I've been eyeing off the PC9 for a while now - particularly the one with the RAAF Roulettes colour scheme (being an Aussie and all ). I ended up going with a World Models Extra Sports 30 which was a brilliant choice in hindisght. My choice was based, mainly on reading a number of reports on this forum, and hearing from a guy at our flying field, that the build quality was poor.

A common story seemed to be that pilots transitioning from trainers would often experience a stall while turning at low speed with too much bank angle and put the plane in. Whereas many models might survive such a mistake (like my Extra for example - dropped from a stall at about 5ft and was fine) the PC9 would self-destruct.

That said, all the Asian ARFs seem to have been improving over time. And apart from their fragility in crashes, the PC9 seems to fly really nicely from what I've heard.

I'd suggest doing a search on this forum for "Seagull PC9" and see what others who have flown the plane think.

Many claim that this kind of plane, and the Extra that I went with, are more of a 3rd plane. A common suggestion for a 2nd aircraft is a plane like a SIG Somethin' Extra. In my experience, the only thing you need with a "sportier" plane is to have a good pilot do the maiden flight, trim it out for you and adjust the elevator and aileron throws so it's easy to handle. You do need to force yourself to fly a lot smoother, but this tends to be a lesson quickly learnt.

The other common claim is that you need to learn to do faster landings for these aircraft. I think that's not entirely true, I think, particularly in the case of my Extra, that the low speed performance is comparable to my trainer, except that you cannot afford to do big aileron moves during a slow landing approach, you have to learn to use the rudder to correct your line, as the plane is less forgiving of steep bank angles at low speeds.

If you do indeed spend the time to fly the wings off your trainer before moving on, and have learnt how to use the rudder, and are not "flicking the sticks" but rather flying with smooth, controlled movements, the PC9 or similar would be fine as a 2nd plane. Particularly with the Roulettes colour scheme