One of the major engineering (and cost) challenges for the design I have been working on is retractable landing gear. Life would be a whole lot simpler if I just went with fixed gear.

What are peoples thoughts on retract vs fixed gear for a 2 seat 200mph design with performance similar to (but slightly heavier than) a Long EZ, RV, Thorp, Mustang II, etc?

How much benefit would you actually see from retractable gear? I know with production 4 seaters it appears to be approx 20 knots difference, (but they aren't as fast as what I am looking at here)