Very interesting thread so far...

I think I'm on about my sixth trainer (most of 'em are still alive), and only now do I think I might have the right plane to enable me to progress..

Here's the list:

Superstar 60: Good stable plane but OS.65LA took a lot of fiddling and time to run in. I also couldn't seem to get much instructor time and I didn't want to risk wrecking it myself...

GWS Tiger Moth: Got it to practice in the local park, great plane, still going...

Sturdy Birdy: Had an engine and radio that was supposed to go in a Seniorita then saw this in the shop. Figured I could try flying it myself...Damn thing's a flying brick, after several unsuccessful flights and a conversion to trike gear, its still not dead yet...

Ripmax Zephyr: Looks like a giant park flyer and flys like one, got an OS.15LA in mine (can be electric too). I think I can fly it in my sleep now but the club won't give me my 'solo dot' for it as its only a 3 channel floater (quite right too).

Back to the Superstar 60: A flight without the buddy box resulted in me putting it through a tree; repaired, I flew solo with it and 'landed' it 50ft up another tree (RIP).

Hobbistar 60: Instructor took off, I flew around, instructor landed. Nice plane, a bit faster than the Superstar and I'm a little paranoid about trees. Result? Save it for 2nd plane (or is that 3rd, or 4th.?..)

LT-40: Just putting it together now. Looks lightweight, same size as Superstar/Hobbistar but lighter and with more dihedral. I'm confident about this one...

As you can see from my experience, I'm very worried about people who jump straight from something like a LT-40 to a fast low winger.... the advice above is very good but some people don't have the patience.

Someone at our field recently went from an Avistar to a TT stick right after soloing, and another flies a Magic as a contrast to GWS electrics... I think I'm gonna start wearing a hard hat to the field...