My son and I started trying to learn with that foam cub they push as a learner plane and almost gave up till we stopped by the local feild and learned of the buddy box system.That made such a difference! My son did his solo flight on his 12th birthday. Don't be afraid of asking for help at the feild if your willing to listen The trainer we started with had the old OS40, it was enough to fly the plane but we found that we were looking for more power once we learned to fly. The 61 Magnum will fly the plane well, think of looking into the next size up for later unless your thinking of the next type of plane,once my son did his solo he was ready for the next level of plane and hasn't flown the trainer since. Have Fun!! The sky's the limit!

Tim