I was a 100 hr private pilot in 1986 when I bought my 1st plane, which happened to be the Avid Flyer prototype. Of course at that time there were very few Avid Flyers around, and absolutely none in Wisconsin, so I called Dean Wilson to see if I were to go to Idaho if he could check me out in an Avid? After he questioned my flying experience for about a half hour he replied with "Save your time and money. If you learned to fly in a J-3 Cub, and have since flown a Cherokee, a 172, and a Tomahawk, you will have no trouble flying that Avid. But prepare yourself mentally for some performance you probably haven't experienced!"
So I took it down to the local grass strip and taxied it until I felt comfortable, then poured the coals to it. Dean was right, the performance was astonishing compared to anything else I had flown. It was off the ground in about a hundred feet and I was climbing out at a 45 degree angle at just under 1500 fpm. Wow! I shot about 30 landings with it, having more fun every time, landing shorter and shorter. I still vividly remember that day, as that was the day I really became sold on the design. And 32 years later I am still sold on the design