Wg Cdr Dicky Martin did quite a bit of test flying for the Optica. What he told me of it left me with a clear impression that he liked the aeroplane and thought it fit for purpose. He was saddened that it was not a commercial success but did say that the gold-fish bowl nose did make for excellent visibility but it was not best suited to an inexperienced PPL-holder as it was more complicated that a typical spam-can.
He was and ETPS-trained test pilot and had flown more than 240 types and had over 19,000 hours so he should have been able to tell a good one from a bad one.....
MB