Joizexx

There are a set of skill acquired as you are in the hobby. Many of the skills have nothing to do with flying. For example: being able to identify weaknesses in the design of an ARF and make reinforcements, quickly spotting missing screws or retainers on a model brought to the field by someone else, having an instinct for the CG on a sweep wing design (and knowing some of the math), etc.

Internet forums help transfer this knowledge. Doing - i.e. experience - helps develop knowledge (often by learning from mistakes). Working with other modelers helps transfer knowledge. Some mistakes in "doing" result in wrecks, some just lessons. For example, I landed once and had the aileron servo horn pop off because I forgot to put the screw back in... No crash - but there could have been...

So, while many think an instructor or helper is primarily about flying in truth they there to provide a whole domain of expertise.

That said, I taught myself - no buddy box - maidened my own planes - but, I had input from an experienced modeler early. That helped.... To a certain degree places like this can be a surrogate for that helper. So, this forum is not as good as a person helping you in person which is still not as good as an instructor. But all these sources can contribute to knowledge that doesn't come at the risk of doing - at least doing prematurely. Hope this makes sense...

A plane, like a heli, has many failure points. Many are obvious, but surprisingly these get overlooked in the excitement of a new model - things like screwing down servo horns, installing push rod keepers, or checking ailerons move the correct way. This is where it matters what kind of person is going it alone. Some people read the directions 4 times, check everything 4 times, and carefully think about the model and what could go wrong. Other people are easier going, less focused, or whatever. Clearly the careful person will have a higher probability of getting the build right... Flying is a different matter altogether. Comfort with the controller, reaction times, grasp of orientation, and other factors become more important.

Anyway - I believe foam is a good way to learn by yourself, but I'd avoid a profile model with large control surfaces. The Multiplex easy star is an ideal go it alone model in my opinion. The MiniMag might work too, more advanced but still very tough... Both would teach you plenty, take abuse, and amuse you for a while. When you move on it'll make it easier.

Hope this helps