Dave, I don't joke about newbie advice. If you can go from 1 channel to 2 to 3 then 4 with no problems thats great! However some new flyers don't have the instinct or whatever you might call it for the next step or if things change a bit. Thats why I suggest that new flyers get trained on a full 4 channel plane on the buddy box with a good instructor. He/she can get used to using the basic controls safely. A 2nd type planes almost always have 4 channels, more speed, and quicker response time. Just going by what I have observed, to go from a 3 channel trainer to a 4 channel sport plane with the extra speed and quick reponse times will most likely be too big a jump. [X(]