Kevin,

I agree with gboulton, I have only been in the hobby for a couple months, and I had to make "sacrifices" in equipment to get my wife to agree to let me start the hobby. I purchases a Hobbico Superstar, Futaba 4 channel SkySport, OS .46 LA for my plane and as for field equipment, I picked up one of those Stanley portable 'double decker' tool boxes from Walmart that I absolutly love. It has more than enough room for everything you would want to take to the field. I have a flip stick for starting and you can buy Glow plugs now that run off of reqular C or D batteries for 10 Bucks, I use a hand crank for filling up the tank, it takes about 30 to 45 seconds to fill up your tank by cranking, no effert at all. After all said and done, with my plane, field gear, and membership fees, I think I have about $400 to $450 invested. But it is well spent, and as soon as my club gets their new field in order, I'll be flying as much as possible.