Bob,
I learnt the hard way too, but got a lot of satisfaction from the fact that a friend and I figured it out ourselves, and it cost little or nothing (as opposed to the guys who feel it is necessary to spend $$$ to get started.) - Many people are put off by the cost, (and the draconian rules).

Of course I do realise that some people may be a little intimidated by scratch building, but to scratch build a foamie such as mine, is probably at least as easy as assembling a built up balsa kit, and much much less expensive!

The foamies will also last well with glow engines if properly sealed at the right spots, and will not be any more expensive than electrics.

We found through experiment, that the secret to preventing powered foamies from breaking is to use a minimum of thin sheet wooden bracing laid in flush (glued), top and bottom on the wings, and on fuselage sides etc.( attached to the engine bearers) and covered with cheap coloured parcel tape, so everything can move - as opposed to a complete rigid wooden shell which will break.

Polystyrene, if not restrained by hard shells can be a very resilient material, but it has to be covered by something flexible, to prevent the little snowy beads in the event of a crash, and cheap parcel tape will do this job well. (we're talking inexpensive solutions for trainers here remember! not brilliant works of art).

I would be keen to see some of you more experienced guys just give it a try, even for a laugh, ( F HUBER??), then I won't feel like a lone voice in the wilderness!

It does work!