I learned to fly on a Midwest Little Stik. I pretty much learned on my own. The instructer I had was 35 miles away soI went out by myself during the week and got instructions on the weekend. Mostly I watched the instructer fly my plane. I learned more, faster flying by myself. So am all for a Stik for a trainer. And I do think the Easy Sport 40would also be an excellent choice. I almost bought one of those instead of the Big Stik 40 I am working on now. Plus they are about $20 cheaper.

Also have a look at BlueJay Models and the Aircruiser 60. Its just a Stik type model designed by Joe Bridi and it weighs 5.25 pounds so a good 40-46 should be plenty of motor for a sport flyer. I have built the Aircruiser 25 and a couple of loadstars. These planes go together fast and have high quality wood and hardware.

http://www.bridiairplanes.com/hangar/aircruiser60.html

The most important thing you can get is a good instructer.