well, got the ardupilot soldered up, gps and magnetometer installed, software compiled, uploaded and running - all thats left is transmitter setup and flight test
had a friend on skype who has just done the same setup step me thru the arduino programming/compiling.
Im computer savvy, but their instructions still leave me scratching my head (maybe brain is getting to tired to accept new stuff)
so far very happy, hope for flight test in a day or two