Spaceclam

I have gone through several planes, (not into the ground but by experiance) and have picked out one plane in particular. the great planes easy sport .40. It has a lot of perks, here are some of the most prominant. #1. The color scheme is very different, top and bottom, colorwise AND pattern wise so you always know which way it is facing. #2 It can be either a tail dragger, or a tricycle gear. for a second plane, I would recomend tricycle first. Later, when you get good and want to experiance a tail dragger, it is not at all difficcult to convert. #3 It has large control surfaces considering it is mid-wing. For a second plane, i would recomend a mid-wing as opposed to a low wing for several reasons. One prominant reason is the fact that it will be an incredible shock to you how much less stable low wings are compared to a trainer, and second, if you have a rough landing, (seemingly more common for those newer to the sport) low wings get their wing tips scratched and chipped easier. The easy sport is far more capable than a trainer, in fact, i have even done torque rolls in it! Yet it still maintains a low stall speed, does not buffet at stall, does not roll to the side at stall like some low-wing planes do, and lastly, glides fairly well. It also has very little dihedral, (around two degrees unlike ten for some trainers) and therefore does not require pressure from the sticks to keep it in the desired attutude. and lastly, but not leastly, it's rolls are not as lopsided as a trainers tend to be, and requires very little down elevator pressure to fly upside down and is capable of knife edges.
good luck