Forget the "no guts, no glory" approach. A low wing, nitro plane is going to be much faster and much more agile than a foamy trainer. You probably should not attempt to fly them alone unless you could care less when they crash on the first flight. Having a more experienced pilot with you on a buddy box would be the way to go.

You need to ensure that batteries in the plane and transmitters are still good (charge/discharge several times to make sure they are still holding at least 80% of their rated capacity. If not, replace them. Also, if you switch to a 2.4 GHz transmitter, be aware that you will have to replace the receivers that are in the plane with ones that are compatible with the new transmitter.

And if you're not a nitro guy, it may make more sense to try and sell it all and buy an electric foamy set up your more comfortable with.