If your talking a 5mtr foil, that's a pretty good size kite in 15-20mph! (I kite buggy'd for 10 years before teaching myself to fly heli's, then sold that gear to fund a nitro heli before getting into planes as well - though still fly stunt kite when the wind and weather is right)

It's nice to see a thread on your personal experiences re self teaching to fly planes, it makes good reading for those who for what ever reason, have no option but to learn on their own.