Ernie,

A lot of what a person needs in a trianer is determined by his age and physical abilities. If you were in your teens, you could probably learn in a few flights on anything. On the other hand, I have taught people in their 70s that took over a year to get past the trainer. Age, eyesight, reflexes and such have a lot to do with your learning ability of a physical process. It's all hand-eye coordination.

If you can say that you are reasonably good at video games, for example, of a sport like tennis, you'll probably be able to start with a fairly aerobatic plane.

At for planes to learn on that are aerobatic, any of the Sticks would be my choice. With dihedral, they are fairly trainer-like. With a flat wing, they are really aerobatic, except for some roll coupling. With anhedral, they fly like a low wing plane.