id suggest you carefully evaluate what he can handle especially attention wise. dont try to over saturate. Yes, some of our kids have grown up pretty fast in this computer age but they are still kids with developing motor skills /judgement. its possible a 40 size plane may be just too much for him. consider the safety issues as well. there has been some successful teaching of very young children but it takes time & tons of patience. expect two steps forward one (or two) back. the smaller electrics that fly well may be a place to start as well as the simulator. the Goldberg Electra or Hobby lobby Skimmer are excellent beginner types that fly well & would be easy to maintain/ no mess. nofuss over glow engines/ worry over teaching engine starting skills either.between flying sessions , have him build some simple trainer.that will also bring about some appreciation of the process by participation rather than an arf.