Hello,

I have been flying an Avistar 40 (High Wing Advanced Trainer, Semi Symmetrical Wing) for a while and feel pretty confortable flying it. Nice landings with Little or no bounce on paved runway.

Last night while flying my main wing sheared into two pices mid air turning my trusty Avistar into a lawn dart. I still haven't quite figured out what happened. I was about 75% Throttle (TT .46 pro, 10x6 master airscrew) going into a fairly mild climb and Whammo! The Left side of the wing ripped off followed by the right site and the show bagan!

My question is this. I have a U-Can-Do 3D (UCD3D) .46 that I am going to put together anyway. I haven't got an engine for it yet but now I have a TT .46 Pro to drop in it. This is not what I intended (wanted bigger) but it is lying on the bench now anyway and I haven't got the new engine for it yet. Still undecided on that one.

If I put the .46 in it without the intention of doing any 3D, do you think I can handle this plane only having trainer experience? I fly Real Flight 3D frequently and actually find it almost easier to fly the EXTRA 300s thatnmany of the trainers. I can fly the EXTRA and a CAP 232 pretty well in RF3D. I used RF3D to learn on before I started with my Avistar and soloed on my second flight and have not had an instructor since so I think RF3D is a pretty good indicator for me to asses my capabilities to some extent.

I have heard the UCD 3D is a pretty slow flyer and a good landing aircraft. Is this correct?

My dilema is I paid $135 for the UCD 3D and don't really want to drop another $100 on a new AVISTAR if I can move up to the UCD 3D.

There is still quite a bit of flying time left for the season (North Dakota... Brrr) and I want to work on my skills some more this season. I am buiding an EXTRA 300s that I am hoping to be able to fly sometime next season so I really want as much stick time as I can get this season.

Opinions?

Do I risk the $135 UCD, or spend another $100 on a new Avistar.

I know it is hard to answer this question without knowing my proficiency level but I "feel" that I can make the transition if I stick to low rates.