Hi troyp,

My advise to you is always think safety first as r/c can be very dangerous if you start to take things for granted. As you progress in the hobby, you would probably acquire larger capacity engines and the electric starter's benefit will be more obvious. The logic for going for the chicken stick is not because you can make one yourself, but because of safety issues. Go get a good and reliable starter like Sullivans which will last you forever. As such, the depreciation cost is very very low and is definitely worth it. Very often I find myself stinging on things and ending up buying something more expensive later because the cheaper stuff failed. So why not do the right thing the first time around? Good luck............