Hi Brad,

It's good decision not to use the A7 as the first jet. It requires a lot of experiences to fly it right. I fly the turbine versions for a few years now, more than 50 flights. It still requires a lot of concentration, especially to set it up right for landing. The foamie ducted fan won't teach you much because the wing loadings on these foamies are too light. If you plan to go into turbine or high performance EDF in the future, then I would recommend you the new version of the JHH F86 EDF. I have a turbine version of them and it's a much better first ducted fan jets than the A7. You can also convert them into turbine powered SABRE later using the same air frame.

If you want to get into jet later, you can also try Cermark Prop jet F-16, or even Tam EDF F-16. F-16 is always a good one to start, if you want to stick with scale looking jets. Boomarang and other twin booms jets are good first jets if you are not into the scale look.

Power management is the things that you need to learn in DF and turbine jets. Good luck.
Mike