Led, keep flying the sim. It will pay great dividends once you get the Eagle in the air. You will get the hang of it. I know people who have flown a real plane the first time with complete success after mastering the sim. I wish they had these when I started flying. With enough time on the sim and a little time with a instructor you will be fine. The 6xea is an excellent radio that will last you for years. It's the radio I use. Hang in there and welcome back! Look on Ebay for the 6xea radio. I got mine brand new w/ servos, RX, batteries the whole shabang for $91.00 including shipping. It took me several tries and I used a bid sniper ( bidnapper). These radio systems come up frequently on ebay.

By the way my first plane was a Golberg Eaglet w\ a Enya .019. Three channel, I flew and crashed the crap out of it!

Rrragman