I think the first plane should be built from a kit. The big disadvantage of buying an ARF as your first plane is that you don't gain the experience of seeing the plane go together and you don't know whats under the covering. You wouldn't have a clue as to how to repair the plane it if it hits say a fence post! Trainer planes have very good precut parts and step by step instructions as to how to build the plane. Just check off the numbered sequence as you go along and after a while the plane is finished and ready to fly! 2nd type planes assume that you learned some basic steps when you built your trainer so the instructions won't have as many details, if any. ie. for one step it might say, "assemble the fuel tank and install it in the fuselage" or it may say "next install the servo tray and mount the servos". < not much information if you don't know what a servo tray is or where it should be glued into place! Winters are for building, the rest of the year is for flying![8D]