Randy, glad you joined in. Aerobird challenger was my first electric and a fun plane to fly. I also bought the pz stryker and found it a really fun plane to fly and very good at take a bad crash with no to little damage. I then got a pz mustang and found what you have found. It is hard to fly slow. I found it difficult to land because you can't hardly slow down without dropping a wing and doing a summersault. You should find the Magister easier to fly than the Mustang but more weight per wing area than the AB challenger so it needs more speed to stay up (at least with the RTF I have). The 8 cell nicad will give you 6 to 9 minute flights depending on temperature. Here in cincinnati I can get 9 min because it is below freezing. At these temperatures my lipos are not happy and give a third of the duration they should. I found that 2 cell lipos in parallel for 7.4v and 5200mah will get it up but with little power available on the stock motor. 3 cell works really well. Anyway, good luck on your maiden voyage! Remember to give yourself plenty of takeoff space and even more landing strip space.

Carl