i bought a cheap electric 2 ch. and flew on my own. and with not much success. eventually i found an instuctor and bought me a glow plane and learned to fly. if $$$ and availability of an instructor is a big issue. i would at least go for a 3ch. plane. that will give you the best learning curve. 2 channel planes really dont teach you all that much. and you may wish to check on some flight sims to help you learn. also 2 and 3 ch. plane useually fly on 27 megahurts. so if you do convert into glow planes you will have to buy another rtf with a new transmitter wich runs on 72 megahurtz.