Short story:
A neighbor of mine and fellow club member learned to fly this year. He soloed in late May or so with a 60 size Right Flyer. He bought a H9 Cub and had it ready to fly soon after.
He got some good flights in (when I say good I mean no crashes, his takeoffs where scary) but crashed 4 times on takeoff because he couldn't control the cubs tendency to ground loop. Out of frustration he gave the plane to another club member.
All along he blamed the airplane for his problems flying it.
I guess what I am trying to say is, if you want to learn to fly you need to pick your first couple of airplanes according to the flight characteristics, NOT because you are fond of the way a certain airplane looks.
A good year or two, depending on your skill, with a primary and secondary trainer and you will be ready to fly just about anything you want. Just don't get in too much of a hurry or you will end up with a garbage bag full of broken balsa.
I can testify to the fact that you can fit a 63" wingspan P-51 in a 30 gallon trash bag.