IceJBreaker,

finding a "good" first plane is not all that easy .. allot of people say the slowstick... its a fine plane if you live in an area where there is "no" wind.. (but ive yet to find that place) however you actually end up finding out how fragile the slowstick is on your first wind induced crash. once you get some experience with it it becomes easy to fly and not crash but ends up costing you a bit in repairs, parts and frustration before you get to that level..
What you need something that can handle repeated crashes and survive with little or no damage. Now there arn't too many of those type of planes out there .. many say they are but few live up to the claim.
the only plane ive ever seen that even comes close to this is the Magpie from [link=http://www.mountainmodels.com]Mountain Models[/link] about the only way ive seen to really do in the Magpie is to run over it with your car .. anything less than that is usually repairable... only drawback to the magpie is you have to assemble it. even though its not overly complex, it can be a bit more than some people want for there first plane. other nice thing about the magpie is you can grow with it or i should say " it can grow with you" you can get it with a Slow flyer wing to start with then once you have mastered it in that form you can install the sport wing with ailerons and have a entire new plane ( it can be ordered with both wings )
the recommended motor and prop and electronics are more than adequate for it ( unlike some of the beginner RTF's ive flown that can barely get into the air let alone have enough power to do even a simple loop ) the Magpie can do loops, etc. at half throttle with ease with the stock GWS350C motor and 9x7 GWS prop.

so in conclusion i would say if you don't mind getting a bit of CA glue on your fingers and spending a few evenings assembling a plane seriously look into getting a Magpie.

PX