I learned to fly helis with a Lama counter rotater and learned a lot with it. I am now flying a T-rex 600. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes, but I personally think a counter rotating helicopter is a great way to go. I keep one to this day for flying indoors and they are super stable. East rc has them for 80.00 right now.

[link=http://www.eastrc.org]Eastrc[/link]