ORIGINAL: Charlie P.
He will never go to an airfield and considers learning to fly the plane himself to be half of the fun of getting one.
As long as he considers repair and replacement with much down-time the other half of the fun he'll be OK.
I like the RCM 40 Trainer as a good ARF. Don't know from electrics.
Yes, that is exactly it. He knows he will damage the plane early on. He lives in the country and part of the appeal too him is to be able to walk out of his back door and fly the plane essentially in his backyard (really, the endless plains of Colorado which begin at the end of his backyard). So he is looking for something that is easy to repair, which is why I had been thinking a foam plane would be good for him.
So we are looking for some type of electric foam plane that would be good for him, a 4-channel RTF with everything he needs for around $250. I could look on internet, but I am hoping that there is some "classic" plane that fits this bill that the more expeirenced people could recommend.