For planes the 7c is all the radio most of us will ever need. It has all of the programmable functions that you will want and still be a bit cheaper to purchase. If you are interested in helis in the future, the 9c might be the way to go. I fly a heli with a 7c and it works fine, but I recently purchased a 9c for all of the additional programming functions it offers. I would definitely recommend spending the extra bucks for the 9c if helis are in your near future, but for planes the 7c is all you need.