I assembled my first ARF this past spring; it was my first RC plane experience. Everyone on this forum was a tremendous help! And I learned SO much about planes, setup, construction, repairs, etc. It was fun and educational (geez, how often do you get to say that?) and totally worth it.

Now that you have a nice plane that flies, I say go for an ARF, not RTF. Figure it's a 2-3 week project for your first one, and when you put it all together and fly it, it feels great!

Best thing to do is stick with one of the well known brands - Great Planes, Hobbico, Sig, as they have better instructions than some of the cheaper planes (CMP, etc).