Just a couple of days ago I stopped at a field where I saw a club flying, and asked a few questions, and got more good answers than in a week of forum browsing. Ithink once they realize you're not going to get in the way and you're not going to ask "can I fly your plane?" (<grin>

, they're more than happy to show off their stuff and answer your questions.
I've been flying one of those little light foam-and-plastic "Champ" models, as well as a couple of much larger (2M) sailplanes, and having seen some larger (3-4 pound) high wing trainers close up makes me think Imight be ready to try that - with close supervision, of course.