My 13 yr old son has now soloed and is progressing very well in his flying abilities. He's been doing great with his 4*60, but he now wants to get into 3D flying, so I've been thinking about getting him a plane to learn on. I have a UCD .46 w/ Saito .91 on it, as well as a couple of profiles, and I'd like an inexpensive plane for him. After reading a lot of the posts on the Magic Extra, it looks like something that will fit the bill. My question to anyone who has flown both, how does the ME compare to the UCD 46? Would it make a good 3D trainer? How would you compare the quality of these two planes?

I know a SPAD would be cheaper, but he wants something that looks a little more like a real plane.

BTW, I think the UCD .46 would have been fine with a .72 - hovers at 1/4 throttle with the .91.

Thanks for your inputs....