Yep. Agree. I started out with the traditional wood field box. But outgrew it quickly. I now use a toolbox that I picked up at Lowe's. It has wheels on it so that I don't have to carry it to the pits area. There is room underneath for a 12v lawn mower battery and 2 one-gallon fuel jugs for fuel. I only carry what I need in the box for the flight line. That is my glow starter, chicken stick, fuel pump, starter, voltmeter/tachometer, field charger and tie-down stakes. All the rest of the tools stay in my truck.

I do have a power panel on my box, but that is just because I had it when I made this box. When/if this power panel dies I won't replace it. My glow starter is a Ni-cad rechargable so it doesn't need to plug into the power panel. My fuel pump is a hand crank pump so it doesn't need the panel either. Do yourself a favor and get a hand crank pump. I had electrics and went through about a pump a year, but now that I have a hand pump I have had the same pump for about 5 years now. The only thing I plug into my box is my field charger and the electric starter, and you don't need a power panel for that. You can go to Radio Shack and get a set of banana plug jacks and put them into the side of the box, you can then plug the 12v field charger or your electric starter into that. If the truth be known I rarely use my electric starter, I prefer to use a chunk of broom handle as a chicken stick.

I see many people jump into this with both feet and drop $200-$300 on just their field equipment. You really don't need that much to get started. In essence all you really need is something to put fuel in your plane, something to heat the glow plug, and a way to turn over the engine. As I said, you can use a hunk of broom handle as a chicken stick. Get a hand crank fuel pump for ~$15. Get a rechargable glow driver for ~$15. You can carry that to the field in a cardboard box if you need to, and you spent less than $50 to get started. As you are training don't worry about the electric starter too much, as most instructors have no problems with using their starter. I prefer to see my students learn to fly before they drop a ton of money on "stuff", so I don't mind loaning them things as they are learning.

Hope this helps.

Ken