I agree, not worth it on a trainer and you're right, it is better to always use the recommended items. But like I said, I only use them once since they are so cheap. I even soaked one in fuel for about an hour and it didn't seem to do much if any damage. As for not having bands on big planes I did see one that did - sorta. They may all be like this or it may have been just this one. We have a guy that flys a Giant Stinger with a two piece wing. It has the support bar that runs through the fuse into the wings but he holds them together horizontally (attached to the fuse) with the 10 bands looped on a hook. They're the same ones we get at Office Max. He might be tempting fate but he said no problems in 16 months.

Just a thought... I can't blame nor would I harrass anyone for using the best stuff available.

Rick