1st: Should I be looking for a 40 or 60 sized plane, and what are the advantages of one over the other?
For training, larger is better. The novice can see the plane better, and a larger plane will usually be more stable in windy conditions. The movements of the plane may be slower and smoother, too.
2nd: I have a pickup with a 5 1/2 ft. bed, which will possibly limit me on the wingspan of whatever I buy.
Most trainers have one-piece wings for sturdiness and ease of building. You can modify a kit to be two piece, but I wouldn't recommend this for a novice builder. If your truck has a sliding back window, you can stick part of the wing through that, or, as someone else suggested, lay it diagnonally in the bed.
3rd: I'd prefer a plane that uses wing bolts, unless they really aren't recommended for beginners.
I understand your feelings about rubber bands. However, for the novice, they're definitely the best way to go. If you catch a wingtip or cartwheel with a bolt-on wing, you'll likely tear the fuselage sides out. The rubber bands let the wing move upon impact and you usually end up with little damage. Let me say a few words about rubber bands. Use one band per side for every pound of plane weight, then use one band on each side criss-crossed. This sorta locks the other bands into place. Do NOT reuse rubber bands from day to day. Sunlight and glow fuel are MAJOR enemies of bands, and they will quickly stretch and become unusable. The old trick of keeping them in a jar of cornstarch just doesn't work that well. They're cheap and replacing them daily is cheap insurance. Since I mentioned cost - a rubber band is a rubber band is a rubber band. Any time a manufacturer marks something "for hobby use" the price skyrockets. Go to Office Depot and pick up a big bulk bag of bands for your size plane. This will usually be #64s for .40-.60 size trainers.
4th: As for the engine, I'll buy whatever size is recommended for whatever size plane I get.
That old K&B should run fine, but probably won't have much power. One caveat I will give you on engine selection: get the largest engine recommended for your kit. If it's a .40-.60 range, get the .60. Power is your friend and will get you out of many bad situations. If the plane is too fast, you can throttle down or change props. Remember, if using a 4 stroke engine go up about one size. For example, if your kit recommends .40-.60 two stroke, go to a .90 4 stroke. They don't develop quite the power the two strokes do.
5th: I do have a NIB Saito FA62a that I bought along with a Pulse XT 40 ARF.
The Saito is a good engine. It will do well in a .40 size Cub or similar trainer-type. A high wing plane is inherently more stable and I definitely recommend it for a novice. Lots of dihedral will make the plane stable and help by making it sort of self-recovering. That is, it will want to fly straight and level. Don't rely on the design of the plane to fly itself. You will actually need to make some control inputs yourself. <grin> On the two stroke-four stroke debate, two strokes generally make more power per cu.in., and are usually easier to set up and keep running right. The novice wants as few complications and distractions as they can get.
You're doing the right thing by asking questions before jumping in. There is a lot of experience on this board. I've been in R.C over 30 years, and I'll be glad to tell you anything I know. On that point, I won't give advice that I haven't either done or seen done successfully. If you have a long or complicated question, you can also reach me at
[email protected].
Good luck and keep us posted.