RE: First 3D, your recommendation?
I found a series of threads on another forum by the guy that designed the Ultimate biplane. I'm feeling really good about building this myself. I got the plans printed at Kinko's today. I'm gonna build as much as I can and then take it to the LHS to find a good combination of electronics and motor. I might work up a list of stuff myself from the info on that other forum and have them order it all.
I gotta thank you guys for clueing me into the possibility of building this myself. It never really occured to me that it was something a novice could do. I'm sure I'll learn a lot about building and flying at the same time.