How to get the most or almost the most out of the airplane? Maybe there's a website or discussion that has already hashed this out--please post workable links if that's the case.

Several discussions have wandered off into this area, so I thought I'd start a specific thread . . .

There's been much talk on several threads about operation of the 750  and 701 with and without slats. Chris Heintz's piece on the Zenith website makes it clear that if one takes off the slats, angle-of-climb and -descent will suffer, but isn't clear about how much. Slips without slats aren't discussed much either. And, of course, there's the ongoing flap about flap use, from "don't use any flaps until you have 80+ hours [what's going on here?], flaps are only for drag, not for lift, use 1/4 flaps for takeoff, then ease them off, etc.

I know there's a wide range of skill levels out there, and I aspire to better-than-average one of these days, so I'll be interested in and grateful for any insights from anybody, regardless of skill level. (I hope all the most skillful take a look at this between flights.)

WT

PS: I've noticed that the Valdez STOL contest concentrates on takeoff and landing distance, which is fine, but I wonder if there are any demonstrations of angle-of-climb and descent, especially with 750's and 701's with and without slats and with and without VGs? I notice that the Valdez contestants tend to stay in ground effect quite a while . . .