ORIGINAL: wazzbat

Thanks for your comments Zor.<span style="color: #ff0000">You are very welcome and hope it is helpful. </span>I appreciate it. I know everyone in here is willing to help.<span style="color: #ff0000">Youhave to make your own evaluation of what is helpful and what is just opinions. </span>I was looking at getting a Hitec Aurora 9 seems I've read a lot of good things about it and it is a fair bit cheaper than say an 8FG.<span style="color: #ff0000">It is better carry a ton ofload in a 3 ton truck than3 tons in a 1 ton truck. You have been given suggestions for you to evaluate. Better be part of thefriendly group at the club than be entirely on yourown. Talk to these fellows and get along with their general guidelines.</span>Plus Hitec RXs and servos and stuff are cheaper as well. I was even considering whether it would be cheaper to see if anyone at the club was interested in buying a new Aurora 9 for themselves and I could chip in $100 or so as a bit of a gift for teaching me how to fly???

<span style="color: #ff0000">The learning process is where the difficulties might arise. Being part of a group (club) is very advantages for a beginner.</span>

The club is a good 45min drive from my place and unless I go down there every weekend, it's going to be hard to find out who will be teaching me. But after talking to the guys on the weekend, it sounds like most of the instuctors use Futaba and one of the guys I spoke to definately had a buddy box for his Futaba.<span style="color: #ff0000">What is referred to as a "buddy box" is the slave transmitter (a box) The connection between the two units is just a wire but many think there is a box involved.It is just two wires withproper plugs at each end.</span>It's just the extra initial and then ongoing costs that are leaning me away from the Futaba and towards the Hitec. I was hoping that with my sim, I'd be "good enough" to be able to learn without a buddy box. Maybe I'm being a little over confident? <span style="color: #ff0000">A simulator can be helpfull but actually flying a model at the field is quite different. Another big difference is the fliers nervous system. Hee Hee !!!. </span>I am also considering taking a lot of peoples advice and spending $100 on a cheapy ARF trainer to learn on before I put my LT-40 in the air?
<span style="color: #ff0000">One way or another, models need some mainenance just like full size airplanes. You will appeciate help on maintenance as well.</span>
Too many decisions. And too much money to spend. It's all getting too hard. I might just give it all a miss? Nah - Just kidding! <span style="color: #ff0000">The reward is usually proportionnal to the efforts put into anything. </span>That's the main reason I'm not rushing into this. <span style="color: #ff0000">There should be no rush. It is a hobby for relaxation as well as the challenge. </span>hI'm <u>very slowly</u> getting some tools and equipment together so I can justify all the spending. I reckon I'll spend close to $1500 before I go solo.<span style="color: #ff0000">Noting wrong in trying tosave money but it is useless to go cheap to save abit of coins and get into trouble with inadequate equipment. I already madesuggestions to you as to which way to go. It is allyour eventual decision. </span>If my missus finds out she is going to spit it big time! I know I could have done it cheaper but I don't like buying cheap crap and I really want to build my own planes!
<span style="color: #ff0000">Personally I enjoy building at home at my leisures. I fly all models built and even have enjoyment of doing repairs as needed. We all have our own outlook how we like this hobby. There is so many aspects to it. To each his own way.</span>