In my opinion, alot of what is said here is great information. You will be much more successful joining a club and finding an instructor. However, put some thought into who the instructor is. I have met some people, who have been in this hobby for many many years, and are set in one way of doing things. A club and an AMA membership is an abolute must. However, if you ask an instructor what equipment to buy, and he says things like: Nothing but Futaba, Nothing but JR, Nothing but SIG, etc...you may want to ask around and find someone more open minded. This hobby is surrounded largely by opinion, and everyone has their own favorites. However, we beginners dont always have the expendable income to go and buy a 700.00 transmitter, or 400.00 for a nexstar when a 300.00 H9 Alpha flies identically. I started out the hard way, by teaching myself along the way. I started out with a sim, and my wife bought me a Hobbyzone Super Cub for my birthday. Now Im not saying that I flew perfectly right out of the box, as I did go through a few wings and one set of landing gear on the Super Cub, but I learned to fly with a 170.00 ready to fly airplane. I now have two nitro trainers that I love flying, and will still break out the foam Super Cub when the wind is calm. I am also waiting until after christmas to jump into an Edge 540 gasser.
My point is, you dont have to spend a fortune to enjoy this hobby, and dont let anyone tell you otherwise. I have two nitro trainers and my cub that I love flying and in a year I think I may have spent 800.00 with the exception of fuel. JR, Futaba, Spektrum etc. all function equally well, as do most good name trainers.

Its different for everyone, but I would definitely recommend starting out with a cheap foam electric. They are fairly cheap on the front end, and parts are dirt cheap. A wing for the Hobbyzone super cub is less than 20 bucks, and the most expensive part is less than 50 at my local hobbyshop. Granted, a foam plane will never fly as clean as a larger wood plane, but it will provide you the basic principals. The transition to a larger nitro trainer will be surprising, but the principals are the same. I have only had one major accident, but that was at dusk and a little later in the evening than I should have been flying. Long story short, I thought I had enough room to clear the tree....I was wrong.

A good simulator is a useful tool also! I would stay away from FMS, it is free, but does not portray accurate flight charactaristics. The cheapest one I have found is called Clearview RC Flight Simulator. Its downloadable on the web for around forty bucks. Works great, though not as accurate as Realflight or FSOne.

Find a club if you can, and an instructor if possible. Spend as little as possible to start out with, because theres a good chance that your first plane will not be around forever...anyone who flies will sooner or later eat the grass...or a tree.

TonyG