Well, for my $0.02 worth www.parkflyer.com has a plane called a Firefly Command that has ALOT of "safety" measure included in it (like ACT - Anti Crash Technology - basically it scans the sky and the ground and when it sees too much "ground" it self corrects to keep you from smashing nose first into the dirt). It's about $85 and comes with electric engine, battery, controller, receiver, etc... It's not the greatest plane in the world, it's a very, very beginner plane (think about a plane a 12 year old can fly) <to other board members: please don't bash my stones on this, the Firefly IS a great "learner" plane and it can at least get you in the air for under $100.... sure it's almost a "toy plane" but it sounds like steelyphil has ZERO experience with ANYTHING that flies so this might be the right one, for a little while>

If you're REALLY into it, you MAY want to check out the parkflyer T-28 Trojan. It's an electric RTF (ready to fly). It's just about the BEST plane I've seen in a long time for the money ($250-$275). Several people on this board have one and last time I was at my local club, there were FOUR in the air chasing eachother around at the same time -and some of the pilots had only been flying for about a month!) It flies like a "foamie" dream and if you have a "catastrophic crash" replacement parts won't kill your wallet (ex: new wing? $35)

As for the "camera" idea, you may want to consider a powered glider. They've got ALOT of lift. I've got a friend with one, mounted with a small, cheap digital camera (no SD card; it requires a USB connector to see the pics and a "channel" to activate the trigger on the camera; plus a little clever ingenuity [&:] ) It works pretty well, even for a jerry-rig.

Tower Hobbies also sells/makes "sky cams" of all types, but you can spend ALOT of cash on these. They even make one that puts you in the "cockpit" in live video ( the FMV camera). I think it's the cat's whiskers personally and I'd LOVE to have one but it's $500.... also, it only works on a 72mhz band Tx/Rx; 2.4Ghz jams the camera up and won't work with it.

If this is REALLY your goal, the FIRST thing you should do is learn to fly. Get some air time, whether it be with a cheap Firefly or a T28. Then move to another plane like a big high-wing trainer (there's a sticky at the top of the post listing some really good ones). A slow trainer would be IDEAL for shooting pics from (you don't need fast shutter times).

I'd DEFINITELY go with nitro planes LiPo batteries are expensive as heck and your flight time is pretty limited (under 15 minutes tops; charging time is also 1-2 hrs... I'm not knocking electrics, I think they're cool as heck; the T28 is an electric and it's an AWESOME plane! but I'd still buy an extra battery for it - they're about $50-$60 ea....). Nitro planes are pretty much the "norm" for trainers for beginners; they're fairly easy to operate, cheap to operate (fuel is about $16/gallon and a gallon of fuel should last you 1-2 months of "reasonable" flying - a small tank can keep a plane in the air for a WHILE!) , and, the best part, they're cheap to fix when you crash them and you WILL crash, just get used to that fact (old saying: "There are 2 types of pilots: those who have crashed and those who haven't crashed YET ) Trust me, on my virgin flight I made a PERFECT 3 point landing in the top of a 60' pine tree [:@]. The Tower 40 mentioned above is a dang good plane that's easy(well, EASIER) to fly.... (incidentally, the "tree top" plane was a Tower 60 [8D] )

Take some time with a simulator also. Download FMS RC simulator, it's free and if you have a joystick with thumb 2 sticks (like a PS2 stick; for the PC get one like the Thrustmaster Firestorm Dual Analog) you can get used to your thumbs doing what your brain wants the plane to do. In FMS, try out the "litefokker" or the "ghpv"(?) for a "reasonable" simulation of "trainer" planes that are simple to fly. Trust me, it's EASY to get completely back-***wards when your plane is at a weird angle to you. Digitally, this is fine. In the REAL world, this is going to cost you some money..... If you pull a total vertical dive into the earth it's called a "Lawn Dart" and you can pretty much set fire to it where it sticks.....)

If you REALLY want to learn to fly, go to the AMA (american model association) website and find a club near you. These people will help you out BIG TIME. And, chances are, they'll also be the NICEST and MOST GENEROUS people you will ever meet in your life. There's some odd "code" among RC pilots where everybody is friendly and "Practice Random Acts of Kindness" isn't just a bumper sticker. In fact, if you show up without a plane, 9 times out of 10 SOMEONE will let you fly their trainer just to show you what it's like. If you're REALLY lucky (like me) you can pick up a "crashed" plane for free, fix it (trust me, it's not that hard usually....), and voila' you have a plane! (you may have to buy an engine, servos, and a 4 channel transmitter/reciever, but if you pick up the Tx/Rx used, you can get them for ~$125 tops; same with engine and servos. SO FIND A CLUB!!!!!!! it's the BEST way to learn not only how to fly, but how to fly WELL and also fix what you WILL screw up ) You'll get better pix if you can fly nice, straight, and LEVEL

Let me just give you one last word on beginning to fly: the FIRST time you get your thumbs on the sticks and YOU are controlling the plane, you will get the BIGGEST RUSH in the world! It's more addictive than an IV Starbucks I TREASURE that memory!

You are about to embark on a heck of an adventure that is more complex (and more FUN) than you can POSSIBLY imagine at this point! Good luck and Good Flying ! Welcome to the World of RC Flying! You WON'T regret it! (your wallet might....)

(((( Parkzone also makes ALOT of electric RTF (ready to fly, just fyi: ARF = Almost Ready to Fly - means you got to put some of it together before flying) Parkzone USUALLY includes everything from the engine to the battery to the transmitter and reciever for a VERY reasonable price; and they make some pretty darned good planes!)