@CharlieP, I am a southern boy and only been in the north for 2 years, so the winters are still a little too cold for me to be out playing with planes. One day perhaps this may happen :-)

@TimBle, I am an ex-South African and thanks for all the advice. I do plan on keeping my trainer and learning to do all the things you have mentioned. I just want to start thinking about the next plane so that I can build during the winter. Winters in Central New York consist of snow for about 3 to 4 months solid where the high temps for weeks do not get above -5 Celsius. Just looking for a project for the winter. Thanks for the outline of what to learn while flying - it will help on my next flight.