I understand the fees to a point because it all has to get paid for and if I had a lot of money tied up in planes I guess I would pay it, but I average about $400 a month right now. Minus bills that leaves me with very little. Between me and my fiance we dont have a lot of extra to spend and the only reason I was 'allowed' (LOL) to buy a plane was because I aced my networking certification. The plane I bought has fairly cheap replaceable parts so no worries there. I would love to be apart of a group, but at that cost its almost too much for me right now. An instructor would be nice, but I will have to wait until I have a job that pays. I was just curious as to why its so expensive, but I guess I understand now. I dont need a runway thought since my plane must be hand launched and lands in grass. Its kinda frustrating though when you already bought a plane and now you find out all this other stuff that makes it hard for someone to get into the hobby. Think of it this way.....say a kid of only 15 who loves planes is interested in a sport like this? There really isnt a way for him/her to get involved unless his or her parents shell out a lot of money which is not very likely. There should be different levels of flying and different levels of membership. That way even people starting out dont have to loaded with cash. By the way I am 25. The only reason I cant afford a lot right now is because I am finishing up college right now and I live on my own with my fiance. I could have chosen r/c cars or something that would probably be cheaper, but I love a challenge and flying is a challenge to me. Besides, things that fly have always interested me. Well you gotta make due with what you have so I guess I will try to find somewhere fairly close that I can fly and not break the law. Anyone know where you can find that info out? Do I have to go to the courthouse or something to find out where the limits are? By the way, I dont plan on flying near any houses. I know there is the chance of crashing into something so I will look for a place in the country that has a lot of area and no buildings. Maybe in the future I will look into a club.