Hi DCD:

You got some serious heavy duty advice above. It is all good. I hope all your endevors meet with sucess. Your plan is logical,well thought out and darn near perfect. If you follow you plan all should go great. I have only a few suggestions:

As stated previously I believe 2 planes are in order. One for each of you. I feel that having your son build "His plane" could be a significant thing for him. I feel he will have a sense of accomplishment that is priceless. It should also help in the Bonding sense as well. I wish you the best with all my heart.

Glowplug has a good idea here. Doing some building is a good idea. Your local hobby shop sounds real cool. I suggest you guys build a kit yourselves maybe later on. A building board from Great Planes I belive could be stored under a bed. A few simple tools:

Hobby knife, Sanding block from your local whatevermart, some glue (your choice), a measuring device (a ruler and a yardstick would do) and a razor saw and covering iron, and your set.

I think building from a quality kit like the SIG LT40 would give both of you a real understanding of the guts and bolts of this hobby. You will as stated by Glowplug need to eventually make repairs. What better way than to have the plans and the knowledge of assembling it yourself. And the feeling of accomplishment when the beastie flys is uncomparable.

I apploogize fore the long diatribe. And I would add my congrats and blessings

Mark Shuman