for starting some one in rc and since you already do helicoptors (nitro i assume), i would recommend a nitro to start with. as long as your son can be very carefull when playing with it (wont burn himself while supervised) you can just adjust the throttle so it will only go to 30% or what ever you feel he can handle. the benefit to it is that you wont have to buy a whole lot to support it. you have the glow and fuel stuff you wont need to stack up on batteries. just my .02.