Im no expert and new to the hobby but flying a Jet and everything that go's along with it is alot of work and Money. They fly so fast they are outa your sight/range before you know it. You have to be good to keep a jet in a small pattern and you have to fly at special places. I bet that guys got a easy $40 grand in that SR-71. But your in luck
They make almost every jet fighter you can think of in a ready to fly foam version. The jet motor is replaced with a electric ducted fan or (EDF) These planes are called RTF or "ready to fly" They come with everything you need controller plane battery and battery charger.
like this and you can fly them almost anywhere
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U3NOv9ny7A These are very affordable under $400 for everything,
Joe here is your A-10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U3NOv9ny7A and even a $99 version
http://www.bananahobby.com/electric-rc-airplanes-electric-fighter-rc-jets.html Here is a place that sell's them
http://www.bananahobby.com/electric-rc-airplanes-electric-fighter-rc-jets.html Im very new to RC planes and I love them. You can try to fly almost every plane you can think of with a $200 program and controller called G4 Real Flight, you fly them on your computer. The new version uses the very same controller you fly the plane with to play on line with, So you can save money and not have to buy a controller for any plane you buy. Its very fun to do. You will see the EDF jets are fast and pretty tricky to fly. And if you can not crash the plane it's cheep to play. Im not gonna get super into it its somthing I like doing with friends. If you can find a plane thats cheep you can get your buddy's into it and have a blast.
(Message edited by grant_west on January 06, 2010)