Cadet,
I agree with you 100 percent. And you said the first thing I usually say to anyone wanting to learn to fly. That is, talk to an instructor and see what they recommend.
Plato,
There have been a lot of good suggestions made. And all are excellent kits. However, they may not be right for you.
Let me explain. When you say you want a kit to build, are you wanting to build from an actual kit, or just build an ARF? Also, what is your building experience? Do you have someone who can help you build the kit? The reason I ask, is someone came to the field recently with a kit built Mark II It looked very nicely done. On the first flight there were problems, and it was real bear for the instructor to bring it down in one piece. On further examination it was found the wings were warped, and the vert stab was not quite on center. The plane was fixed, but needed a lot of aileron and rudder trim to make it fly.
Are there any hobby shops in your area? Where to plan on flying the plane? Is there a club field nearby? If so, have you dropped by and talked with them?
To give you an idea on the planes, there were 2 new pilots at our field this past week. One had the Mark II, the other the Avistar. The one with the Avisar has already soloed, and using his trainer now to learn basic aerobatics. Not pretty, but he is having fun. The other should solo within the week. So both planes are good for beginners, but you have to have a good instructor to make sure you are able to have 2 flights
Also, are you interested in nitro, gas or electric? Large or small?
From your profile I can tell you are into R/C racing. I am currently teaching a friend of mine to fly who used to race R/C cars. I am using a World Models Super Frontier with a OS46FX on it. I can slow this plane down to a crawl for him to fly. But, when I want to, I can unload it, and it's hard to tell its a trainer
Sine he is used to turning cars, he only has to learn the ups and downs (sorry)
But do find an instructor and talk with him. You might be able to save some money.
Randy