The plane you saw sounds like a Zagi to me, especially considering you saw it flying in a park.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=++&search3=Go

Its usually a bad idea to fly a nitro powered plane in public parks, because of their larger size, weight, speed. This makes them more dangerous to fly in parks where there may be spectators. This is why nitro powered planes are recommended to be flown at flying clubs/flying fields like the one Mike pointed out. However, smaller electric plans like the Zagi are pretty well suited to be flown in parks, though the pilot still has to be very careful.

"Oops" landings are usually not very forgiving, even with a "mild" 45 degrees of impact, depending on the plane. But the .40 size glow trainer that we are talking about here will most likely sustain damage that you cannot simply "pick it up and fly again". And it is not recommended that you try to teach yourself how to fly either. The club/flying field you join should be able to get you in touch with isntructors for free training. The truck experience wont help very much, with the exception that you are most likely already comfortable controlling a truck that is driving towards you, and therefore the controls are reversed. This is a usually a major hurdle when learning to fly planes, but you probably already have it down with the truck driving experience. Still, you should get join a club and get an instructor. If you already have the "backwards controls" down, you may not need instruction very long! [sm=shades_smile.gif]

Hope this helps, and hope that you successfully get into flying![sm=thumbup.gif]