I have owned the Hobbico Nexstar, H9 Alpha .40, Sig LT-40, Tower Hobbies Trainers, Great Planes Trainer .40, and the PT. They are all descent well built Planes to learn on. Basically the only real thing that seperates all these Planes are the Prices, slight size differences, and some varying degrees of dehidrel, plus some have a few extra trinkets or novelties. They are all stable airplanes designed to teach flight, and all those I have experience with will do a fine job. It basically just comes down to picking a Manufacturer with a rep for building good Planes, and all those I have named above build nice Trainer Planes that will hold up as good as can be expected for ones first Plane. Just pick one out from a quallity Manufacturer that looks nice to you, and then go hunting for the best price. Good Luck.