Hey kargo, thanks for describing yourself.
I understand not getting to fly as much as you want or as much as you need to, I have been stuck at low to mid level intermediate for quite some time and may be here for the long term.
Very cool that you have jumped in from the beginning building kits [sm=thumbup.gif]
The Decathlon should fly quite a bit differently than the LT 40 and it should be a very nice scale acrobatic plane to hone your skills with.
Since you are a kit man the Four Star goes together fairly quick and easy.
(Just so you know, the Hog Bipe goes together quick and easy too.)
A very popular mod on the Four Star is to shorten the wings by one rib bay to speed up the roll rate and take out the float.

Maybe some of the others will post a few suggestions for a plane to bridge between what you have mentioned and the Hog Bipe.