Mickeyb,
Stick with your choice of the trainer and 0.46 engine. The "stick" will be way too maneuverable. You want the stability and time to think while learning. The left stick (on the transmitter) will be used to throttle down once full power is used for climbing to altitude. You will spend most of your time at half throttle once in the air. On the other hand if flying off a grass field the extra power will be used to take off. I have trained pilots with trainers with both flat and semi-symmetrical wings. Both do well. The sticks are fully symmetrical which is not a good thing. One pilot who soloed last year got a "stick" as his second plane. He had a really hard time controlling it and was really getting frustrated. The plane was lost to a battery failure. He is now flying a Sig Somethin' Extra and is doing much better with it than the stick.
Good luck,
Bill