I'm with you Tattoo

I would much rather spend $10-$20 on something that I don't have to be worried to death about putting into the dirt.

When I was first learning, I lost over $400 in conventional wood planes. And that was in just the first year. The surviving balsa plane now sits as a backup to a backup to a backup for my SPAD's. I also find that I am much more relaxed when flying one of my SPAD's. I can actually enjoy flying and ow have to worry which of my kids I am going to have to rent out when it crashes.

And yes, there is something terribly wrong with the SPAD fad. Its' dirt cheap. Its quick. Its very durable and most important, to me anyway, its FUN!

Just my .02 worth,