Depending on your level of comfort with kit-bashing, the Senior Telemaster can easily be converted to tricycle gear, but it comes configured as taildragger. Ditto the dihedral comment above. To fly as a sport model, many take one or two rib bays off the wingtips, which takes it down from a 96" to 90" or 84" ws. With full 96" ws it's a definite floater.

If you want a kit that does not need bashing, the Sig Kadet Senior comes with tricycle gear, and at 78" ws is a step beyond most 40 and even 60 size high-wing models. The Kadet flies beautifully with a .40 if you want slow and gentle. Those who build it as a sport model also remove some or all dihedral and fit it with ailerons. (The kit is configured for three channels, no ailerons.) I went for barn-door ailerons on mine (1/4 chord, 1/4 span) and fly it for relaxation and to introduce novices to the pleasures of RC.

If you want a real builder's challenge, the Bud Nosen Trainer at 108" ws should be big enough for anyone, and it comes with tri-gear. This model flies nicely in trainer mode with .60-.90 two stroke, but really deserves a .91 or larger 4-stroke. However I wouldn't try to tackle this unless you are well-experienced with kits and bashing, as the instructions leave a lot to the builder's judgment and imagination.

Then there is the whole universe of quarter scale Cubs, Cessnas, Taylorcrafts, etc.

It sounds to me like you are asking the same kind of question I asked when I moved from U-control to RC. If that's the case, then I would suggest a four-channel tri-gear trainer with a solid following, such as the Great Planes PT60 71" ws or the similar Goldberg Protege 60 size 71.5" ws. The unmodified Kadet Senior with three channels is for my money the best trainer--what many experienced flying dads would get for their son to break him in right.