david a,
If all you want is a basic system then by all means go for it. We experienced modelers are recommending at least a basic computer system because if we could go back in time, that's how we would have started. You may think some features that come with computer radios are too advanced for beginners, but you need to have mixing to fly simple planes like Zagis and Gym-E's, just to name a few. In addition, all it takes when switching from one model to another with the same basic system (which is quite possible) is to miss switching a channel from normal to reverse, and you just lost a $300 or greater investment. Is it worth it, when basic computer systems are not much more expensive than standard radios? I'll leave that decision to you, but if I could go back nine years when I was getting started, I would have gone with a simple computer radio from the beginning. You can take my advise or find your own path.