Shoot, somehow I deleted my original reply, so here's the re-do:

My first plane was a GP PT-60. Although it wasn't a bad plane to start with, if I were to do it over again I would have gotten the SIG LT-40. You just can't beat the parts fit of laser-cut parts. My second plane was a SIG 4*60 and it just fell together. The LT-40 has the bigger wing like a PT-60, yet flies on a .46-size engine that will save you some money. You get the best of both worlds, a bigger wing and a less-expensive engine. Whichever plane you end up with, consider taking some of the dihedral out of the wing (my PT-60 had a crazy amount of dihedral). This makes the plane easier to fly (for a 15-year-old me anyways) as it wasnt so sluggish and slow to respond. My reflexes weren't exactly hurting at the time. Your call though, it's just another option that is not difficult to do and can be very rewarding, especially if you plan on ever flying your trainer after you finish your training.

As for engines, If money isn't a concern and you want a fast break-in and no-hassle engine go ahead and pick up an OS. You're going to hear horror stories about every engine manufacturer out there, even OS and TT. Things can't be perfect all the time, so don't expect to not have any problems just because you bought an OS or TT. If you're new, which I'll assume you are, there is always going to be a learning curve.

When I got started I was in 8th grade and didn't exactly have any spare money to spend on an OS .61FX, so I bought an MDS .68 Pro (I paid for everything myself, my parents never helped me, money wise, one bit). I saved $50 compared to the OS and, although the MDS took a longer time to break-in, it turned out to be a spectacular engine that has TONS of power. Now if saving $50 (or whatever the difference is) is worth it to you, that's YOUR call. For Example- I just bought a Magnum 91 4-stroke AND a GP Big Stik 60 ARF from Tower and spent less than I would have on just an OS 91 4-stroke. Being a college student, I still don't have much money to spend, so this was an obvious decision for me. Keep in mind that I spend A LOT of time researching anything I'm considering buying so that I am getting the most for my money. So far I've never regreted anything that I've bought; it pays to be knowledgable about what you're spending your money on. Personally, I own 8 engines and not even one of them is an OS.

If you ended up getting the LT-40 the Tower Hobbies .46 BB is a pretty good value @ $80 and I the Magnum .46 BB is on sale for $60 right now (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXBUX6&P=0). As for the OS .46 AX, I've seen them as low as $105 or so and I'm sure that you would be happy with it if you were to choose it. If you have any patience at all you'll do just fine with any engine; it takes time to learn how to tune an engine. Knowing, or learning, how the engine works really helps make things go smoother as well since knowing how the parts of an engine interact allow you to diagnose and make the proper adjustment.