Cougar, here is what I am doing. I bought the H9 Arrow ARF ($114) and the P-51 PTS RTF ($399). I have moved the trainer engine, receiver and battery from the PTS to the Arrow as it calls for the same gear. In this way I can take my time getting my PTS ready for flight and also learn a little modeling along the way. I am in the process of fuel proofing the PTS, along with the other necessary mods. I will be installing a new engine and radio gear. By the time I am ready to fly the PTS I will hopefully have had many flights on my Arrow.

If the extra trainer isn't an option, then please just take your time and buddy box along with some simulator time. In reading the entire PTS thread, I saw many guys post when they bought the PTS and they were all happy... Three pages later they posted crash pics of a destroyed airplane. I am not saying you can't learn on a PTS because a lot of people have, just saying do it right. Read the PTS thread until you know who EDS, G-Pete, olstoney, opjose, Pit-Viper1, nightmare, kahlog, etc are. They and many others are responsible for a wealth of info.