ORIGINAL: jester_s1

Going that large is going to cost you a lot more than a traditional balsa trainer will, even if you buy everything new. Gassers need bigger servos, bigger landing gear and tires, bigger hardware, etc, and that all adds up. If you want your best shot at getting started in the hobby the traditional balsa wood trainer is the way to go. It will be built right and it will fly well. I got into the spad thing at the beginning, building a Debonair as my trainer. It wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't fly as well as the standard trainers at the field. I had a couple of crashes that I probably wouldn't have had with a balsa plane, and I found that when I did have crashes they weren't that hard to repair. So since you're looking to get started in the hobby, I'm going to suggest watching the classifieds and local Craigslist for a few weeks until a trainer set comes up. With some luck, it will also have a good radio and all the field equipment to go with it. If you start with quality stuff and work with an instructor, your chances of training until you solo without ever crashing are pretty good. If you still want something you can ding up and not worry about, look into the many EPO foam planes that are on the market right now. Those things are as close to indestructible as anything, and they generally fly well.