The LT 40 is a great first plane. Kit verse ARF, that is a matter of choice. I would prefer a kit as I would then know how it was built and could trust it. There are some horror stories out the about ARF's and I have been a part of a few of them, however Sig does not usually appear in the horror story department. I do however always refer to a statement that I heard a while back, you never seem to hear any stories about old ARF's, just old kit's. Good Luck, Dave