ORIGINAL: shredder111
Piper chuck, what do you have to say on this one? Are you a trainer? Could you train me? That would be sweet!
Sorry, I'm absolutely NOT a "trainer". However, I am one of the club instructors!
Sorry for that, I couldn't resist. Most people use the term trainer for the plane, not the person.
Don't worry too much about the looks of the trainer. It's designed to be easy to fly. If it's not too pretty, that's ok, think of it as being utilitarian. I don't know anything about the House Of Balsa kit you pointed to, but it doesn't look like a trainer.
Anyway, it looks like you've got your heart set on building a kit. Are you going to do this while you're away, or when you get home? If you go the kit route, you'll need to buy lots of tools and it will actually end up more expensive than an ARF.
As an alternative, I suggest you consider an ARF. For example, here's an electric one that I haven't seen in person, but I've heard some good things about
:
http://www.towerhobbies.com/products.../hcaa2051.html
And a 4 channel version:
http://www.towerhobbies.com/products.../hcaa2052.html
There should be lots of other choices for electric trainers, but since I fly mostly glow, I don't know all the choices. The electric forums would be a good place to look.
I'm fairly flexible with what I think will work as a trainer. Most people suggest a 40 size ARF trainer. I think these are fine, but I actually prefer flying smaller planes. If you're interested in glow powered trainer kits, and want something a little smaller, take a look at the thread about the Sig Kadet LT-25. Sig has always made nice kits. If you want a kit in the .45 size, look at some of the other Kadet choices.
For ARF trainers, there are many choices. The Tower Trainer is a good value, but there are lots of other choices too.
So, to sum it up, can you start narrowing down the electric versus glow decision and what size? When you eventually get home, lots of instructors are available to help, including me.
PS. the plane in the picture is what I learned with, a Sig Scamp. Very non-traditional, but it flew great. They no longer make them, but I recently acquired a new kit. When I finish a few other projects I'll build it.