ORIGINAL: Leo L

Starting with a 4-channel plane is not a good idea. When you are first learning how to fly, there are so many things happening at the same time, that require your instant input, it becomes very easy to get confused, which typically leads to a crashed plane. What you want to do is minimize the number of decissions that you need to make, while maximizing the amount of time that you have available to you for making those decissions. Consider when you try driving a car for the first time: is it easier to learn by driving an automatic in an empty parking lot or by driving a 4 speed on a hairpin mountain road?

For this reason, the Slow-Stick or Slow-V are the best choices for a beginner. They are both 3-channel planes and, quite frankly, are rather ugly. But they fly very slowly, as their name imlies, which gives the beginning flyer the most amount of time to figure out what control inputs are needed for every situation. They are both excellent planes: the Slow Stick is an ARF (almost ready to fly) and requires you to buy the transmitter and receiver seperately. The total cost will exceed your budget, but many people prefer to start with a good quality radio right away. The Slow-V is an RTF (ready to fly) which comes with everything you need in the box and will fall within your budget limitations. The only downside is that some people have compleined about the quality of the electronics and the fact that the frequency used is 27mhz, which can lead to interference from R/C toys that people might be using nearby. I have seven planes from HobbyZone/ParkZone, all on 27mhz, and have not had any problems with the quality of the electronics, nor with interference. I suppose that fact that I fly my planes early in the mornings, when most kids are still sleeping, has helped in this regard.

Whatever you decide upon, remember that as a beginner you must fly when there is NO WIND. Good louck and let us know what you select.