ORIGINAL: IBrakeForNobody
Some advice that I think is excellent is what Piper_Chuck said in a post about 6 months ago if I remember, and that was to buy a low cost ARF trainer (such as the [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCAS2&P=0]Tower Hobbies Tower Trainer ARF[/link]) and a good engine and radio right in the beginning. You will gain the experience by mounting and aligning everything, and have a better engine and radio to put in a new plane once your trainer hangs from the ceiling as a trophy of your sucess. (Okay, the last part was mine). The reason for a low cost ARF trainer is so you can save the money toward a bigger and better plane once you outgrow the trainer.