Very good read for a beginner who might find his or her way here before attempting to take to the skies. In my experience a good local club is essential. A lot of experienced flyers who will recommend the best in the way of trainer aircraft and the like, with flight instruction too. Here was my set up way back in 1994:
Sig Cadet .40 trainer
Enya .40 engine
Futaba SkySport 4 channel radio
All still available today. I think the Futaba 2.4 GHz 4 channel system is under 100 bucks!
I had attempted to "go it alone" previous to this with a mail order Cox .049 2 channel arrangement. I can`t remember the name of the airplane. Very soon just had a lot of smashed plastic and Styrofoam. I still have the .049,though. Anyone remember those? First time I`d seen a "muffled' Cox engine. Very quiet.