Welcome to the hobby. I hope you'll find that building is just as enjoyable as flying. You've picked a great first kit in the PT-40. It was my first as well when I started in R/C at age 52. Read through the entire manual before you start. Great Planes walks you right through the process and offers some invaluable tips/hints along the way. Building is not hard. It just requires patience and attention to detail. You may make a mistake or two. Just remember that anything can be fixed. And the way to measure your building progress is that the next kit will be better than the last. Don't be afraid to ask questions!!!!!
Covering is what you make of it. It takes some time to become proficient but once you do, it's actually enjoyable seeing what you can create. Everyone has a favorite covering and, like others, I'm not thrilled with Monokote but you can get some good results. I prefer the fabric coverings like 21st Century fabric and Solartex. These are much easier to work with BUT give a different type of finish. Monokote and Ultracote give you a shiny, painted aluminum type finish that's easy to clean. The fabrics look better on old-timers and WWI type planes. My advice would be whatever finish/material you choose, practise on some scrap material before you tackle your actual 'masterpiece'. For example, play with a solid piece of balsa to get used to application temperatures and how to handle a solid wood surface. You will learn how to stretch the material before sealing and how to keep from getting bubbles. Then build yourself a little open structure like a balsa stick square with some cross members and practice working on this 'open' structure, first sealing the edges and then finally shrinking it tight. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS on the covering material. There are 100 tips and shortcuts but learn the ropes first.
Take your time. Enjoy! The folks on here can help if you have any questions. And remember, sandpaper is your friend!!!
Best of luck.