You advance as you are prepared to crash more expensive airplanes

Unfortunately, there is no black & white description for what determines a level of experience. Case in point: I know a young man who is an outstanding 3D flier. He has only been flying for a few years, but he will astound you with an aerial show that will leave no doubt in your mind that he is an "Expert" flier.

But one day, he did a pass over the runway, then nosed up, and as the plane climbed, the engine quit. As the engine died, I thought to myself, "No problem, just nose it over, dive to regain speed, level out and set her down on the runway." but instead, he nosed it over and immediately began cranking on the elevator to level the plane out! You could actually see that huge elevator flipping from neutral to full up several times before he pancaked it into the ground.

It was then that I realized that without power, he had no concept of how an airplane flies.

It sounds like you can easily "Fly" the bluenose. It's a very stable plane and has no bad habits - BUT... IF you get in trouble, can you get it back under control? That to me is the definition of a better pilot - When he has the confidence that WHEN something goes wrong, he KNOWS he can deal with it!

Here's another little test. Which catagory do you fall into?

Beginner: Has someone else maiden his plane

Intermediate: Maidens his own planes

Expert: Maidens other people's planes for them