ORIGINAL: Willdo
However, I believe in having the basics only for learning, looks are totally a waste of time on a trainer and they can be built into the second plane later.
The pushrod use wasnt for looks. I learned... learned how to work on an aircraft, how to add strength to the fuse for the addition of items, learned how to set up a nyrod, and now learning techniques for takeoffs and landings using a taildragger to be used on my 2nd plane and beyond.
I would have to argue that what I did was not a "waste of time", but a learning experiance... a very pleasureable one at that.