For radio gear, I'm using a standard servo on elevator and aileron in all my planes, and a micro (hs-81) on throttle. I do manage to strip gears on my hs-81's a bit too much though.

I use 270mah battery packs. But I also have a fast field charger (FMA Supernova 250)

My receivers are either Hitech 555, or FMA Extreme 4 or 5. They are inexpensive FM duel conversion receivers in 4 or 5 channels.

For airplane, it depends on what the guys near you are flying. There's no sense in buying a scale 2610 plane if everyone is flying Open, and vice-versa. So talk to the guys flying combat near you and find out what classes they are flying, and what planes. It's not a bad idea to fly the same kind of airframe as the guys near you since it makes it easier to get setup help.