The reason I didn't mention 1/2 a was because of several things. First, you can't hardly feel them out there and there is nothing like being able to feel the airplane at the end of the lines. They are less wind resistant. I've flown mine in some incredible winds, but I knew what I was doing. On mild wind days when the 049 will blow in on the downword side, a larger airplane will not.

I did mention the SIG Buster and Shoestring. These are essentially the same as the Skyray, but with the larger engine they are generally easier to start and fly. They also fly on standard stunt fuel instead of the normally higher nitro. They can and do take one heck of a beating, but in the end will be reduced to splinters, all the while it is iffy that the trainer actually fealt what the plane was doing.

2nd, normally the 1/2A airplanes like to swing around a little faster than the bigger planes do. I can get 5 second laps on a 15 size trainer and still feel it out there where the 1/2A is happier in the 3.5 to 4 second range, if not faster. These quick rotation times are hard on a newbie who now not only can't feel the airplane at the ends of the lines, but also has to turn around much faster just to keep up with the blur.

A Kiss stick with a 25 on the nose, prop on backwards, can do 5.5 second laps, pulling fairly well. It can have huge landing gear on it making it ROG from not so nice of a runway so that the newbie doesn't have to worry about hand launches too. The motor is a more common size for any of the bigger airplanes, the airplanes have more square inches to soak up the too much glue and finish problems that a newbie encounters. Add an extra ounce to a 1/2A and you may not have a flyable plane. Put the same on a 25-35 size ship and it's usually no big deal. A 14 ounce Akromaster is a good flying airplane, a 16 ouncer is a pig.

These were the reasons I didn't go with the 1/2A type planes in my recomendations. If you want to go 1/2A, just order a PT-19 from tower and have at it. Generally this airplane is cheaper than just buying the motor itself. But I'd spend maybe twice as much and go with the KISS. Or, I'd keep an eye out on ebay for a used engine and save money that way.