, originality is now either 10 or 15% of the total points, and I think that is a good balance. The result is if you have two equally fine restorations and one has been done as original as possible it is going to outscore the one that has been Learjetted, all other factors being equal. I do not know the specifics of the 51 that won at Sun N FUN, it certainly was not authenbtic inside, but I bet the rest of it is first rate. Maybe the owner lives in the NE and wants to fly in IMC weather, or maybe he owns an avionics shop. There is a sort of loophole, that some owners claim a mod is for safety and should be allowed. So a P-51 just has to have a GPS and an autopilot, even though Hoover flew all over the country without one for years. Some really fine planes look original, but have an added modern radio or two behind a panel or for quick change. Persoanlly I think there should be some allowance inside for modern add ons, but I think period paint outside should score higest.
Anyway it it legit to complain about the judges since they are making the BiG BUCKS for their time and expertise. As far as I can tell they take their job serously and try to reach a consensus on scoring.
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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK
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