I am now and have been an instructor pilot for many years, more years than I care to remember. I am however self taught, some 30 plus years ago and I can tell you with complete honesty, join a club and get an instructor to work with you. You may want to find a club prior to buying your radio, so that you can buy a brand of radio that will work with the instructor for the buddy box system. This will also allow you to get a feel of what the club is all about as well as the members. The club that I am a member of has a club plane that we allow prospective RC flyers to take a flight on with a buddy box to get a feel for what RC is really all about. Maybe your local club has a program like this as well. Good Luck, Dave