Not to go off topic, but as you can see by my Avatar, I have a new Cessna 182. The older 182RG version is not MUCH faster than the new (and streamlined) 182. Maybe 5-10kts. I totally agree with Dreadnaut, it was MUCH faster than the same older version of the 182 built at the same time, but when the engineers found out they could cheat the wind and leave the gear out, that's what they opted for. When you add insurance, maintenance, etc, Cessna dumped retracts on ALL their single planes. So did Cirrus and Columbia. Their speeds are nearly the same as a retract version without the liability issues. Powerplants haven't changed any HP-wise, unlike pattern planes. I agree that our model engine HP is excessive and we're looking for something to "drag" us down a little bit.

My pattern planes have always been fixed gear! Now, if they could just make them longer (and readily available) for the electric prop clearance, I'd be happy.