Mike- that may start a rub pattern in the plastic throttle arm if you use wire that is too thin. I use z bends on the throttle arm instead of a clevis. Thought I would mention that. My .72 was showing a groove in the plastic, but that took a year and almost 160 flights.
The Perry meet sounds like a good one and is close to me. A buddy bought a new .82 for me from a hobby shop dealer that had a booth there last year. It was $230.
I just bought a new Saito 1.25 for $300 at the hobby shop. I'm using these guys from now on. Before they opened up I would check between Chief Aircraft and Southeast RC in Florida. Those guys swap off and on with having some of the best prices on Saitos. Chief has been beating SE RC for a few months now on most Saitos. I've bought from SE RC, but not from Chief.
http://www.chiefaircraft.com/rcmsec/Models/Model.html
http://www.southeastrc.com/