Bigger flies better. You might take a look at the World Models Super Frontier Senior .46 ARF, Sig Kadet LT-40 ARF/Kit, Sig Kadet Senior ARF/Kit, Goldberg Protege .60 ARF, Thunder Tiger Pegasus .40 ARF, Thunder Tiger Tiger Trainer .60 ARF, VMar Apache III .40 ARF, H9 Alpha .60 ARF, Tower Hobbies Tower Trainer .60 ARF, or Hobbico Hobbistar .60 ARF.
This are all bigger birds with 68" or greater wingspans. The Hobbico Hobbistar, TT Pegasus, and Goldberg Protege have semi-symmetrical wing designs. You may find that the flying characteristics of a trainer airframe are more influenced by the amount of dihedral (v-shape) in the wing rather than whether the wing is flat-bottomed or almost flat-bottomed (semi-symmetrical).
These large trainers are easy to see and more stable the smaller versions of the same design. You might give trainers like the Goldberg Protege .60 ARF or the H9 Alpha .60 a second look as they are covered with Ultracote. It has been my experience that Ultracote is durable and doesn't sag or bubble due to temperature changes as much as other brands of covering.
The Nexstar ARF could also be worth considering, though its high dihedral and long wing chord (distance from leading edge to trailing edge) make the Nexstar a bit tougher to fly than some of the other trainers when it's windy out. Overall the Nexstar is a nice airframe, particularly when bought as an ARF rather than RTF package. The Nexstar is a wonderful trainer with which to learn how to land.
If forced to pick a single "best trainer" based on your comments so far, ThisDayWakes, I'd recommend the Goldberg Protege .60 ARF with an O.S. Max .55 AX 2-stroke engine. When paired with your DX7 radio system, this would be an outstanding trainer package that you could learn and grow with for quite some time.
MinnFlyer, one of the forum moderators, wrote a detailed review of exactly this engine and airframe combination:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=901
I think you'll find this a very appealing combination. The Protege .60 ARF has a flat-bottomed airfoil, but low dihedral and will be ready for a wide array of aerobatics once you've finished your basic flight training and want to move on to more challenges.