I'm going to go against the grain here and say that the 40LA and Avistar is a good combo simply because it forces a beginner to learn how to fly a plane on it's wings. You can't simply whack the trottle and power out of sticky situations you'll really have to learn how to fly. Should make the student a more proficient flier...

Many students today put big 46 on the front of their 40 sized trainers. If they get into trouble they whack the throttle and just power out. Lift from a trainers big wings is extremely high so deadsticks are uneventful. But when they get to their 2nd-3rd plane and it deadsticks all hell breaks loose since it doesn't have nearly as much lift as a trainer and they never really learned how to fly a plane on it's wings...

When a new pilot gets into trouble, it's usually the guy letting go of the trainer switch that needs the power to be there.
Dennis (Red Bluff,ca)
Real airplanes have 2 wings and round motors............

As a trainer you shouldn't let it get that far.

Gotta be quick , but I like to give the trainee a chance to straighten it out him or herself. Hav'nt lost a plane yet. I got pretty quick thumbs. Happy flying..............
Dennis (Red Bluff,ca)

Real airplanes have 2 wings and round motors.............

My experience with the 40LA (115 flights) is that it is a good starting engine and very reliable. It will not produce a lot of power after a lot of use. Short grass and hard surfaces are no problem for this engine/plane combination.

a good combination.... Want more power? Go for the OS 46FX! It'lll fly the plane at half throttle...... power to spare. Want realism? Go for the OS 52 four stroke or a Saito 56 four stroke. Either will do the job nicely.

As far as covering your plane..... it's fairly easy to do, but I'll agree.... you have to do it yourself. Got a question? Ask somebody. One thing you'll find, if you haven't found it out already, is that everybody helps or has a suggestion.

I hope you enjoy your Avistar as much as I enjoyed flying mine.

Best regards,
Mike