Way back there in 1970, my first plane ever was a Thermic 72, pod and boom built from the Jetco kit. I also built a Nordic 72. My third plane was a 1932 (?) Carl Goldberg Zipper from plans purchased from John Pond. I thoroughly enjoyed building that plane. Actually, it wasn't the Zipper it was the smaller size.

Building from plans is great if you like building. It is more satisfying to do. I currently have the plans and rib outlines for an Aquila XL that I will be building. I haven't yet decided if I will design a wood fuse for it or carve a plug and make a fuse mold. Either way, it will be built from plans rather than a kit since there were so few of them made and they are so rare.

If you want a large plane, consider a Skybench Skybird.

EJ