Nice job on the build! I'm sure it's very forgiving and easy to learn on! So is that your first plane, or does it look so good because you've had plenty of experience rebuilding it?! That's a surprisingly nice job on a first build if it is!

I don't really like rudder-elevator planes, personally, though. I learned to fly on elevator-aileron planes (some with rudder as well, and some without) and like the way they handle much better.

The two biggest arguments against self teaching (IMO) are safety and cost. Most guys learning on their own go out and buy a .46 size ARF. The .46 size engine is more powerful and more dangerous in the hands of a newbie, and when they crash their ARF, they have no idea how to repair it, and have to just buy another one... at about $100 an ARF for trainers, that gets pretty expensive pretty quick.

You built this plane from plans, so when you crash it, you can fix it pretty cheaply, and the small engine is a little safer for a newbie handle on his own (still need to be careful, though).