Well here goes with my half-a-bubble-off comments. I got into flying electric just before I deployed to Iraq a couple of years ago. My instructor has flown for a few years and did an excellent job with me. I bought a Kadet LC-40 complete used from him and all the flight gear to make it go when we got back from the desert. He worked with me on a buddy boxfor most of last year and some this spring. I felt perfectly safe flying my electric by myself but not the gasser. He got me into SPADs and I built a couple Debonairs. He flew them nicely but I had trouble with them both. I ended up crashing them both trying to fly in too much wind. (oops) I built a SPADET straight from the plans on SPAD to the bone and have solo'd on it and have 35 flights on it. I also have bought a few ARFs (balsa) and have flown one of them. There is a diffence between balsa and SPAD but I think it is up to the pilot to learn their quirks. Just my 2 cents.