This is is a very decieving statement. Yes, with a heli, to take off, transition to forward flight, circle the field, trasition to hover and land is definately harder than flying a plane. However with a helicopter you have the choice of learning those things in very small increments. You learn to hover first. You do that several inches off the ground, nose-out, with the heli wearing training gear. You do that for a week or two and then move on to the next step.

With a R/C plane, if you are learning by yourself, your first flight will require a take off, nose-in and nose-out flight and landing. Mix this in with the fact that this will be done on a plane that has never flown before (i.e. needs trimming, might have bad habits because of less than ideal CG, etc) and you are asking a lot more of a first time plane pilot than a first time heli pilot.

Even with an instructor, most people recommend a trainer. Without an instructor, a first time pilot flying a brand new, never flown before extra 300 is a recipe for disaster.

Save yourself the headache. Practice on a simulator. Buy an O.S. .46FX, futaba 4 channel, and a trainer. After a little while you can pull the engine and radio from the trainer and fly whatever you want. With most trainer ARFs being around $100 or less, it's no big deal and will save you money and headaches in the long run.