buttman wrote:

Thats my point. You're supposed to finish a lazy 8 at the same altitude
and airspeed as what you started with. The beauty of the lazy 8 is how
you start out in perfect equilibrium, disrupt that equilibrium by
changing all kinds of things, then returning back to the equilibrium
you started with. It tells you all sorts of things about the airplane.

Define equilibrium. Technically speaking, at the moment you arrive at your
'starting point', your pitch is changing, your bank angle is changing, your
altitude is changing, your VSI is changing, your energy state is changing,
your airspeed is changing, your governer is changing...

I think it's way too deep to look at the energy aspects of a lazy-8. I
think Peter's advise is the best; i.e. nail your power settings which is
what you've also alluded to. Personally, I think the key to flying the
lazy-8 is to ensure that your pitching and banking moments are out of sync
with one another. I think too many CFIs teach them to be in sync which is
wrong. I 'fired' my CSEL CFI for that reason and another reason related to
my 'comfort level' while flying with him.

Hilton