RE: 2 Channel plane or Sim the best first step?
I faced this same decision today, I went with Hobby Zone's Firebird Freedom
it's a 3 channel, it's ugly as sin, and it couldn't be any easier to fly, plus with the V tail you get a lot more flexibility than your standard 3 channel setup IMHO, plus at $179.99 CAD the price is right, check it out.
edit: note it's cheaper than even G2 software and you get "real" flying experience.
....but I still kinda want G3 [:-]