Ditto on the female hormone thing... (or as I like to say, "She's suffering from Estrogen Poisoning!")

All of the brands listed earlier are fine. One of the main things you want to consider right now is this: How many people are available to train you? How often are they at the field? What brand do they use?

What I'm getting at is this, when you learn to fly, we have a training aid called a "Buddy Box". This, in most cases, is just a cord that plugs into your transmitter, and attaches it to another transmitter (IE, your instructors transmitter). Now, your instructor flies the plane using YOUR transmitter. When the time is right, he flips a switch, and YOU are flying the plane with HIS transmitter. If (when) you get in trouble, he simply lets go of the switch, and he's in control again. But, your two transmitters need to be compatable with each other.

Now I believe that some brands may be compatable with others, but why take a chance? So if there are 10 guys with Futaba and 2 with JR, I would get a Futaba, but if the two guys with JR are the only 2 that are there on a regular basis, then I'd get a JR.

Get my drift?

Next... When buying a radio, make sure that it comes with the "Buddy Box" (aka trainer cord) feature!