Papa, here's another great reason to find the club you'll fly at prior to purchasing anything. Most clubs keep a listing of the channel numbers their members use, along with channels known to have interference problems at their site. They can suggest a channel that has fewer people using it, so that you can get more flying time and fewer frequency conflicts.

Crashes happen. If you're careful and catious, they don't happen as often. There aren't any guarantees, and anyone who suggests that there isn't experienced enough in the hobby to say that.

When you're first learning, your experience level is low enough that you're going to make mistakes more often. Your instructor can help correct those before you damage your plane. Eventually you'll fly without an instructor, and the training you've received will help you avoid those mistakes.

That said, accidents can and do happen. It is part of the hobby. I've crashed planes because of misjudging distances, the lack of a thorough preflight, thinking I was more skilled than I am, showing off (those are embarassing), mechanical failure, loss of orientation, and a probably a few other things I can't think of. That said, I've only had two models that were total write-offs. Each time I've learned or re-learned something, and I try not to make the same mistake twice.

You don't have the money for more than one plane, so you'd best make sure the one you get lasts a while. Getting proper instruction at a club is a huge part of that.