FNG,
Yeah I think you should skip DF. We could debate this all day. I see at the jet meets that DF guys make better turbine guys, GENERALLY and IN THEORY! They are used to having engine trouble if anything. Although I dont think you should skip the learning process. What is your RC experience? Full size experience? Sim experience? Do you understand why the jet is flying, engine running, servos moving etc? There are so many excellent jet kits and ARFs on the market today that you can, by choosing the right engine/airframe combo set yourself up for a long progression of learning and trouble free jet modeling! I can only recommend the kits I have flown as trainers. With the proper experience prior to flying your first jet, you can transition right into them with no problems. First finding someone who will help you with setup is important. Dont skimp on cheap equipment. This will cost you 2-3X as much in the long run. If your time is at all valuable to you you will heed my last. You can pay now or pay later but you will pay. Buy a lightly wing loaded jet with a proven engine design. Proper fuel cells, high end servos, and radio equip. EVERY time you go and buy anything for your jet, buy the best! No compromises. This can get a little tricky sometimes as there is LOTS of great equipment to outfit your jet with. Over time you will develop a feel for what you like and what manufacturers R&D thier products so as to eliminate failures at the field. GO to a jet meet. Ask questions, and take note as to what the pilots are flying. Watch thier jets fly, find a jet that meets your requirements of a trainer. I learned on a EuroSport, it has most of the qualities Iwould recommend for a first jet. It has a highly swept wing so it does have fighter like agility, speed and comes with the inherent trade offs of those charachteristics. The trick to that jet is the wing loading. It is so light,you can get away with murder during maneuvering flight and in the landing pattern. The Boomerang is also an excellent choice for your first jet as it acts like a pattern ship in all phases of flight. You really get to concentrate on turbine operation instead of keeping the model upright and pointed correctly. Another great turbine trainer is the KingCat, its wingloading is so light and its flight envelope is so wide that it will fly extremely slow and very fast. If building and engineering isnt your bag then this as all the BVM kits are a great choice due to the well thought out engineering and R&D. You JUST read directions and your jet is flying, My Eurosport required lots of head scratching to figure out what would go where. My A-10 Warthog required even more of this. You are not a test pilot. So keep in mind, some kits are not as well thought out as others. Even though they sell them, doesnt mean that they are eas to build or are easy to fly.
Get yourself an RC simulator. There is a reason the military, airlines and others utilize these things. As a full scale flight instructor, I cn almost cut in half the time and effort expended in flight training by using a simulator. I used one, hell I tought myself to fly full scale and RC on one. Dont start at a disadvantage by buying a high performance, highly wing loaded jet as your first. As much as youd like to you will probably be setting yourself up for failure. Again ask questions, I rely on my friends at a jet meet to answer questions about the equipment I am using. I know i make them crazy(YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) but thats the support network with these jet guys. I have heard many times that the jet community is the most organized group of guys on the RC scene. It has to be! We are here to help each other to see the outcome a prosperous one for all of us. You wont believe how much fun it is once you get up to speed. My last gripe is just try to be as organized as you can in all ways about fielding a jet even if it isnt at a jet meet. test EVERYTHING at home. Tools and supplies included.
Thats my formula, it works well and everytime. best of luck to you.
Will Whiteside