I've had a couple of 46FX equiped Avistars for the past three years, which I keep for demo flights and float flying. I've actually flown the wings off of it once, though I'm not sure if it was the rubber bands or dowels that gave way. Additionally, I've stripped the gears on my aileron servo twice in the air (no it is not an gap nor play problem). My personal opinion is if you want the Avistar as a trainer, use an LA40 to keep the weight down, it will fly more slowly, be easier to land, increases the range in which flare can be applied, etc. The extra weight of a 46 just magnifies the infamous Avistar bounce, the extra power easily can take it beyond the evelope of its design.

Having flown many trainers, my current recommendations for a totally new flyer is a flat bottom wing trainer and LA40. The slowness will give one more time to think, and the LA40 is cheap should it be damaged for one reason or another. Hobbico advertises the Avistar as an advanced trainer, so usually I'll recommend it if having solo'd on a basic trainer, pilot isn't comfortable or not skilled enough to move more quickly.

BTW One way to minimize the bounce on landing is to land on one main wheel first, but it feels like cheating