Dave, I have seen scores, maybe hundreds of beginners crash planes such as the LT-40, PT-40, etc., and I've only been flying a few years. In most cases, the front end of the plane from the leading edge to the firewall is destroyed, a pretty difficult repair. It doesn't seem possible to me that newbies would crash an Aircore more than they do their balsa planes. What do you mean by "terrible"? Why do you think they crash more?

I started learning on a GP Trainer 40, an exalted design by the great Bridi, so you know it must fly way better than "terrible". I switched to the Aircore about half way through my training, because I got tired of repairing the Trainer 40. Here's the amazing thing that no experienced pilot will believe: To me, the Aircore flew exactly the same as the Bridi design. I know this is blasphemy, but as a beginner, I honestly could not tell the difference.

I think experienced pilots lose sight of what beginners are working on, and therefore think the plane is more important than it is. I remember that for me, the hardest things to learn were 1) right/left reversal when the plane came toward me, 2) lining up with the runway (understanding where the plane was), 3) what I call the "Escher effect", when you lose perspective on the plane, and think it's in a different orientation than it is, 4) the timing of the landing approach, 5) throttle control (doing two things at once), and 6) the effect of wind on what a turn looked like. When you are working on these basic skills, you don't really have time to notice what an experienced pilot might call "how well the plane flies".

I will grant you that an intermediate flyer will not be happy trying to learn aerobatics on the Aircore. But for training, I think it flies just fine. And for many students, not having to worry about repairs is the difference between enjoying their training sessions or not.