The Firebird Stratos has been discontinued. It was a decent beginner's plane and if you can get one at a good price it would still be a good choice. If you are going to be learning at a club with an instructor, your best bet would be to talk to the instructor about what he recommends. On the other hand, if you will be learning on your own, your best bet is to start with a good foam electric beginner plane. They are relatively inexpensive, are easy to fly and can be easily repaired to get you back in the air as quickly (and cheaply) as possible. Stay away from balsa and nitro until you are well experienced in flying.

Although there are a number of decent beginner planes from various manufacturers, make sure that you do a thorough search before buying. Unfortunately there are many unscrupulous manufacturers that claim their product is suited for beginners when it is not. They make the claim simply to sell more of their planes. The premier brand for beginners is HobbyZone from Horizon Hobby. Go to the Horizon Hobby site: http://www.horizonhobby.com/browse/p...c-outlet-47004 and check out their products. The SuperCub S (with SAFE) is probably the easiest plane to start with. If you have a large flying area available to you, the Apprentice S 15e is another great choice. If you have limited space, the Champ and Delta Ray cannot be beaten. If you like warbirds and are willing to wait until September, get the Corsair S. Although the HobbyZone planes cost more than their competition, they are incredibly well designed and built, can be flown right out of the box without needing a lot of tinkering, have parts available at most local hobby shops, and have the best customer support in the industry.