Check out Matt Kirsch's forum on good first planes.

I'd highly recommend the first one on the list. I bought my kid brother (26) a Hitec Laser 4 radio, a Slow Stick, and a flight pack. He built the Slow Stick in an afternoon and the next day I trained him on a buddy box. It just seems the Slow Stick is hard to go wrong with.

He now has a Zagi XS on order. I learned a lot about flying from its predecessor, the Zagi 400X.