The most fun I've had (not nervous one tiny bit) was with an old Avistar a friend at work gave me..

I had nothing invested in the place except a reciever and some packing tape to cover the hanger rash..
I flew the snot out of that thing trying any maneuver in the book it could pull off.. I learned quite a bit from that plane because I was willing to try so much more with it..
It's nice to have one bird in the hanger you can try anything on with no regrets if she augers in..

I still get the shakes a bit on maiden flights and trying new gear.. It'll never really go away completly.