Thanks very much for the tips guys, this is the stuff that I was hoping for and one of the reasons these forums are so useful (and fun!)
Ryan, I have read some bad reviews about the GMS .47 but as I understand it those were earlier models that tended to leak air. The newer ones supposedly have had this bug worked out. The TT 46 is another $40. I'm trying to keep the costs down initially, (I'm not cheap....I'm thrifty!! I have this scary vision of my airplane augering into the ground at a high rate of speed turning several hundred dollars worth of gear into toothpicks!
I will follow Dave and Rog's advice about the radio. I will buy a good one and probably sooner than I had expected to. Do I understand correctly that a 6 channel set comes with 6 servos? And if the servos get pulverized at some point you can get replacements for the same radio? Thanks again for the help.

Fred