The Aerobird Challenger is OK to learn on for at least "one" good reason. It takes a beating. Believe me I know. It does not fly or respond well when its windy. I almost lost mine on a "fly away" one day because I was flying it when it was too windy. A big gust took it sailing far away from me. Also when its windy, you might try to turn to no avail, the wind will just take it where it wants to. But they can be quite fun and challenging in a "bit" of wind. If you want it to respond quicker, like quicker turns, loops etc put it in the second mode, which I think its called "sport mode". Sorry I don't have the instructions here. My Aerobird as well a the instructions are up in WI. As stated b4 to turn quickly with it, it needs speed/throttle. If you're flying slow, it needs a lot of space to turn. Ask me how I know. I stuck it in the trees twice, trying to turn to land. But turned too slow right into the trees. I also put floats on mine which was a lot of fun. But I just split one of the floats from crashing so I had to take them off. The reason it crashed, I think, was because the receiver was wet and it stopped responding. It crashed on a frozen lake. Frozen lake + foam floats= broken floats. The receiver got wet because the snow was deep, so it wouldn't take off. So I tried to hand launch. Bad idea. Floats were to heavy for a hand launch ant it nosed right into the snow. So then I did what I should have in the first place. I went out towards the middle of the lake where the snowmobilers had packed the snow, and it took of in a flash from there. Anyway, speed is the key, and all advice above is great. Don't be afraid to fly it fast, but don't let it get away from you, and don't fly it when its too windy. Read the instructions and heed the warnings. They are there for a reason. Also read the directions about the second mode. It will respond better, but also a better chance for the "spiral of death". As I said the guys made some great suggestions. I just thought I'd share my experiences with the Aerobird. BTW one more thing. With the floats landing in water, it also needs speed. If you land too slow it will nose right over. In any case don't give up & have fun!!!!
AOA=Angle of attack.
leftnut, yes its a v-tail w/o ailerons. I was a bit concerened about that, but they do fly "OK". They also "coast" very nice. Not the best thing to learn on, but as I said they do take a beating.
Joe