have done a bit of googling and it would suggest goes fast, lands short, easy to fly, takes a reasonable load, a bit ugly to look at.
there are W8's and there are W8's.
the original W8 had a flat bottomed wing and small strut.
the later W8's have "the new improved wing" and a wider chord strut.
my W8 is one of the latter.
ok lets look at your quote...
goes fast.
Vne is 160knots regardless of the engine.
on an O-200 with a 64" dis x 62" pitch wooden prop turning 2500rpm a straight and level cruise of 120 knots is feasible. if the prop is in really good nick about 124 knots in cold weather is possible.
fastest straight and level cruise I have heard of is with a 2 position hoffman motor glider prop on a sparklingly cold morning behind a good O-200. 138 knots.
an O-200 turning 2500 rpm on 91 octane unleaded fuel burns 21.5 litres per hour thereabouts.
lands short.
I operate from a 600m grass strip without problem.
approach speed is best at 70 knots. over the fence slowing to a 3 point touchdown at about 42 knots. (had to get my daughter to tell me this. I never look inside during the flare) btw computed minimum drag speed is 80 knots.
easy to fly.
my time was all in cessna 150's and 152's prior to doing a tailwheel endorsement in an Auster J1B.
I rate the auster as a quantum harder to fly than a cessna 150.(mainly in the landings) the tailwind is a quantum harder again to fly than the Auster.
in the cessna you can trim the aircraft, look around, fly a bit, get a map refolded, fly a bit and generally relax.
the tailwind is neutrally stable in all axes. it requires very little control input to do anything. the key to stable flight is to rest your arm across your thigh and use a gentle grip.
do any of the sloppy stuff you get away with in the cessna and you will be off course and 500ft out of altitude before you know it. you must always fly the tailwind.
takes a reasonable load
my empty weight is 362kg. Max all up weight is 590kg.
my tank holds 114 litres of fuel usable and that weighs 82kg.
I flight plan on a pilot weight of 90kg.
on long distance flights I depart with full fuel and a sausage bag of kit strapped in the passenger seat.
to remain within cg limits I can fly in these scenarios...
pilot, full fuel, no pax seat load, 27kg aft baggage - down to no fuel and be in limits.
pilot, full fuel, 66kg baggage in pax seat, no aft baggage - down to no fuel and be in limits.
a bit ugly to look at.
mercifully the air has no eyes. the design is one of the most efficient aeroplanes on the horsepower ever designed.
look at Stinton's book Design of the Aeroplane and you will find the W8 down in the bottom left corner of all the graphs.
my experience was 30 hours of elevated heart rate flying. 30 hours of slightly elevated heart rate flying followed by 30 hours of getting comfortable in the flying.
it is possible to land a Tailwind in windsock horizontal conditions across the strip. it isn't fun, it gets your focussed attention but I've done it.
I have something like 450 hours on mine now and I wouldn't trade it for all the gold in china.
W8