You can definitely pick up a radio used at a very good cost. Be selective and ask questions like when it was last serviced and such. As George said, JR stuff is excellent also. The FASST system by Futaba is their 2.4 stuff, while Spektrum is the JR version. They both work very well. As far as Richard's post about learning to use your thumbs. You will save yourself a LOT of work down the road by learning how to properly trim an airplane. You can get away with flying through stuff in the lower classes, but as you progress, you can't compete without a well trimmed plane. If a guy you are competing with is doing half the work you are, then you are already at a disadvantage because his plane is trimmed properly.

As far as the Airtronics stuff. A very good friend of mine flies Airtronics and has had excellent luck with his stuff. The new 8 Channel 2.4 system apparently works very well. I think if you stay with those 3 brands you will be very happy. Just keep in mind, that you will probably end up on a track of being very brand loyal. Once you buy a lot of stuff from one brand, receivers and such, its hard to switch down the road. So look at what you want now, and what you might want in the future. If you buy a Spektrum system now and decide later you want a Futaba 12FG or something, you can't use the receivers and such with the 2.4 stuff. Do some homework and I think you'll end up very happy either way.

Arch