The other planes mentioned would be a better choice because they are made from balsa and have plywood reinforced sides and are 4 channel planes. The fuselage on the Senior is made of criss crossing sticks in order to make a light plane. It flys well because of this but is much less resistant to sudden hobby bumps and would take longer to repair. Also taking the info from the Tower Hobbies site: "FEATURES: Balsa, Spruce, and Plywood Construction. Does not have Ailerons." Starting with a 3 channel plane will simply increase the learning curve for getting into higher performance planes. It sn't going to help you down the road. But just goes to show that you can try to advise new flyers and they will simply ignore your suggestions.