RE: 2 Channel plane or Sim the best first step?
I'll rock the boat and say go 2 or 3 channel hobbyzone plane. I've found w/ a few hours time on a sim you can "fly" any plane on the package - that has been my experience w/ the hangar 9 software and fms. Nothing really quite adds up to the spatial/speed adjustmens of having a plane in the air out in the open.