well... i love the EZ Star from multiplex. it's safe because it's a mid fuse pusher, all foam. it's easy to see. it's super easy to fly, almost next to nothing to assemble and pretty good looking. after you master it on 3 channels, many people have modified it to have ailerons, larger control surfaces, brushless motor... the list goes on. it's also a favorite for simple aerial photography using a digital camera. that means you can have some mod projects with your son. but of course, it's not an extra or a cap so you may find it too manageable.

i had a friend that came off G3 into his very first plane, a fiberglass 40 size p-47 with retracts. he did pretty good. so it's really hard to tell these days what kind of plane makes a good first plane. but at 8, i think the EZStar is not bad...