I've had great experiences using my 4-control surface wing'd US60 as an 'in conjunction with' trainer. If your club's lucky enough to have a club trainer that's one of the dedicated docile trainer designs, a US might not be bad for the student to get in to as soon as they transition.... maybe even before they solo.

It all depends on the student. Personally I drop flaps on mine, go to 1/4 throttle and just do lazy maneuvers around the sky with my Ultra. My trainer drops like a rock at that throttle (then the pesky thing hangs in ground effect, like all trainers I've seen). I can keep it in the air with up-elevator all I want, but I just like the stick's slow speed better. Pop full throttle, click the flaps up and roll over and you're max-velocity inverted flying in about 2 seconds (which may be -too- fast for someone still learning).

One thing - the radio - might make all the difference. My US could be built straight 4-channel with full-wing ailerons. Simply snap in a reversing Y-harness and you're all set (I have one on my flaps, and LOVE the thing). Of course, you can also set an Ultra for full-house seven-channel computer-mixed control. That level of radio-learning-curve is probably too much for many people just getting into R/C. I had the distinct adavantage of having set up and operated multiple channel R/C boats before, so it was no big deal to me. Some, however are quite new and still confuse the servo wire with the battery wire (honest mistake). I think one should consult whomever will be their instructor on this matter.