ORIGINAL: ChuckW
If this is your first ARF, I'd try to stick with one of the name brands such as Hangar 9, Great Planes or Sig. It's not that the no-name ARF's are bad; many are excellent airplanes. Their instructions can be lacking though. You'll want clear, accurate instructions for your first "build". The companies I've mentioned also have good customer support.
Hello Bryflyer. Take the advice of Chuck. I bought a Powerline trainer and the directions were absolutely horrible. I had to put this thread up just to figure out to put a ARF together. The directions were setup for someone who already had experience in building or putting together a plane.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_5285420/tm.htm I would highly recommend that you figure out what type of trainer appeals to you and then look at the instructions they have online. There are a lot of planes out there that have the instructions online for you to look at. You will be a lot happier building or putting the plane together without all the frustrations of model with poor instructions. What would have taking about 8 hours took me about 24 hours to put together. Good luck and welccome to the addiction. Trust me it is an addiction