I started out with an Avistar and had the same questions a while back.

With a lot of help from RealFlight I moved up to the GP Extra 300S ARF. Mine flies very stable, no tendency to tip stall, and is great for acrobatics. It has over 100 flights and is still flying great.

I've also got a Sig Somethin Extra ... This would be a great second plane. It slows down much more than the Avistar and is very easy to land. You can set up the controls very mild and have an easy plane to fly. As you get more comfortable set the controls with more throw and it will do most any trick in the book. Mine flies great on an OS 46 FX.

Best of luck choosing your next plane.

Carl