Pardon me for coming late, I agree with Horace (Hossfly) on this one; the Tactic 6 channel radio is probably the best bang for the buck going right now. One drawback is that they will only buddy box with another Tactic. They use an electronic link instead of a cable as used by spectrum and Futaba. One of your questions not answered is the draw back to Futaba is that additional receivers run around $80 each and will most likely stay there due to the technology they use.

On the other hand I've used the Futaba 2.4 since they came out and have had ZERO problems with them at any contests I've been to. The Tactics have performed flawlessly at a collegiate level pylon race with 4 planes in the air at one time.