Great Planes Big Stik .60 ARF - OS 61AX or 65AX. You just can't go wrong with this airplane. You may get it as your second airplane, but it will quickly become your #1. $199.99 from Tower Hobbies, minus the discount puts it at $175. If you are a super saver member, then shipping will be free. The hardware in the kit is not premium quality, but it's plenty good enough for many years of hard flying! I built one in 2006 completely stock using the supplied hardware and never had a moments problem with any of it.

She's NOT a 3D machine, but she's very capable of doing all the basic aerobatic stuff. She flies well enough to take you through advanced aerobatics and is still very capable of winning novice class pattern contests. You can use this plane to learn the finer points of things like flying through a roll rather than simply pushing the stick over and waiting for her to come around (although she's happy doing that as well if you want). What I'm trying to say is that she's a perfect all around airplane that has an extremely wide performance envelope. From solid aerobatics, to extremely slow and gentle touch and goes, the Big Stik .60 is a very clear winner. The fact that the model remains in production should speak volumes.