jester_s1

I can make this really simple for you. Get an Ugly Stick. It doesn't really matter which manufacturer. If it's a glow powered one, it's easy to convert it to electric by bolting the motor to the firewall or building a box mount and then building a place for the battery to sit where the fuel tank should go. Ugly Sticks can fly as slow as a trainer, are just as forgiving in stalls, are much better in the wind, and are the easiest plane there is to takeoff and land. But they don't have the self-righting characteristics that trainers do so they are good for learning to actually pilot the plane and are good to learn beginner aerobatics with. If you look around at some of the more experienced pilots you may know, quite a few still fly an Ugly Stick sometimes even though they may have serious IMAC or scale planes that they fly also just because Sticks fly so well. There is also the added benefit that Sticks are tolerant of a wide range of setups. So you can go a tad nose heavy with mild throws to make it handle like a trainer, then move the CG back closer to neutral and turn the throws up as hot as you want to do aerobatics or just bore holes in the sky. With the right engine, they will even do mild 3D.

As for manufacturers in general, look at the ones carried by the reputable vendors. Hangar 9, Top Flite, Great Planes, Hobbico, and Parkzone (for small electrics) all make solid products as do a few others. The ones to avoid are the cut rate ARFs sold by the low end retailers like Nitroplanes, Banana Hobbies, and the ARFs by HobbyKing. On those low end brands, the planes themselves are usually ok but the hardware and covering is not as good. Once you've fixed and replaced the stuff that isn't going to work, you'll have spent as much as the good ARF anyway.