Is the spectrum radio that comes with the alpha 40 dsm a nice enough radio to use in other planes as well? Its a dx5e. I probably won't have a plane that needs more than 5 channels, so I thought if I train with this, then I will just need a reciever and servos for an arf plane.

I haven't seen this combo yet but if it is like their other stuff, the radio should work well for a low-wing, sport-type second plane.

That is a great radio for an RTF package. With the Avistar or Tower 40 RTFs, you get outdated 4 channel tx's that do the job but don't have any of the modern conviences such as digital trims etc. If I could do it over again, I'd get the alpha 40. Good luck!

There really isn't a lot of info about this radio out there. I'm sure its very scaled down as opposed to the other radios in it's family (DX6, DX7). However, even a 4 channel fm radio would do fine on a second or third plane, so this is definitely a bonus.

Personally, I just got an ARF instead of an RTF because a) I wanted to get to know the plane a little better, b) I was able to choose my own engine and radio. I opted for a 6 channel computer radio. It's not DSM, but people have been flying without DSM for a lot of years, so I see no reason for this radio to be 'outdated' any time soon. It should do me justice for years and planes to come.

You have good points. However, the fact is that for another 40-50 bucks, the more advanced tx is worth it, whether a lesser tx would do the job or not. The tx's you get with other RTFS are close to junk, despite doing the job. And yes, with the arf you do get to know planes better, but still, there are nevertheless places where you can mess up and have a plane that does not fly as well as it could. Not just that, but I think that first time pilots have enough to worry about, save constructing a plane in any way.