I think I have a nice perspective on this as I attended an event where we were extremely short on inspectors and one where we had 15+ inspectors
. I will say personally I wish teams were allowed to set up early because, usually IMO, the teams that take longer to set up their pits almost always have a robot that is going to pass inspection in the initial or at very most second time look at. The teams that take little time to set up their pit usually have a robot that will take longer to get through inspection. As for a competitive advantage, I don't think it is much even though our team's drop and pop pit
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ftcstl...n/photostream/ always makes us first in the inspection line which helps the team meet its goal of being the first team to pass inspection at each event that we attend. I agree that it would help if we let at least half the field be a pseudo practice field for fully inspected teams after 4 would be a welcomed change for many events. I wouldn't be against teams being able to set up their pits during load in day as it should help initial inspections during the practice day morning, but I also like Eric's idea of teams being "strongly encouraged" to help out other teams, or help field volunteers set up the field in order to be able to set up. I know our team enjoys helping the event get up and running as you get to see the hard work and develop much respect for the people running the event.
On a side note I do agree that a little pre-planning and not having quiet a fancy pit still allows for nice judging looks, a safety inspector told me we had one of the cleanest and nicest pits he had ever seen, and also a very functional pit.