My best finish was on my '95 Nats airplane, a 60" span Southwick Skylark that I stretched in size to be my first piped ship (O.S. .46VF, Smith/Werwage pipe). It was in the front row (19 points) and was pretty much of a charge to me to have the airplane there. However, it took so much time to put the finish on and weighed too much so I made a conscious decision not to work that hard on a finish again. My Impact was a 16 point airplane at the '98 Nats and was a much better flying airplane. Always trade-offs...
A little story about the weight of the Skylark. Immediately after the appearance judging I was carrying the Skylark out the side door of the armory to put it in Kirk Mullinix's van. As I went out the door I heard Kirk holler at me to bring the airplane over to where he and a bunch of guys were standing and sitting on the Sherman tank that was on display at the armory so he could get some photos. Feeling pretty good about it I carried the Skylark over to where Bob Gieseke, Bob Whitely, Gene Martine, and several others were grouped by the Sherman tank. Kirk, as I approached, said "put it right there so I can get a picture of the two tanks together". I thought Bob Gieseke was going to fall off of the Sherman tank laughing. Sheesh! I resolved right then to never build an airplane that heavy again.