I learned on the Nexstar (glow) and really loved that plane. It helped me to learn to fly very well. You will need much more than a football field to fly in, but it's size allows you to fly it in large spaces and still see it easily.

There seems to be a little bit of an electric/glow debate here as well. I'm a glow fuel guy; I like engines. I was put off by the initial start up cost of electric too. However, I'm spending $30/wk on fuel alone - that's like a lipo every two weeks. Electric is a bit more up front, but less $$$ (or so it seems) in the long run. So yes, get the lipos.

At the end of the day, us glow guys are spending time running our engines dry of fuel, spraying the planes down with windex and wiping everything, and staining the carpet when we bring the planes inside. None of this bothers me, but some guys really enjoy landing, turning off the switch on their plane, and throwing it in the back of the truck. No tuning issues, no rough starts, no mess.

Each has it's own place; I'm sure you'd be happy with electric. If you're like me, you might be happier with glow