My recommendation... if you KNOW you plan on going Heli, Fixed wing glow power and sailplanes.....

Start with the Sailplane and an inexpensive 4-channel system. The sailplane s the easiest to learn to fly. The 4 channel radio's RX and servos will be useable a a "fight pack) with your computer radio when you get it later. (you'll end up needing 3 airborne systems because you won't want to be swapping the radio from model to model all the time) A flight pack costs about the same as the 4-channel system... so you basicly get a free charger and TX this way.

Next go to the glow power fixed wing models. A bit harder to fly due to the higher speed. Buy a 2nd 4 channel system for this. (you don't need any computer mixing yet.)

After you have been flying the gliders and fixed wing glw models a while... get the computer radio. (you'll probably have 3 or 4 models redy to fly at any given time by this point...)

Then go to the helis.

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As to the simulators... ANY flight sim is better than no flight sim.

RF G2 is the most realistic I have seen that is intended for RC model simulation.

You can use Microsoft Flight Simulator from Tower view. The "FMS" (Flying Model Simulator ... free download) adapter for plugging a transmitter in as a joystick will work with Microsoft Flight Sim. There are litterally thousands of aircraft "profiles" for free download. There WILL be something that closely apprximates how your model flies. MS FS is poor for learning to hover a model heli however (takes forever to learn to take off because there is no automatic gyro stabilization.). Its great for practicing to fly fixed wing models.