I've got the CP Pro and have many flights on it. I left the stock motor and gyro, but did go for a DD tail. Really nice heli. Flown it in a good bit of wind, too. It handled it pretty well. i just recently, however, started flying a trex 450 SE. Your friend is right. The jump from the blades is huge in terms of stability and solid maneuvering. If I were you, I'd save my money for a trex. Only problem is, its a lot of money to get one set up right. On the other hand, a CPP is $250, and to go brushless/HH its another $200. And then you're still dealing with a micro, which is just not going to fly like a well set up mini. If you include the tx, I've got about $1200 in my trex. So that's simply a different level of investment. I like mine so much I bought a second as a spare. So I'm concentrating on the trex instead of my Titan 50. Its that good. That brings up another piont: you can get into a nice Raptor 50 for a little more than a nicely appointed trex. Now you're talking fly in any wind. There's always going to be another level. You just have to decide which level fits your budget, desire and level of commitment. I flew 4 flights on my CP Pro today and had an absolute ball. I think at some point we just have to decide this is where I'm going to be happy.

I would definitely upgrade to the pro, rather than just put a lipo on your CP. Mine does a lot of moves really well. And with a brushless/HH setup it could be a lot better.