QF306 -

In regards to all your questions, yup, the Mentor will do and take all of those with ease. Of course, all within reason as there is no crash resistant aircraft that I know of out there
As for confidence and skill level, with a few tandem flights and some good 'ol knowledge from the experienced you'll not only gain a lot of confidence flying - like ChuckW said, you'll have an aircraft that will grow with you for years!

Fly On QF306! And I'll be looking for that review.