Since i have moved onto a UCD .46 with a Satio .82 from an Alfa trainer, i've been thinking the trainer was a waste of time and money. With a good instructor(which i had) and a flight sim, i could have easily flown the UCD with the rates on low. Maybe the learning curve would have been a little longer but at least i would have something to grow into and not out of like the trainer. It seems like a lot of the 3d planes are made to fly slow enough that a beginner can learn on them and maybe the degree of difficulty is a little higher but a good instructor should smooth that out.

Maybe i'm biased because all i'm interested in is 3D and biplanes but i think i could have done fine starting out with a 3D plane. The only thing the trainer really did for me was to convince me that i really wanted to get more involved in this hobby. Other than that i think my trainer is gonna take a back seat unless i modify it to make it more interesting to fly.

I think for the wanna be 3D flyer like me a trainer really isn't necessary if you have the right tools ie; instructor, flight sim, good advice on parts and misc. things and lots of reading in RCU.

Knowing what i know now i would have bought the UCD as a trainer.

What do you guys think?