Jbakic,

You have heard about the same number of opinions for the LA and the AX. Everyone has their own preference on which engine is better for one reason or another. I think that you should ask yourself some questions

1) Are you flying off of a grass field? If so, the LA will sometimes bog down in the grass during takeoff if your field isn’t cut regularly
2) Do you plan on flying in windy conditions of 8 – 10 MPH? You will need a little more power if you do
3) Do you plan on staying in the hobby for more than a year? If you don’t then the LA will be more economical, but it may also add to your frustration by not having enough power and help push you out of the hobby
4) Does your field have a cross wind? You may need the extra power on landing

There are a couple of things that I have read here on this thread that I agree with and some that I don’t, but again, everyone has an opinion. I agree that everyone tends to want to OVER POWER a plane, but flying a trainer with an AX isn’t over powering the plane. That little extra power can help your instructor save your plane when you get into a bad situation during your training. I by no means am an expert, but I can say that at my field 85% - 95% of the people who had LA engines in a plane soon removed them and put in at that time an FX or Thunder Tiger (Price point and good engine) into their trainers. I still have my trainer after 4 years of flying and I replaced the MDS 40 with a TT 46. The plane still flies slowly (that’s what throttle management is for ) but I have enough speed have a little fun every once in a while. Here in order are my choices.

Thunder tiger Pro 46 $79.99 (Good strong engine)
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKF97&P=ML

OS .46 AX ABL w/Muffler $114.99
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...p?&I=LXFMD5&P=

OS .46 LA w/Muffler Natural $64.99
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGGV7&P=0

If you don't want to spend the $50 extra dollars, spend the extra $15 and get a stronger engine. Hope this helps

Lee