I was serious about the Kaos .40, John ... as with most ARF's, it needs some pre-work before you fly: iron out wrinkles, spray with clear Lusterkote, and consider digging into the LG brackets, which may or may not have been glued properly. Although mine flew like a dream, it suffered from chronic fuel-draw problems attributed to the vertical distance between the engine's carb venturi and the fuel tank outlet. Best "fix", from what I later learned, is to mount the engine sideways (some more pre-work). I was using a Tower Pro .46 ... another engine might not exhibit that problem.

Practicing the pattern is, I believe, more important than getting the "right" plane. I followed the [link=http://www.seniorpattern.com/pdf/SPA%20Competitors%20Giude%202011-2012.pdf]SPA "Novice" routine[/link] on anything I was flying two years ago ... just to imprint the sequence, and of course improve my ability to fly the maneuver. A "Big Stik" would be a good plane to practice with.

My two cents...

PJ