I learned on a Spad Debonair, and when it collided with the top of a tree, cartwheeled to the ground, and simply bent the landing gear, the instructor I was flying with commented "Those SPADS are indestructible". Now I've proven that wrong on many an occasion, but they do take a beating. And since their not too expensive to build the airframe, they remove a lot of the beginner jitters (not all, just some). If you take the time and build it according to plans, you will be very happy with it. I still have mine, and everytime I fly it, the club members are impressed that it flys so wheel for so little cost.

Brad