Supporting my LHS...what's the point?
I am very fortunate here in the Tampa Bay area because there is year-round flying and a lot of people interested in pursuing recreation. So there are several excellent hobby shops within an hour's drive.
THEY ARE STAFFED BY KNOWLEDGEABLE, HELPFUL PEOPLE
These are guys we fly with on the weekend. They are Active, even officers, in the local clubs.
Not to slam the mail order houses, but "warehouse R/C (a generic fictitious name I made up) can't teach you how to tweak a carb, or to recognize a bad glo-plug. They're not going to sell you a can of laminating resin, then spend a half-hour telling you how to use it. But the LHS guys do. How much is that worth? A lot!