I learned on a SPAD [link=http://www.spadtothebone.com/index.htm](Simple Plastic Airplane Design)[/link] [link=http://www.spadtothebone.com/SPAD/Debonair/index.html]Debonair[/link] - with a [link=http://www.spadtothebone.com/SPAD/DasPlasStick/index.html]Das Plastic Stik[/link] style wing built to the Deb dimension. I also made it a tail dragger. The engine was a Thunder Tiger Pro .46.

Now what are the strong points to such a setup as a trainer plane? There are quite a few. And the guys at our club have really noticed and appreciated them.

The plane flies extremely stable. It is among the toughest trainers you will ever find. You can crash it, cartwheel it on landing, slam it on hard landings again and again, and it will keep coming back for more. The plane is quite easy and fast to build. And I built my airframe - complete with tank, tires, landing gear, wheels, and hardware for $22.

I built the plane as a tail dragger because I didn't want to be repairing fire walls, engine mounts, and nose wheels - from hard nose wheel landings. The planes I am looking forward to flying are primarily tail draggers so I wanted to learn take offs and landings for such as early as possible. I did not find learning to control the tail dragger configuration difficult. My instructor had no difficulty teaching me to properly land and take off.

The best part? While I was learning to fly there was virtually no crash worries. I knew that even if totaled I could build another in hours for less than $22 because I'd probably be able to salvage the tank, landing gear, wheels etc for a new build. This freed my mind and emotions from having to be worried about the plane - so I was able to fully concentrate on learning to fly.

I selected the TT Pro 46 engine because it is outrageously reliable and has plenty of power for the plane. My instructor and I never had to spend any time fiddling with the engine. Right from the box it gave us wonderful, flawless performance. Boy, did my instructor appreciate that. It is only now, after many hours of flying, that I understand and appreciate it fully. Incidentially, the plane now gets nearly unlimited vertical with a 12 x 4 prop and a Tower Hobbies muffler.

This set up was very cost efficient. I had to do so due to limited financial means. I never did have to replace the plane during my early learning process. Needed repairs were minor and all came after I soloed while flying on my own. It is still flying today after an auger in at 3/4 throttle from about 50 feet, numerous cartwheel landings on an asphalt runway, and more hard slams on the same runway than I could ever count. I would have gone through 3, possibly 4 balsa planes by now - at a cost I could not have afforded.

So, if you want a low cost, no worries, very tough trainer to learn on I say the Spad Debonair cannot be beat.

Now, if you have the funds available - and you don't care if you have to replace your plane once or twice while you get up to speed on flying - I'd really consider the Sig Senior. Its size makes for very good orientation in flight. It handles like a dream - stable as can be, takes the wind quite well, and darn near lands itself. The ARF is a very good value and builds quite quickly. This plane is also a hoot to fly even for experienced pilots. Put a nice sized four stoke on it and really have a ball.