I actually bought the Aerobird Challenger as my very first plane and I struggled to learn how to fly it. I ended up running into an AMA club and I learned to fly on 4-channel glow trainers instead (Avistar and Nexstar). After I learned how to fly the glow trainers, I went back to my Aerobird and found I could fly the Aerobird better as well.

I found the Aerobird's stick body and v-tail with fishing line control system to be difficult to keep trimmed out. It was fun to fly when it behaved, but it never behaved for very long.

Hobbyzone/Parkzone just came out with the Hobbyzone Super Cub RTF package with ACT. It's a teach-yourself-to-fly "zone 1" plane with a real elevator and rudder. I have to believe this would be easier to learn on than the Aerobird's v-tail.

Speaking as an experienced pilot who owns an aerobird challenger, skip the challenger and give the super cub a try instead:

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HBZ7100