RE: whats a good second plane???
I have an Avistar and will probably go 4-Star 60 for Xmas as my 2nd gas plane
I still screw up on landings and get disoriented sometimes when the plane is coming at me. I just killed my electric Dandy GT because of this. This mistake really made me humble about my skills - I really liked this plane. I do not want to kill a more expensive plane. So... I am going to build a 1/2A plane - probably an edgeling and get better before I move to bigger stuff.
Also, I think the more advanced planes are harder to land and I would like to try flaperons to see if they make a big difference in landing.
Good Luck!