Hi derdeb, hopefully you will take the plunge and join the rest of us as we indulge in our favorite hobby.

Some of the RTF airplane packages from Hangar 9 actually come with 5-channel or 6-channel computer radios in the box. The H9 Mustang P-51 PTS comes with a 5-channel computer radio so you can add an extra servo and have active flaps on the plane. Their new F-22 Raptor PTS comes with a full-featured 6-channel computer radio.

My advice is to not spend too much energy worrying about your first radio. The hobby is right now in the middle of a significant change as aircraft transmitters transition from 72Mhz radio systems to 2.4Ghz spread spectrum radio systems. Naturally none of the ready-to-fly airplane trainers come with a 2.4Ghz radio system yet. If your luck is like mine, they'll be introduced about a week after you buy your first plane.

Pick the nicest trainer package you can afford, and just make sure you get a good engine and a nice airframe. The radio system will do the job for now, and the whole world will likely be buying new radios over the next couple of years. There are only two kinds of pilots, those who just bought a Spektrum DX7 radio system, and those who are shopping for one.

I learned to fly on the basic 4-channel Futaba 4YBF radio that came with my Hobbico Nexstar a couple of years ago. I've since bought a Futaba 7CAF radio system that I really like, but I still fly with the 4YBF quite a bit. It's great for sport aircraft, and it's always nice to have an extra radio so all of your flying eggs aren't in one basket.

Good luck with the shopping, and please ask any more questions we can help you with!