I have a Spitfire, and considered the F16 (Stealth) when I bought it in 2004. The solo aspect wasn't important to me at the time, the Stealths differed from one to the next (low resale value), and F16 wasn't really off the ground at that time. I have thoroughly enjoyed the Spitfire, but have since bought a Shadow (last November). I went through the same debate again, only this time wanting to go solo. I settled on a Shadow due the one-design nature, good circuit in UK, and it's even lighter than F16 and built to last, etc... (and high resale value). I also had to consider that I sail in an estuary, which is infested with sand banks, and even worse, mooring lines in the main channel: this made kick-up rudders mandatory, taking away what I felt to be a major strength of the Stealth. If you are thinking of solo sailing, I'd have to say I tried the Spitfire solo before deciding to buy a Shadow. I think the Spitfire is a specialist in its role, and anything else is a compromise (e.g. I wouldn't want to right it solo). Given that the Shadow and Spitfire are both designed by Loday White, it's obvious that neither is intended to do the role of the other... so if I want to sail solo, I'd go for Shadow, if I wanted two-up, I'd go for Spitfire, and if I wanted the flexibility of both, I'd go for the Stealth.