Minnflyer beat me to the post, but I'll second his recommendation.

There are many decent ARF trainers out there, and considering that it could take you 4 to 6 weeks to solo (depending on instructor availability and your free time), you might want to consider it.

I think it might be frustrating to build that trainer and then sit looking at it for four or five months.

Of course, you'd be REAL proficient on the sim by next spring.

By the way, your taking a very intelligent approach to all this.

Welcome!
Dennis-