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I have been flying my Super ES for nearly 2 years now and I can tell you my slant on the questions you asked.
  -I set my gross weight at the same as the Columbia and have plenty of useful load.
  -I added a fifth fuel bay to bring my fuel load to 92 gallons.  Properly leaned for max range I can get 1150 miles to dry tanks.
  -The extra horsepower handles the weight much better (rate of climb, cruise speed)
  -The airplane is very slick even with the wheels hanging out.  Cruising at 185-190 kts is pretty nice.  More is better and there is never enough.
  -With some planning during construction the CG situation is easy to handle when going to the big engine so loading is not a problem.
  -Resale is way down the list of reasons but when you look at the fleet you should realize what the majority of pilots want---speed, load carrying, looks.  The Super ES has all that.

An added note:  some things don't have to be justified or rationalized.  If you want it, that should be good enough. Good luck in your quest.

Jim Scales
98AF

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