Dennis-

Rog is refering to "1/2A" size planes which generally use little .049 size engines with no throttle control and have small wingspans of about 36 inches or less. Most people would recommend against trying to learn to fly with one of these. They are much harder to see and don't handle the wind as well as larger planes. As Rog says, if you can fly one of these, a .40 size trainer will seem like a piece of cake.

As far as etiquette is concerned, just follow whatever rules your club has. For example, clubs usually have rules about who all can be behind the fence at the flight line, notifying everyone who is flying when you are taxiing out onto the runway, landing, walking onto the runway, etc. All of these rules are designed for safety. Just check with your instructor. The other suggestion is just not to make a pompous _ss of yourself. RC people are pretty good folks, but generally "low key." Judging by the polite nature of all your posts, I don't think you'll have a problem.

-Scott