Yesterday I thought about how we use the freedom we get from building and flying experimental airplanes. Most designs have pushed the performance envelope in some way and have traded off flying characteristics of the plane – many times stall speed. But it occurred to me that not many people are actually pushing the design of the cockpit very much. Sure, we install non-TSO’ed flat panels and such, but most of the experimentals pretty much still look like work in progress from inside. I have yet to come across an airplane that looks and feels like the latest generation Lexus or BMW from inside. Why is it that we put so much effort into squeezing out the last bit of performance, weight, while neglecting creature comfort? I’ve been dreaming about parting out a state of the art luxury car and using all its refined interior parts in an airplane. How would that power seat feel? Or those eight vents? Or that wood accent (OK, the Beechcraft crowd knows that one). And how cool would that instrument cluster look with that integrated fit and finish? Sure it’s heavy and of course it will slow down the airplane and hamper climb performance. But flying such an airplane would be a so much more indulging experience.