charlie, is there a hobby shop close to you? if there is they know who flys in your area. i also beleive that the LT40 is the best trainer plane out there but most of the others will do what you need to get started. if you can fly the sim without crashing for a long time and land on the run way every time you are ready to give it a go but you should still get some one to go over your plane for a pre flight check and to be there to help if a problem comes up. i skipped the trainer and started with a ultra stick 60 with a OS91 on it but as i said before i had good help. i also took off and landed several times the first day out but i had a helper on the budy cord to bail me out when i got in trouble.
you can always drive to kentucky and fly with us we would be happy to help.

randy