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As a long time recreational pilot I've flown many and varied single and multi-engined light aircraft. In this domain forgiving means the aircraft's ability to take-off, fly and land with mininal piloting skill. Some aircraft like the Cessna 172 are so easy to fly that it has become the most popular aircraft of all time with more that 43,000 produced.
The most unforgiving aircraft is the U2 spy plane.
"To maintain their operational ceiling of 70,000 feet, the U-2A and U-2C models must fly very near their maximum speed. However, the aircraft's stall speed at that altitude is only ten knots less than its maximum speed. This narrow window was referred to by the pilots as the "coffin corner". For 90% of the time on a typical mission the U-2 was flying within only five knots above stall, which might cause a decrease in altitude likely to lead to detection, and additionally might overstress the lightly built airframe."
