RE: First plane
The Alpha 40 is a good slow flying plane. When you get better on it, you can put a popsicle stick or two under the the trailing edge and it will fly faster without climbing. The Alpha 40 has a higher wing angle of attack than some other trainers. This makes it more self correcting and able to fly slower, but it also makes it climb more on throttle increase. This characteristic makes it irritating as you get more stick time and want to fly faster. The trailing edge shims will take some of the throttle climb.