Whilst model flying, I used to be able to do half a dozen lazy8s, continuously one after the other. The trick was to use 80% of 'cruise power' so that there was no height lost or gained.
Also the same 80% power was useful for holding a continuous Dutch Roll on the model plane... I have not tried a Dutch Roll in a full size Cessna, I can only imagine it would spin out on the first excursion.