I will have my review on this published in the RCU Magazine here this week. Stay tuned...

Experienced pilots will definitely sense a "weird" feeling as the autopilot tries to correct you and fights you to level. Doesn't feel like what we are used to but if dialed down a bit at a time the beginner can slowly get used to the no auto pilot setup. It might pay to dial the gain down if you feel it fights too much. It is so stable that if you are on a buddy box you can really go low on the gain. I think the higher gains are best suited to add confidence to the brand new pilot or if a buddy box isn't around so the beginner can release the sticks and get back to level. This is great especially when they confuse left and right when the plane is headed toward themselves. If they go the wrong way they can just let go and get back to level until they learn.

I thought this plane was one of the best trainers I've ever seen. I flew it with the anti-spin extensions and the speed flaps and the factory set auto pilot gain. I had my 5 year old son fly it as well. He was doing loops on his first flight.

As far as the climbing you mention, this is also due to the flat bottom airfoil (along w/speed brakeds) so I usually fly it very slow at 1/8th throttle and the balloning goes away. If you throttle up the plane will climb as you noted. The rudder is effective and I was able to fly around a few feet off the ground within the confines of our field using aileron and rudder. Landing is a breeze.

I think the complete package is a winner and sometimes I grimace when I see some of the planes beginners come to the field with and want me to test fly or stand by them with. This is one plane I would have total confidence in even without a buddy box setup. The OS 46fx up front is powerful and reliable and the design of the plane excellent.

Hobbico was very thorough in this package by including everthing they did with this trainer. I only wish I had this way back a few decades ago when I was learning to fly. This plane will certainly help to make more successful pilots.