ORIGINAL: shd3920
ORIGINAL: carrellh
Most of the things that make a plane ''beautiful'' are the things that make them NOT trainers.
I think the best thing to do is get a trainer that looks and flies like a trainer and learn to fly it.
Once you can fly, and know what you want next; if you really cannot stand to look at the trainer any more, sell it or give it away, and get the ''beautiful'' plane.
DITTO. You are going to ding it up learning to fly. Do you really want to damage a ''beautiful'' plane?
I learned on the Sig LT-40 (kit-built). Never crashed it or even had a hard landing. The only "dings" it suffered were from transporting it through a doorway. I did wind up beefing up the landing gear and made it a bit longer. A .46 engine with an 11" prop leaves a minimal ground clearance, inviting prop strikes on the runway.