I had an absolute blast teaching myself to fly RC with an .049 powered trainer with a 40 inch wingspan. If things got out of hand, I would cut the engine (which was was happened when you throttled down the little Cox) and spiral it right into the ground. Then I'd dust it off and fly again. I enjoyed that plane so much I scratch built a lighter one and flew it for years too. Caught thermals, did simple three channel aerobatics, let it run out of fuel when it was a speck in the sky and learned to do really precise dead stick landings. It looked more realistic in the air than most larger planes because it was flying slower in proportion to it's size. I'm amazed at how fast most trainers are being flown these days. It isn't always an enjoyable training experience for the beginner.

Then I decided I wanted to do touch and goes so I got a much bigger plane...a .15 powered Live Wire Champ, which was about the size of a modern .40 powered trainer...loved that plane and flew it for years. I've had much bigger, faster and more aerobatic planes since then, but I've never had more fun than I had with those lightweight trainers.

To each his own. So try some things and decide for yourself what you like best.

Jim