Back in the day the pattern flyers tended to copy one another so if a flyer won an event - in the next event everyone's planes had the same look. Trike gear, large ailerons, tuned pipe etc. The UFO was no exception. as an airplane it flew as good as any of the pattern planes of the day and in the hands of the right pilot would have won all the events it competed in. Retracts aren't essential for sport flying but if you want to do large loops in a pattern contest you need less drag and more speed. With retracts and the right engine the UFO is a 120mph airplane.