Joe:

Middlesex.. well, that's a bit far for you to join one of our clubs down here in "Southern" Jersey.. but there are clubs up there.. here is at least one:

WEST JERSEY RADIO FLYERS
Flying Site Details
ROBERT BOTH
14 FOX HALL
MIDDLESEX NJ 08846
Phone: 732.424.9313

As both Gene (Gray Beard) and Minnreefer pointed out, many clubs have "club trainers" available to the new members. The AMA (Acacemy of Model Aeronautics) www.modelaircraft.org has a temporary membership for someone to get in, get their AMA card (this provides insurance and other benefits) and fly a club trainer for a limited time to see if it's right for them. I have one of our club trainers, in fact.

As for types of planes, well, I do fly electric, but prefer glow powered aircraft. I have not yet moved up to gasoline power yet, I just don't have the room to store something that big..

But, electric is a starting point, but not my favorite of choices. They don't have the staying punch of glow power, and if you don't have a bank of spare battery packs, well, you fly once for 8 to 10 minutes, then spend an hour or more charging the battery for a second flight. With glow, well, you fly, land, refuel, and get back up in the air in the time it takes to add fuel to the tank. And, electric trainers tend to be much smaller than glow powered trainers. I try to get folks to get larger size trainers, 46 - 60 size, just to get the advantage of visibility... the better you can see the plane, the better you will be able to see what your controls do.. even in flight.

I could go on about that point, but suffice to say that most will agree that bigger is better... to a limit, that is. And, most trainers are in that 46 - 60 size. The Tower trainer 40 that I pointed out earlier is one of those.. sufficient size and the cost of the ARF is really reasonable. I recommended the OS .46 AX engine because I happen to love OS engines, especially the AX line. But, there are others that are cost effective and will do the job just fine.

Radio costs, well, there are quite a few out there that are just fine and at a reasonable cost. For instance, you just don't need a 10 channel radio with all the bells and whistles when a good 6 channel computer radio will do just fine for a fraction of the cost. But, I would highly recommend that you stick with the big name brands.. better support and more wide-spread usage gives you a chance to ask questions of someone that owns one over one of the real inexpensive low-cost brands. Those big names are Airtronics, Spektrum/JR, Futaba, and Hitec. You just can't go wrong with any of these.

All this, of course, is food for thought for you to digest as your financial situation improves over time. And, I fully understand your situation as I am single and live alone (divorced and never even considered remarrying ). I'm having to much fun as it is!!

Anyway, no matter what you decide, don't be afraid to ask questions.. the old addage "the only stupid question is the one you don't ask" is certainly true in this hobby.

CGr.