The small tail is  put down mostly by those who haven't flown them, I have 400 hours and have not found that the small tail to be a problem.  I would think it would be less drag for those whose goal is to "go fast."  Sounds like that decision has already been made.

 

Whether you put in the header with transfer pumps or eliminate it and use the Left off Right valve you still have to manage your fuel.  I like being able to exhaust the wings and know I still have 11 gallons of fuel.  There are some clever people who have designed circuits that keep the header topped off, eliminating the manual operation.  A removable header is nice in that you can get to the rudder pedals and the brake masters.  Having known fuel in the header for takeoff is nice.  I carry 53 gallons of which 50 appears to be usable, I like the option of long legs, it is usually not fuel making me stop.

 

Tim Ong's "Ong deboingers"  are a must!

 

I did not put rudder pedals on the right side and have not regretted that.  This could be a problem if you are planning on using your airplane for a trainer.

 

Having a GPS moving map, and a wing leveler make it easy to have coffee, lunch and pee breaks. 

 

There are a couple of things I will add as budget allows,  altitude hold and electronic ignition are high on my list.

 

Everyone has opinions and these are mine.

 

Gary Melton

LNC2 N320GG  400+ hours