By "first plane" I mean the first plane that is not an ARF or RTF. It would be best if you have built a kit before (this is what bigedmustafa meant). A kit consists of a box of pre-cut parts. Ribs, spars, fuselage sides and all that. Very little or only minor cutting to do. Once you have one of these behind you it is much easier to know the process of cutting the parts in building your own kit and assembling it from plans. When building from plans all you have is a set of rolled/folded drawings and perhaps a wood list.

Anther type of kit is what is called a "short kit". This has all the ribs and formers and other "detailed" cuttings already done and provided. You then need to provide various sticks and sheet stock to complete the build.