Here's a really good idea for you:

Once you are competent with your trainer, get whatever warbird trips your trigger, but get a kit, not an ARF. Before you start building it, slap a SPAD together and fly the wings off it until your warbird is finished. A SPAD will only set you back about $20 (Cheaper if you steal some election signs). At that point, you can decide if you're ready to risk your nice warbird, or if you want to spend a little more time bashing the SPAD around.