Zeek,

Ditto on what the most of the guys have said here. I would definitely second the DF route before a turbine for a number of reasons. The complexity of a DF and a turbine are "fairly" similar when viewed at the complexity of a high end low wing prop job. Retracts, brakes, high-end servos, mixture control, higher wing loading, tight spaces to work in and need for throttle management aren't found as much in the prop world. The biggest problem I had was getting used to the different flight characteristics (lack of rudder authority on the ground, slower acceleration, higher lander speeds).

Its a lot easier to find a $1000-1500 DF plane to learn on and crash it than have a $4000 turbine plane and put it in the ground...