Don't be fooled by the seemingly inexpensive nature of the foam part of a "foamie." The motor, electronic speed controller, battery, servos, and receiver are all just like a larger plane, except smaller and lighter. A person can easily spend over $300 on "foamie" electronics alone.

Most foamies will require a 4 channel receiver, some a 5 channel receiver (two aileron servos, ESC, elevator and rudder).

If you go to RC Groups dot com you can see a whole lot of great info about electrics.