I can't speak for the fixed gear but my retractable Legacy is AMAZINGLY stable.  I can trim it up and fly hands off in calm air or mild chop for a minute or more without control input.  There is a difference between control responsiveness and stability.  There is a huge difference in control responsiveness between a Legacy and a C-182 (or pick your favorite spam can.)  The difference requires some getting used to when moving from one type to the other but I personally find a very responsive aircraft easier to fly as long as I have accurate, three-axis trim.  Stability is a characteristic that causes an airplane either to resist deviation from its current vector or to induce an opposite response to any such deviation.  From what I can tell of my Legacy, it has excellent stability characteristics, at least equal to most of the spam cans I have flown.  Again, don't know about the FG.

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Kennedy [mailto:bill_kennedy_3@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 6:32 PM
Subject: RE: [LML] Stability of the Legacy FG


My Lancair 320 is not comparable to a Cessna 182 in stability either. I wouldn't care to fall asleep at the controls for five minutes and let it fly itself. That said, I've flown many four plus hour cross country flights and never suffered mental fatigue from the experience. I don't have an auto-pilot yet, and don't lay awake nights dreaming about how nice it will be to get one. I have no trouble hand flying the plane to ATP standards (not true the first twenty hours or so).

I suspect the Legacy is a goosy little speedster like the 320. A joy to fly, but not stable like the C182. Take your pick, but you can't have both.

Bill