My vote be for the one that I built, I had a lot more fun with it and it kept my interest longer than the other trainers did for their owners:

Great Planes Trainer 40 (out of production - damn!)

Not the PT 40 (perfect trainer) the Trainer 40.

0) Fully symmetrical wings
1) Rubber Band/Nylon Bolt high wing design
2) Good power/weight ratio
3) Tricycle Gear (this is the best part - curbs are hell!)
4) Simple construction
5) Pretty much fully acrobatic in the hands of a good pilot with control throws/CG modified accordingly.

It was a bit more trouble to learn on, and demanded total attention and a good instructor by your side.

But was a blast! I could never hold a knife edge on it, but there was a good pilot at a field that I flew at who managed to keep it on edge for about 5 seconds (with a royal 45(?) engine)!

The only complaint that I had was that the wing plans didn't include/require a dihedral piece and that they only used fiberglass tape/epoxy to hold the wing halves together(and also the cheezy nosewheel). I buried my first royal 40 engine about 18 inches into a cow pasture when the wings cleanly split in half during a tight loop. Rebuilt the plane that time and 3 more times with a new wing kit (and a homemade dihedral piece!) . . . I could fly this plane again, but there really is too much epoxy. Just wish that made that plane again . . . I am hoping that GP will sell me the plans, I might scratch build it . . .

Regards,
Mark F. Sanderson