I'm not bashing SPADs at all. I flew a Debonair for awhile until a radio problem put it in the lake. It was serviceable, but then I flew a real balsa trainer and saw the difference. SPADs are handy for guys who want to own 20 different airplane or who are so careless that they are going to destroy everything they put in the air. SPADs are touted for their crash resistance, but OTOH balsa planes will avoid lots of crashes that SPADs won't. In short, a beginner needs to start out with the best flying plane he can, and SPADs aren't the way. $80-$100 is not much money for an ARF trainer when you look at the big picture of what the hobby costs. If $100 for a good airframe scares a guy away, this probably isn't the hobby for him.