While investigating the tip weight issue I can across some 2002 input data that in light of current knowlegde seemed weird.

Back at the time of introducing the tip-weight rule it was agreed among the parties that the we would set the minimum required tipweight at the level of the Stealth F16 carbon mast tipweight as they were produced. At the time it was believed that that tipweight was 6.5 kg. Somewhere a misunderstanding must have occured as the mast have a tipweight of 5.5 kg. I discover this when running some numbers, I contacted Stealth Marine and they remeasured their mast and come back with the 5.5 kg value.

It is my fault that I didn't caught up with this anomely earlier, for which my appologies. Actually I have to dive into the archieves of past communications in order to make sure that I just didn't make a typo in 2002. Doesn't really matter now. Due to private mails by mast builders and homebuilders we are now ready to correct this error.

We are going to continue with the proposal and vote of on the tip weight rule in slightly modified form. However, using my authority as the Formula 16 chairman and giving as cause the unacceptable situation that maintaining the current rule would immediately outlaw 15 Stealth F16's and some 24 Stealth R's from the class, I immediately lower the minimum required mast tip weight from 6.5 kg to 5.5 kg.

The final vote will decide if the tipweight rule gets deleted in it entirety or that it remains with a value equal or lower than 5.5 kg. I would like to do some more research on the issue before launching the vote, however I do agree that not much more margin is available anymore. Afterall A-cat masts come out at 4.5-4.75 kg tipweights, so that is the bottom realistic limit. And we can't really go higher then 5.5 kg anymore without chasing off a larger segment of the F16 class.

Wouter