As a brand new pilot, I can attest to the Tower Trainer 60, 69.5", .60 engine as being a pretty remarkable plane. (although I DID manage to crash it the first time I got any stick time [:@] - but that was partially my fault and partially the instructor with the "buddy box", he did let me get it going a little too fast, a little too low, and WAY too close to the trees at the end of the field.... it all added up to a plane resting comfortably in the top of a 50' pine tree [:@] [:@] [:@] )

BUT before I choked, he was running it through it's paces and that plane was SO amazingly stable that after he trimmed it out (which only took a second or two) he was LITERALLY flying it perfectly level and straight WITH NO HANDS ON THE STICKS!!! That's pretty darned cool and when they advertise it as "stable" they aren't just whistling dixie! And when I DID crash it, the only thing that was really damaged was that it sheared the elevator off. Other than that it was in excellent condition! That says alot about durability to me (and while he was testing it, he pulled off some pretty impressive acrobatics with it as well - alot more than I would have thought possible with a "basic" trainer! so when I get some experience and become a better pilot, I know this plane will let me do some pretty nifty stunts)

And flyX is right, the FMS trainer program is a really neat program to learn with -> not to mention the fact that it's FREE ! I found a place that had a Tx to USB cable to allow me to use my Futaba Tx with the program for $8. I'm spending ALOT of time on FMS before I grab the sticks on the "real" plane again! It's already helped me out just in terms of how the planes react when the wing attitudes are at different pitches. No "simulator" is a perfect substitute for real experience, but why spend $100 on software that is basically the same as FREE software? Right now, I'm not even using my Futaba Tx - I'm using a $10 Thrustmaster Firestorm Analog 2 PC game controller pad with dual thumbsticks (at least until the Futaba USB cable arrives). It works great and I feel like I've already learned alot in just a few days.