CG,
I did meet the Lockharts and got some great advice. I hear what you're saying about downtime - just working on getting my plane set up is equivalent to downtime, and it took me a couple of flights just to get warmed up. My final round was surely my best, and I scored pretty well on it. I still haven't had much of a chance to fly this plane with proper setup (pump running right), at my own field, without crazy wind or crowded skies! I think next year will be a very good year