Jeech.. and Extra 300 as a second plane. You sure jumped in!!! But taking it slow and easy and realizing that the plane can probably out-fly the pilot is a good attitude to take. And, as many may not be ready to admit, even some trainers are more capable than we realize.

My second was a Tiger 60. It is like a low wing trainer, but very capable. The size of the 60 size plane really helped out with my development. It was easy to see it when I was doing various things, especially during landing. Watching the small inputs and how they worked the plane during the landing was pretty neat. And it helped me realize, even more than the trainer, (mainly because, like most student pilots, I was busy just flying and landing and not taking the time to watch the reaction to inputs) how minor inputs caused immediate and functional results. It was amazing.

We all learn differently and at different rates. We try to fly without damaging our planes. More often than not, we succeed. So, we try to give advice based on our experiences. Hopefully, we can help prevent someone's loss of a fine and 'cool' airplane.