Putting an ARF together is a really great experience. It gives you the opportunity to know how things work, and why things are the way they are inside the plane. Also might help you be able to make repairs. Last, will let you choose the equipment you want. I got the Nexstar ARF instead of the RTF, which let me get a 6 channel computer radio which will be great on plane #2, or even on this one once I get the hang of things.

With my experience I wouldn't recommend the Nexstar though; building it has been a pain due to bad directions and things not lining up properly.

That deal above is pretty darn good though. TT's supposedly are great engines, and you get a lot of stuff extra that adds up; I saw an RTF package for $379, so thought I'd be spending about that. I'm over $500 already, and still not in the air yet.