There are lots of good trainers out there....they all fly well....you first need to ask yourself if you want to build a kit, assemble an ARF (Almost ready to fly) that will typically take 5-20 hours, or get a RTF (ready to fly) which is about 30 minutes of assembly.
You can expect to pay about $300 to $400 to get a plane, engine and radio...plus you'll need some field equipment (glow plug ignitor, starter, fuel, voltmeter, etc)
The only real pitfall is that when you mess up, you'll do a lot more damage than you would with an RC car! To minimize this possibility, GET AN INSTRUCTOR FROM A LOCAL CLUB TO TEACH YOU HOW TO FLY!!
To me, flying is a total rush....I absolutely love it....it's a total addiction to me....but I've always been fascinated by planes. It's pretty amazing to see a minature version of an airplane take to the skies and do whatever you want it to (usually!) This is the best hobby in the world....and it can be as challenging as you want it to be.......you can fly lazy circles around the sky, or put your plane into manuevers that aren't even named 3 feet off the the runway...it's all up to you. 99% of the people you'll meet in this hobby are great...and you'll make some great new friends.....hanging out at the flying field with your buddies is half of the fun!