I hate to say what everyone has already said, but this is advice you should not stray from. Determine what your support group is using and select among this brand. And if you can afford it get the 9 channel, else the 7 channel will do just fine. 7 channels is going to give you retracts, flaps, and a smoke system or bomb drop. C'mon, what else do you really need?

Some people are going to tell you this or that brand feels like a toy -- guess what? They are toys!! Who cares? Ultimately you want something reliable and easy to use. Any of the top brands will deliver. I wouldn't worry too much about PCM really.

Just for the record I have the 9CHP and it is my only radio. Never had a problem learning to program it by myself. Everything about the radio is intuitive.