There's no magic to building planes. I wouldn't know how to build an R/C car but I know there's no magic to it either. I wouldn't recommend the 182 because it's hard kit to build or requires any special skills. But because as a first kit it probably won't turn out as good as you would like it to. I have a few plans that I'm putting off till I develop the building and flying skills to match what I would like the planes to be.

My vote's for the 4* it's a straight forward, forgiving, build and it's fun to fly. No matter what your flying skills. Plus, you can modify it a zillion different ways to learn more and make it more interesting.

Don't build something just to learn how to build that sounds to much like "home work"