I think you're right...  I got "unexpected civilian noggin" in a Cessna 172 between here and Duluth a long time ago.  Interestingly, even though I was the pilot, our roles were reversed.  We were close friends but not involved, so her advances caught me by surprise.  She was the pursuer who got me to take her flying, and I was the unsuspecting victim of her putting her hand on my knee, and the rest was history.  I didn't have an autopilot, but luckily the plane was well rigged and trimmed out perfectly or it may have been impractical.   A two-axis autopilot would be ideal, the new airplanes I'm flying now all have altitude hold, but don't have GPS roll steering.  Imagine these new GPS's where you can not only hold a heading, but actually put the plane in a holding pattern for as long as needed!

If you can figure out how to do full service in a 172, have at it.  I'm not a big guy, (I hear that in bed all the time too!) but if you're up for full service, then LittleSue is probably the way to go.  Not a lot of room to work with, even with the seat back.  Since the yoke (steering wheel for non-flyers) will likely get bumped (damn well better if you're doin it right), altitude hold would really be a big deal for full service.

popher, thanks for the info, i'm a new pilot and need all the help i can get