Hi, Bret! Some of these guys can be pretty vicious. I have to agree
that these little planes are not the best instrument platforms. I fly
with two of my friends in their Mooneys and you can move all over
without the plane changing course. On my little Lancair, if I put my
hand forward on the instrument panel, it descends about 100-200 FPM, or
if I put my hand behind my head, it climbs 100-200 FPM. When I used to
fly J-3s, we flew around in the evenings with the doors tied open and
steered the plane with our hands held out into the airstream. If I want
to turn my Lancair, I lean one way or the other. Now that I have a
TRUTRAK with altitude hold, I can look all around the cockpit for maps
or drinks or such, and the plane stays on course. I spoke with an
80-something fellow a couple of weeks ago who was selling his Lancair
235. He said it was dangerous until he increased the horizontal stab
and elevator area. And this from a guy who raced a very highly-modified
Unlimited Bell KingCobra in the 1971 Reno Air Races, and had it crash
in the Pacific on a test flight in 1972! I love my Lyc 235! It's a good
rugged engine with reasonable fuel specifics. And you just plug it into
the motor mount and run it. 'Course if you like to experiment, Subbys
and Mazdas and V-6s can can tickle your experimenter bone! They can be
very frustrating, but if you succeed, very rewarding! Paul