jerusha,
A less expensive way to go is buy a case of EPP foam, some carbon fiber, and hot glue then scratch build your own 3d plane. I used $7 in foam for the airframe. You will still end up spending at least a couple hundred dollars all together when its done but when the airframe is toast everything can be transferred to a new airframe. These planes are super easy to repair with just a dab of hot glue and in a few minutes your back flying again.
A video of my EPP Yak:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tQt9k9Dfs0
The guys I fly with:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0G4NZE4KXI
Chris