Everybody wants a plane that is easy to learn on and will hold their interest in the long haul, but the two aspects seem to work aganst each other in most cases. It may, in fact, be cheaper in the long run to get 2 planes rather than one. If you have a lot of tme on the flight sim you can probably skip the 2 channel starter planes and go right to 3 channel. Four chanel might be pushing it - it is far more nerve wracking to see your real plane about to crash than an FS plane, and you may find that you panic and nose it in.

If you want a compromise, get a plane that will let you transfer some of the electronic components to a more advanced ARF plane - that would cut the cost of 2 planes significantly. Again, look at the T-Hawk.