Wow, I'm terribly sorry to hear of all the troubles you guys had. I had a much different experience. I brought a piece of junk foam cessna (I was only 12 and couldn't afford much) out to the local field and was approached by a couple of curious members. Well, they took it up for me and helped me make a couple of circles around the field. The next week one of the members handed me a trainer and said to put an engine and my radio in it and that I'd like it much better than that little cox powered plane. The only string attached was that I had to pass the plane (or another trainer if I totaled it) to someone trying to get into the hobby and help them learn. I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys to hang around.