Andrew, as some others have mentioned, you might want to take a look at the Avistar. It`s made by Hobbico, like the Nextstar, and is a terrific flying plane. It is somewhat smaller and more nimble than the Nextstar. I still fly the Avistar I trained and soloed on almost four years ago even though I`ve moved on to other more " advanced " planes. The Select package is a good starter, with the possible exception of the OS 40 LA. While a good enough engine to start out with, if you replace it at some point with a good 46 you`ll be amazed at the upgrade in performance. I learned to fly without the benefit of a sim and was older than the average student, I suppose. I used to think that the Avistar might be a bit too quick for many students, but now everybody seems to use a sim to start with and I no longer feel that way. Check out the Avistar, and welcome to a great hobby!