I wouldn't disagree with any of the advice offered so far. As an experienced pilot with a couple of trainers and a sport plane or two under your belt, you have plenty of options to choose from for your next plane.

What comes after a "second plane" depends in part with the interests of the pilot. You could try a pattern plane or sport/scale model if aerobatics are something that you'd like to improve on or explore further. If scale warbirds are appealing to you, a sport/scale warbird ARF might make a good next project. There are several biplanes available that wouldn't be beyond the capabilities of the seasoned sport pilot. You could even choose a sport or scale pylon racer like the Great Planes Viper or the World Models Nemesis if racing appeals to you. Sailplanes and gliders, flying wings, 3D planes, sea planes, and even helicopters are all areas of interest that you are now ready to explore further.

Those who said to "chase your muse" were trying to convey the above idea, where you go next is largely up to what interests you. There is no "wrong" decision for a third plane, unless you pick something overly exotic and challenging. Flying a low wing sport plane won't really prepare you for the challenges of scale WWI biplanes/triplanes for instance, nor will it give you all the skills required to fly your first turbine-powered jet model.

Like many of the other posters, I would recommend exploring pattern and/or IMAC aerobatic airframes next. You mentioned the Venus II and the Yak 54 as two of the airframes that you enjoy flying on the simulator, and they are representative of these types of aircraft. Very basically speaking, pattern planes like the Venus are sport models designed for advanced aerobatics while scale aerobats like the Yak 54 are also designed for advanced aerobatics but they're modelled after full-sized airplanes.

Both classes of airframe come in a huge variety of sizes and styles, and can be powered with your choice of brushless electric, 2-stroke glow, 4-stroke glow, or even gasoline power systems. You can literally spend as little or as much as you'd like for either class of plane.

Some examples of pattern kits/ARFs: Great Planes Venus 40/Venus II, Great Planes Tracer, Great Planes Ultra Sport, Tower Hobbies Kaos .40 ARF, Pheonix SeaBee, Thunder Tiger Imagine 50, Kyosho Oxalys, World Models Groovy 50/90 F3A, World Models Aeropet 50/90, World Models Spot On 50/120, World Models Zen 30/50/90/120, World Models Intruder 90R, Sig Kobra/Kougar/King Kobra

Some examples of scale aerobatic airframes: Yak 54, Sukhoi SU-31, CAP232, Extra 260, Extra 300S, Extra 330L, Giles 202, Edge 540, Katana, CAP 580, Super Chipmunk

Neither of these lists are by any means comprehensive, but are offered merely to help provide examples of each category.

A good .40-size pattern model like the Great Planes Venus .40 ARF and a good .40-size scale aerobat like the KangkeUSA Extra 300S .40 ARF will have similar aerobatic capabilities and flying characteristics. Neither will self-correct like a trainer or "second plane" sport airframe will as they have little to no dihedral built into the wing. Both are capable of flying very fast or cruising along nice and easy. Both will require a little more speed when landing as they will lack the "floating" quality that a trainer or sport plane will often have.

One of the clubs that I fly at has a group of pattern pilots that fly and compete regularly at pattern contests. After joining the club, I've spent many enjoyable hours watching them practice flying their pattern routines on their expensive 2-meter pattern airframes with their YS 1.40 supercharged 4-stroke engines and their Futaba 14MZ PCM radio systems. Watching the grace and skill with which they practice their aerobatics captured my interest, and I'm trying to work my way into entry-level pattern flying.

If you fly at a club with a lot of scale aerobatic pilots, or you fly at a club that hosts IMAC style aerobatic competitions, that may be a more natural fit for you. It's more fun to fly with folks who share your same interests, and to fly categories of aircraft that appeal to other club members so you can have fun fly or contest events at your club. There's not much point in hosting a flying wing glider combat contest at your club if you're the only member who wants to participate.

Also, flying one style of plane doesn't preclude flying the other. If you want to fly a Venus 40 and an Extra 300S, you are only limited by your budget and storage space. Unless you decide that you want to fly competitively in either category, no harm can come from enjoying both.

Pattern pilots and scale aerobatic pilots are actually organized into Special Interest Groups (SIGs) within the hobby. Pattern pilots have an organization called the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA), and scale aerobatic pilots have an organization called the Internatioanl Minature Aerobatic Club (IMAC).

Each SIG has its own website, and you might wish to look them over:

http://www.nsrca.us

http://www.mini-iac.com

The NSRCA website has examples of pattern schedules and the kinds of aerobatic manuevers routinely performed, airplane trimming guides for balancing your aircraft for pattern flying, and more. As I type this, the mini-iac is not working, so you may want to check out www.iac.org and read what they have to say about IMAC.

Competition is a cool aspect of advanced aerobatic flying, but it is by no means mandatory. Plenty of pilots enjoy flying pattern and IMAC style aerobatic planes and practicing aerobatics without ever entering a competition. Flying these classes of aircraft and practicing various aerobatic manuevers simply allows you to improve your flying skills and learn new stunts instead of simply buzzing around the field and "punching holes in the sky."

Hopefully I haven't bored you too much with all of this extra information. If you're more interested in warbirds or pylon racing than aerobatics, most of what I've written is useless. Based on the planes that you're flying on the simulator, however, I think pattern and IMAC are flying styles that you'll enjoy.

Good luck and good shopping!