Hi! Saw your post and thought that I could respond.

First off.

Contrary to what most people are most likely telling you, your plane is not predestined to crash if you teach yourself.

I got into this hobby about a year and a half ago, and I am on my third plane (by choice, not by crash). I am doing quite well, and I taught myself most of it - without losing a plane.

I started with a Firebird XL. Well it does not have elevator - it has a V-Tail, it gave me a good feeling of what it is to fly. I took it up once a week, all last summer. I crashed it sure, but all the damage I made counted up to about $15.00, which, considering the price of the plane ($119.00) is not that bad. I like my Firebird, although it might be better to start with the Commander.

Remember, you are there to have fun. Don't let people discourage you, if you cannot get to a field, and an instructor, you still have a good chance to learn.

A word about instructing.

I had an instructor with my second plane (Kadet LT-40) and I liked having him. He did not teach me as much as he saved me the two or three times that I would have crashed.

If you can get an Instructor, do it. If you can't, well, just be careful, but NOT scared.

To your origanl question, I would get one of the firebird family; it will give you the feeling, it is hard to damage, easy to repair, you can fly in a big, small and medium size area, it can go slow, and fairly fast, if you push it.

Oh, and another thing, it glide FOREVER! The battery is only supposed to last about 15 minutes, and I have had 40 minute flights

And a tip: don't let it get to far away. I know with me, the temptation was to make BIG circles. Not so. It got away from me once, I let it get to far out, and it flew away, fortunently, it had my name and address on it, and I got a call, three days latter. Some guy had found it in his tree, TWO MILES from there. And, it was undamaged[8D]. That really impressed me, the undamaged part. Also, put something on the bottom of the wign, so you can see which side is up, and which is down.