I would suggest you find a club and learn to fly there. Most R/C clubs are affiliated with a model aero association (ours is the BMFA, British Model Aero Association) which automatically covers liability insurance, which is an issue as a plane can go a long way before coming to ground if you lose control of it, and it has the potential to do a lot of damage when it hits.
Also, as mentioned above, fellow club members will be able to give you hints and tips, as well as quite likely a "buddy lead" to enable your plane to be flown up to a "safe" altitude, where you can practice flying, but who is on standby via a connected transmitter and can take control at any time to recover a mistake you have made.
The chances are that if you go and try to fly the thing yourself without any assistance, you'll take it home in a rubbish bag, so it's well worth finding a local club. :-)