I would start saving for something at least 1.10 size, maybe the focus sport or something. With the .55 at best you will be able to be competitive in sportsman, but even in intermediate you will have a hard time being competitive, no matter how well the plane flies. I am sure someone will say that Jason Shulman won an FAI contest last year with his .50 size plane, but Jason is the exception, not the rule. The smaller planes do not present near as well as even the .90 size planes. Another option is keep your eyes open for good deals and ask guys at contests. A lot of times, guys will have a full blown plane, engine, radio, everything that is 4 or 5 years old that you can pick up for a REALLY good price. Don't just jump on something smaller for a lot cheaper, just because its a "good" deal. You can put together a full blown Focus 1.10 for less than 900 bucks, and less than that for some of the other ones out there. I have personally flown a spot on 1.20 with an OS 1.60 and it flew really well. It would be competitive through advanced...No matter what though, make sure you save a little extra and put good servos in them. I keep hearing guys praise Hi tec stuff, but I have yet to see one center as well as Futaba, Airtonics or JR. The stuff is fine for the 40% stuff, but I don't think it is precise enough for 2 meter pattern planes. You definitely have the drive, just be careful not to get burnt out or set goals too high right away. Take your time, learn the right way, even if it means taking a 2nd or 3rd in contests..learning the basics will pay off in the long run. Find someone at a contest that is higher up in classes...and kind of stick to them...take note of what the top guys are running... I know a lot of the guys up in the NE and they are great guys. Find a couple of them and use them as mentors and ask questions of them. If you ask 10 guys you might get 10 different answers, but find one you trust and seems to be doing well with his equipment. If you fly Futaba, find a Futaba guy, JR or whatever. That way at least you stick with what you know and have..if you like OS engines, find a guy running an OS 1.60 two stroke setup or similar and talk to them. But talk to guys that are running what you are flying or want to fly. I used to run the OS 1.40RX engines, but have never run an OS 1.60 setup, and while I have a good idea of how it should work, I don't know the 1.60 setup well enough to truly tell someone about it. I just have them find a copy of Jon Lowe's cookbook for the OS. I'll be glad to help you out with anything I'm familiar with and point you in the right direction.

MOST IMPORTANTLY AND ABOVE ALL....HAVE FUN!!! WE ARE STILL PLAYING WITH TOY AIRPLANES...

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