Don't let Demon fool you, it takes effort to kick his butt .

Seriously though, that's some great advice there. I agree with just about everything he said.

My first scale combat planes were JKA P-47Ns, and while they aren't as fast as what I'm flying now, they really do fly well. They have a TON of wing area, and that's key.

That kit is also one of the few that is legal in both 2610 and 2548, which makes it even more appealing. Right now it's a toss up as to which class will be more popular next year, I suspect it will vary a lot depending on where you live and who you fly against.

And Demon is exactly right that to be competitive, you really need 3 or more planes that basically fly the same. Fwiw, I took 5 of my plane to Nats this year, and it made a huge differnece over prior years when I wasn't as prepared.

However, you don't have to build and equip them all at once. Wings break more often than fuses, so going with 1-2 fuses and 3-4 wings is better than 2 complete planes. I've also gone as far as to build 2 airplanes, equip and test fly one, then pull the engine and radio, put it in the second, and test fly that. Get both models saved in the radio. At the field, an engine and RX swap doesn't take that long. Not as good as having multiple planes and not having to repair, but better than being a spectator.

(oh, the one thing I slightly disagree with. I've found that while heat shrink is strong, it doesn't take damage well. I use packing tape instead these days. The tape can be shrunk a little, and if applied well gives almost as much strength as ultrakote or other coverings. The differneces is when you get hit or take a prop cut. The heat shrink coverings tend to rupture and loose all strenth. A tear will travel all the way accross the wing and the result can be a dramatic wing failure. With tape, you put it on in 2" wide strips that overlap. The overlaps provide a natural "rip stop" effect, so tears don't travel accross the entire wing or fuse, so the failure is less dramatic. And tape can be easily field-patched with more tape.)