Ken.
Such a pity you found "EA" so horrendous.
When I owned her in the late 80's, I found her to be docile and forgiving.
Unlike yourself, the quest for speed was not important to me and the ability to drop into fields when running short of fuel to top up the tank from the two cans I kept behind the seat, was something I'd not care to do many other types.
As for the vagaries of the throttle control. It worked, didn't it!
By the way, thanks for posting the photo of the old girl in the colour scheme I applied but a pity the spinner is missing as I'm sure you'd have been pleased with the additional 2 knots in airspeed I got from her when I first attached it!
Incidentally the blue paint came from the bus company I worked for at the time (it was used in their livery) and guess what, it's called "aircraft blue".
Wherever the old girl is now, I'm sure she's making someone happy!