Hey Brent , from someone thats had several biwings ( T's to C's to pumped S1S's and copycats) to several different monowings ( lasers to giles 202 now a DR-107) There's alot of differences in the way you'll fly the Bi-wing compared to the mono-wing , You'll fly the mono much harder without trying , they corner harder (7 G's in most monos feels like 4 G's in the pitts etc..) . Many other pro's & con's that will gender all manner of strong opinions I'm sure ! I will say there's a reason though that if you ever go mono-wing in the competition area you don't usually go back .
One other thing to consider before talking bout the 1D specifically . Generally the airframe mantainance (wings)on most mono's is considerably less than the bi's . You can almost watch the airframe(wings) start going away on the Bi's as you start moderately hard flying . You'll fly the monos much longer between wing rebuilds as well as have much less headaches with the airframes over the long haul than the Bi's .

To my experence with the 1D , It is alittle wing but once you learn to fly it like it likes it's a very potient weapon in any catagory (I fly it in advanced) Mine is a stock 180 is about where alot of them weigh in the high 800 lb area . It hits a drag wall once it gets close to 200 mph , That little fat wing corners well with ample speed but it doesn't like the high speeds , which is a good thing for a beginner , Keep it between 140 & 190 & it'll compete with the big six's in all the flight modes . Others have already pointed out the roll rate (close to 400 deg.) . It's easier to land than the pitts , visability is better and not as twitchy on rollout ! More could be said bout it's flying qualities but if you'll go to Budd Davidsons web-site he has a great writeup on it there .
The other thing I will say from a personal opinon I think it's just above the T model pitts Or a souped up S1S (airframe & engine) in it's performance capabilities & you can buy one for bout what you'll pay for the ones I mentioned .
You might also go to the yahoo one design forum for more imfo if interested , Hope this helped , Keep the dream alive .