The reason the Aircore trainer tends to get put down is... they tend to be heavy. Since there are ways to keepthe weight down (such as using CA instead of the contact cement...) you can bypass the weight issue. If you delete the purely decorational parts (have to know which is decoration and which is structure or DON'T delete ANY) you can save even more weight. Then there are other techniques to keep the weight down... and you can have one very light aircraft, that is still just as strong.

That's my only beef with the Aircore trainers... the weight if done by the instructions.

I've seen this model in use in both the per-plans mode and lightened by someone who knew what he was doing. The light one was a much better flying aircraft. Slower landing speeds and better rate of climb are big bonuses for a beginner.

Even with the durable Aircore trainer... its possible to ram the thing into a tree or something and destroy the model. I've seen the result of a SPAD Debonair rammed into a dumpster. The engine was split apart. (cylinder section ripped off the crankcase.) There was not much left of engine, radio or aircraft... and the Debonair is STRONGER than the Aircore trainer.