First, welcome to RCU. It's a great place and you'll get really good advice.

I would highly recommend that you find a local club field and pay them a visit. Unfortunately, the winter months are approaching in your (our) area, and flying can be limited. It can also be pretty uncomfortable in the cold and snow.

With the above recommendation comes finding an instructor. Virtually every club out there offers free instruction on a "buddy box" which will likely save your plane and a lot of cash. The buddy box is essentially a cable that connects the instructor's transmitter to your's, and by flipping or releasing a spring loaded switch, transfers control from the transmitter you're holding to the instructor's.

Finding an instructor will allow you to choose radio equipment that is compatible with the majority of those used at the field, and help you in deciding which airplane (trainer) and engine combo will best suit your needs.

Virtually every trainer out there today flys equally well, and all of the top brand radio equipment is very good. People who recommend specific brands usually recommend what they use, a pretty good indication that things are equal.

When it comes to engines it's a slightly different story, as everyone will recommend something different. Here's the general consensus based on what I've read here and personal experience.

For typical 40 size trainers, go with a 46 size engine. OS 46AX is very good, but at the very high end of cost. The Thunder Tiger 46 PRO is also quite good, and priced quite a bit lower. The Evolution (Evo) 46 is also a good engine and priced competitively.

You can pretty easily swap out a receiver to a second plane, but the engine and servos take a lot of adjustment and fiddling, so if you can afford to, buy new ones. It's very likely that your trainer will survive learning if using an instructor, and it's nice to have two planes flyable.

Rich means a higher fuel to air ratio going into the engine, lean means higher air to fuel. A rich engine will run cooler, if set too lean you can "burn up" an engine pretty quickly. However, certain engines (ABC or ABN) will also wear out quickly if set too rich. An instructor can teach you in one sitting much more easily than we can describe the difference, because it's 90% "hearing" the difference between rich and lean.

Most clubs in the US require AMA in order to join or fly because an AMA membership includes liability insurance in case you hit someone or something with your plane. You are not too young to join, and the annual cost is $58, which includes a farily decent magazine. Some don't like it, I do.

$400 will buy the plane, engine and radio, along with a little of the required field equipment if you shop carefully. You will need fuel ($10 to $20 per gallon, buy 10% nitro content), a glow ignitor and charger (buy the one with the self contained battery), a manual fuel pump (see starter a little later), extra fuel tubing (at least 3 feet), fuel can "fittings", a couple extra props, and I would highly recommend a 12 volt starter. If you buy the type that has a self contained 12 volt battery, you won't need a "panel" for your flight box.

All this should be obtainable at just about $400, but there's still that AMA membership and local club dues to consider.

Another option would be to ask at that local club. You can often buy a good used trainer, with engine and radio, in the $200 range, a $100 to $150 savings.

Try the AMA website and look for their "Club Locater" page. You can plug in your state or Zip Code and find clubs near by.

Hope this bit of info helps you to get a better handle on things.
Dennis-