look at the Firefly Commander from parkzone. It's an $85 plane (with engine, battery, transmitter + receiver) and it's got the Anti-Crash Technology (ACT) that corrects the plane if it goes into an unexpected dive. Later on when you get some experience, you can disable this feature. It's also got a nose that's kinda like basketball rubber so if you DO whack it into something solid (trees, cars, ...people....) you won't bust it to peices. If you don't want to spend $85, they make a smaller model for $59, but for the extra $25 you get a MUCH bigger plane that's alot more stable and has a few more features.

It's a cheap way to get airtime and have a little fun at the same time. (heck, I'm not embarassed to say that I have ALOT of fun with my Mini XPV -$30 from WalMart! it's a twin engine foamie that has no elevators, no rudders, and no ailerons, just a pair of twisties that rotate faster to rise, slower to fall, and one rotates more than the other to turn; I have a BLAST with this thing in my front yard )

This is TRULY a "Beginner" plane!