DD, you are getting some great advice in my opinion. I have a couple of things to add...contact the club before you buy a radio and see what brand the majority of the members are using. The major brands - Futaba, Hitec, etc - are all excellent, and you'd have a hard time going wrong with any of them, but if you get what the folks who will be teaching you are used to, they should be able to assist you better. Also, see if the club has a trainer and make your first few flights on it while building the sport wing for your own plane. That way the first few are the most forgiving, and when you move to your airplane you'll be a lot smoother on the sticks and should be able to handle the more responsive, less forgiving wing.