Originally Posted by
hsukaria
I may sound heretical here, but if we are telling the OP to consider a non-gas plane for his primary trainer, then we might as well open up the possibility of electric RTF trainers. There are a few excellent RTF packages out there that can get him in the air pretty quick. That way, he could be flying while working on his second, gasser, plane. Lots of choices out there. JMHO.
+1 I would suggest a cheap lightweight trainer like an Apprentice. You can get batteries on the cheap for it, 3 packs will give you at least 45 minutes of flight time, easy to repair, and you will repair it, and under $300. While you are building up your skill set, you could work on putting together a great second plane that will use a DLE20, something like a 4*120. Dialed down with good expo and rates its a gentle flyer that floats forever, yet with throws set to full its wicked fun in the air.
Or using a smaller gas like a 10cc(isnt there a 7cc coming out), a modified LT40 would be a great choice too. I fly one with an OS 52 on it, and love it, I flattened the wing, only 3/4" dihedral, tail dragger, and a thrill to fly, its my go to plane when I want to just drill holes in the sky. I may look into doing a new LT40 build for a gas engine just for the heck of it, with a semi symmetrical wing, with larger throws