Gary,
Having flown the Hotspot, Rookie and Kangaroo I can honestly say if your having problems landing a rookie you will have even more difficulty with the spot. They all fly very much the same although I found the spot was harder to transition into slow flight (probably due to less drag on the airframe). The key to landing all the delta type airframes is the slow flight transition and holding them off the deck till they settle themselves in.
You mention "Powering back up is always a little risky with the Rookie on landing approach" I am curious what you mean by that? What kind of problems are you having?

Todd