In my humble opinion these crashes have very little to do with the aircraft (IVP).  With over 1,000 hours and many training sessions, I believe that many pilots of this craft just don’t understand the airplane nor have had proper training.  I would like to see how many of us would handle a swept wing jet, other high powered aircraft, say even a small Lear 23/24 which in the beginning was falling our of the sky like a lawn dart.  I have found that many IVP pilots are truly behind the airplane and fail to stay within a prudent envelop for the airplane.  You don’t go low and slow, you don’t attempt spins or full stalls, you respect the high speeds that can be attained, and you learn what Va is and how to apply it to flying.  OH, you also learn about Weight and Balance and the loading of the airplane.  Just the other day someone wanted to up his gross weight to over 5,000 pounds.  Why?  Because he could write! 

Sorry for the show of attitude, but I for one love the plane and hate seeing it get the bad rap instead of the pilot.  We are all way to cocky and need to respect the plane and get properly trained.  It is not a 210, 414, a King Air, a ……   It is an high speed, high performance, experimental airplane that can do wonderful things behind the grip of a skilled and trained pilot.  If you are not in this category then don’t fly the plane or get in the category.

Last point.  Look at the accident records:  Most are weather related, relating to Va, W&B, loading, and most of all stupidity, and a form of stall/spin encounters with the ground.  Doesn’t that tell you something?

I apologize if I have offended anyone, but I love the plane