Mine lasted nearly 400 flights before I lost it to a mid-air... it was such a good plane I got another one. It's the perfect second plane! My mods: make sure to seal the aileron hinge gap; you'll never get sufficient roll rate until you do. Epoxy the tail feathers on as mentioned in the previous post; I've seen one lose the tail in flight, not pretty. My first plane used hardwood for the pushrods; the new one used balsa, and the pushrod for the elevator split in flight; elevator response got sluggish, so I landed it and checked it out- good thing! It wouldn't have held together much longer. I fly this plane when it's too windy, the light's not great, etc. I take beginners up on it with a buddy box too. It's a very solid plane and a lot of fun. You'll like it!