Pilot 727, you should maybe have a ook at some other electrics, I've a Mulitplex Acromaster and Extreme Flight 45" Extra, both are full 3D planes. I've recently bought a new set of 2250 batteries, 4 of them cost me less than £90 approx $180 at recent exchange rates and each of them gives me over 14 mins flight time so just under an hours continuous flying- think a lot of it is how the cost of batteries has come down recently but it's a changed market and if you compare the cost of them to gas probably works out cheaper.

Basty,
If you've copter experince that will help but again re-iterate that a simulator is one of the best things you can get initially.

Unfortunately it's one of those things if you try and go too advanced too soon you'll just end up destroying planes in seconds, I had the Super Cub and then tried an Art Tech Mustang and an Ultrafly PC9, neither of which lasted more than 12 seconds before they were a pile of foam carted off in bin bags !!!!!

The Super Cub or whichever one you go to start with in 2 / 3 months you'll be looking for something more advanced / with ailerons and personally I went to the Multiplex MiniMag then and flew it and flew it and flew it. You could possibly go for the MiniMag straight off as it can be used as 3 channel and then you cut the slots for the ailerons and attach the servo's which you install when you 1st build it at a later stage, my biggest concern is it'll probably be a faster set up which is the last thing you want for your 1st dozen or flights.

Summary - go with someonething more advanced which should probably be a second plane and risk totally destroying it on the 1st flight and the end up buying the less advanced plane to get you through the initial stages and then having to but the more advanced the second time round as you totalled it on your 1st attempt - OR - go with the beginners plane to start with, hace someothing you can then keeo to teach friends on alternatively sell and get some of your money back and the buy the second plane at the right time and once only - hopefully.

How quickly you advance totally depends on the person, I started in January 2007, in April that year I bought the MiniMag and started basic aerobatics with it, by end of July was doing most things the plane could and flying inverted etc having increased the throws and started moving the CoG back to make it more responsive, in August last year I bought my Acromaster and was flying it round very high, very slowly with my heart in my mouth as it was such a different beast in comparison. By October was confidently doing most aerobatics with it and am now learning and able to do most 3D including harriers / rolling harriers to a degree, hovering (for 20 seconds to 1 minute), slow rolling circles etc but am not a 3D expert by any means.

Again hope that's of some help, the simulator as well if you do get one, you can download loads of other models and would recommed getting the E-Flight Mini Edge and Mini Funtana and the SebArt Katana as they're more responsive which if you can fly a more responsive one on the Sim is only going to make it easier to fly less responsive planes for real !!!!

Hope that helps, any other queries buzz me a PM.