I am as big a Spad fan as anybody, so I don't want to see anyone's first experience with one go sour. The only Spads on www.spadtothebone.com that are good for training are: The Debonair, the Spadet (if you don't mind a little more work, it's the best looking), and the Buhor (Big Ugly Hell On Rails) with the dihedral wing option, not the standard straight wing. These 3 examples have the characteristics and wingloadings you need for learning. Then, once you are proficient with it, move on to Dominators or DPS's and such. One thing that I will say about Spads and newcomers to the hobby: get assistance, not just with the flying but with acquiring your materials and building it if at all possible. ARF's come with complete hardware and walk you through the assembly process while holding your hand and wiping your nose, especially trainer ARFS. Spads assume that you are somewhat handy, and know your way around clevises, control horns, control rods, on and on. Those of us with experience tend to forget this. My humble suggestion is to read and research until you are blue in the face, and seek help. Any step along the way that stumps you, do a search on it, then ask questions and more questions if you cannot find the answers. What's the internet for if not to learn from the mistakes of others before making them yourself?[X(]