Throttle can be proportional - variable speed from full on to full off -, or an on/off toggle switch (don't even consider one of those).

More speed makes the plane climb because the lift on the wing increases with more speed. Less speed makes the plane descend because the lift is reduced. There is a sweet spot, generally referred to as cruising speed, where the plane will maintian a stable altitude and neither climb not descend. Exactly what throttle setting that is depends on a lot of things and will change for each airplane.

The Scout is not a very good flyer from what I have seen. It does have proprtional throttle, but it is pretty fast and does not climb well. It's probably worth the money, but I would suggest moving up to the Commander if you want to stay with Hobbyzone.

The best beginner planes are those with pusher type motors where the motor is behind the wing and is protected in a crash. There are several pretty good ones - just check out the threads.

If you are willing to do some building, then the Mountain Models Magpie is hard to beat. There is a video of one that I just build for my sons to fly here.....

http://www.novellahub.com/index.php?...ewtopic&t=1830