I think a great stepping stone into jets is the parkzone Stryker. They are indestructible for one thing, they are fast, and the flying characteristics are similar enough to jets to get you used to the quirks. Plus it's an any day kind of plane. I've had mine in 30 mph wind before with lots of turbulence, and it just shook its tail and kept flying. The Stryker wouldn't be a good first plane for anybody because of its speed and no self righting characteristics, but once a guy feels that the trainer is slow he'll be ready for one.