If you want to teach yourself I recommend starting with a simulator, then moving on to a 3 channel park flyer. Something like a Lite Stik, the simulator will teach you stick control and then you can learn actually flying with a park flyer. They fly slow enough to be forgiving and generally dont do too much damage when they crash. When you master your slow flyer you can move on to a more agile aircraft like a Zagi, which are virtually indestructable, and once you have mastered that you can move on to nitro planes. If you can, get out to the club though and find an instructor. It wont take very long before you will be able to fly them yourself, maybe 4 or 5 days.