A lot of great advice here. As a beginner myself I can honestly say that the advice about a simulator isspot on.I bought an airplane about 2 months ago, but didn't fly it until I had quite a few hours on my Real Flight 6 simulator, about 60 or so hours. The airplane I bought is a Hobbyzone Firebird Stratos; this is a fantastic plane to learn on. So far, in the month or so that I have been flying it, I have only had one non serious crash, and that was on the maiden flight. Since then I have taken her up 20 times or more with no crashes and have made great landings using the tricycle landing gear. I also bought a Hobbyzone Champ to fly and that has been a great training aide too. I have had absolutely no crashes with the Champ and she still looks brand new after 20+ flights as well. Really though, I attribute my success to the planes I bought and especially the simulator. One benefit of flying RC planes is that since I started I have made many new friends, a lot of them seasoned pilots with a minimum of10+ years flying RC. They too have taught mea lot. I'm learning that in this hobby, age makes no difference.