If you've been building race cars, you already have all the basic skills and knowledge to build model airplanes successfully. Attention to detail, getting things straight/aligned, mechanical design, strength of materials, metallurgy, various failure modes, etc all apply here. You also understand that a light touch and restraint is required in flying them just as in driving a race car.

There's several clubs and a couple of pretty well stocked hobby shops in the Orlando area. Graves R/C, just north of the intersection of Lee Rd and Orange Blossom is pretty well equipped.

There's also a free flight club that operates off a large 1,200 acre field near Palm Bay just off I95. You might want to check that out too. Free flight power models are a bit more of an elegant mechanical and materials engineering exercise than most R/C planes. Without a computerized radio to use as a crutch/bandiad for poor setups, FF planes need to be done "right" regarding aerodynamics and trim. There's no cheating with FF.