It does seem like the parachute, an occasional a celebrity, amd the
inconsistancy of small samples have simply increased the hype factor.


I'd say so. But mind you, saying so already made me an "apologist"
here. Which brings me to another reason for the increase, with regard
to the pilot community, not the media: the introduction of gasp
"something new" (tm).


That's a really good point, and the specter of being thought of as an
apologist for an airplane that I really don't like does hang over me quite
heavily. ;-

I suppose that I should be grateful that the safety record is approximately
average instead of demonstrably above average, just to avoid the apologist
label, but I'm not. I'm just not sold on the lack of demonstrated spin
recovery (with the chute as a backup) and the controls felt awkward and
possibly tiring when I sat in one on static display.