hey billz where do you fly at?? I live in the twin cities and fly at the saint paul r/c club
good to see other minnesota flyers on here!
as for a trainer to recommend id suggest something with around a 60" wingspan like the Sig Kadet, i think they make an electric version. do you want to build a kit or would you like a ARF (almost rdy to fly) or RTF (rdy to fly)? all of these are great options it really depends what you want to do. I learned on an Avistar ARF trainer but its glow. not sure what others thing of the zagi 400x as a possible beginner plane, but they are very durable. I'd try to get one thats a balsa/wood built up plane instead of epp foam. that way if you have a bad landing your plane wont be totalled, with balsa you can fix it up if its not to bad, were with foam it just gets a big dent or piece breaks off.
ive bought my batterys from
www.cheapbatterypacks.com the lithium polymer poly/rc ones rated at 20c work great!
for esc's id go with castle creations, ive had rly good luck with them and they can be programmed using a usb connector to your computer, much easier than having to work with the radio controls to program it instead. make sure for the charger if you go into lipoly that you get a rly good charger, dont buy a junky one cuz having a $100 pack blowing up sucks.... i use the astroflight 110d or its the 112d one of those.. its the silverish/gray colored one with green writing on it. if you dont want to go into lithium you can always get nicad or nimh they both work great as well. depends on how much money you want to spend. for sure id def. recommend getting a safe or something to store your lithium packs in if you are going that direction, i bought one at walmart for $40.00 it works great and is fireproof, make sure its fireproof safe
both of the planes you suggested would both be great options. ive seen the slow stick fly before and its a great plane. havent seen the easy star fly or at least i dont think i have, haha
hope this information helps somewhat, its alot to take in, i know
im getting started in helicopters and im learning all over again:P
Good luck with your decisions and if you need anymore help feel free to ask.
David