What would be a good beginner airplane for my first?

Go to www.towerhobbies.com and look for the hobbico superstar ARF. Then you can pick your own radio and engine.. I Used a Super Tigre 51 and Futaba 6EXA

Most all of todays trainer planes are good.
They all will make it easier for you to learn to fly.
http://www.geistware.com/rcmodeling/novice.htm

Personally, I liked the Hobbico Avistar... it has a little less wing dihedral than most trainers, and it has a semi-symetric airfoil instead of a flat bottom airfoil (most trainers have flat bottom airfoil). It's still very newbie friendly, but will keep you entertained a little longer after you've soloed.

The standard flat-bottomed airfoil trainers might be a little easier to learn on than the Avistar, though. Another option to consider is the US Aircore trainer, made out of corrugated plastic (similar to a SPAD airplane... check out that section of this forum). It will be much more durable than a conventional wood plane (a big advantage when you're starting out!).
[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXPY56&P=ML]Hobbico Avistar[/link]
[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKH24&P=ML]US Aircore Trainer[/link]

If I had it to do over again, I'd go with the Avistar or a US Aircore trainer... I loved the way my Avistar flew, but I crashed it on my fifth solo flight... the Aircore plane might have been something I could repair. I've since gone to building/flying SPADs, since they are easy, cheap, and fun to build. There are a couple of plans for SPAD trainers, so that's a possibility as well, but if you're new to planes, it will help to get some experience and build a kit or ARF first, before trying to build up a SPAD. The most popular SPAD trainer is the Debonair. Here's some links to SPAD trainers if you're curious...
[link=http://www.spadtothebone.com/SPAD/Debonair/]Debonair[/link]
[link=http://www.spadtothebone.com/SPAD/Spadet/]Spadet[/link]
[link=http://www.spadtothebone.com/SPAD/Buhor/Dihedral1/dihedral1.html]BUHOR Trainer[/link]

i learned on , and still fly an aircore family trainer. i have crashed it many times(not proud), and have been able to resurect it every time(so far). it is, most likely, not the most accurate flying model out there. the aircore does fly pretty well though. it has been easy to repair. i have repaired it at the field, and kept flying when other planes would not have survived to fly another day. my worst crashes have required a trip home to do the work.

i guess the biggest compliment i can pay the aircore trainer is my fresh purchase of an aircore colt kit as my second plane. i will build it over the winter. i believe i will crash less often from now on. i am just as sure that i will continue to crash on occasion though, and i still like the idea of a tough plane. g.

SIG LT40

I must admit, that there are many great trainers out there, like the Sig Lt-40, trusted by most instructors. The bad thing is about glow trainers in general, is that they cost so freakin much. You have to have at least 350 to get a trainer. To tell you the truth im still deciding on my first trainer. (thats right im a newb). I read many forums, reviews and they all say the same thing. For christmas im probably getting the Wattage Cessena Electric RTF. Its great for many reasons:

1st of all, the cost- around 150, more or less for an RTF, The transmitter included can stick with you for years to come. Its really good. 4 Channels.

Quality- Yes its foam and plastic, some people dont like it because of its softness, but let me tell you something, if you crash, a standard wooden glow model would require ordering spare parts and boosting the budget. Electric foamies are virtually indestructable, unless you smash it really hard, but its so much easier to fix. (just use epoxy)

Last one: Once you learn how to fly quite well, (and oh by the way, most electric trainers dont require special assistance, its your choice, i recommend you do, but its not as needy as it is on the glow models) buy anything you want. Trust me, you are not gonna stick to your trainer for more than a year, you'll want bigger, better planes in the near future so just invest a little amount of money, train your ass off for a few months, and then invest in any plane you would like (intermiediate only though!).

At first I wanted a trainer such as the Sig LT-40, but realizing that you need to buy insurance for about 60$, and you can only legally fly in an authorized flying feld.(info brouht to you by Americas hobby center). Trust me, look at the Cessena:


http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGDW6&P=0

It even looks really good.

Good luck, and dont blow all your cash

Ignoring the 10-15 other things I'm inclined to (respectfully) disagree with, can you provide a (legitimate) reference for the above? In most of the US, there are no laws prohibiting flying an R/C plane at somewhere other than an "authorized flying field". If you got this information from a supplier you've chosen to buy from, I'd be cautious about the other information they are giving you.

If you want to spend your money on a small electric plane, that's ok. You may even learn to fly with it. However, I think you'll discover that little of what you got for your initial "investment" will be useful if you choose to go to a glow plane. As a beginner if you think you're going to fly glow planes, or you are going to be serious about electrics, I personally think it's best to go ahead and spend the money up front with the right equipment.

this is always a toss up,, I re-learned on park flyers at the local school yard, if you want to fly but cant afford club dues, AMA fees, and the start up costs of a .40 glow trainer thats what you do....It cost me about $170 to go GWS plane/radio ... now I am a member of a club with 2 fields ...you could go with a JKAerotech foamie trainer they are pretty cheap and use the smaller engines , I also went the T-52 and .049 engine ,if you cant fly that plane you werent meant to fly anything..I would go ahead and get a good radio, but people do what they want to anyway......

samolot, Since you mentioned the LT40, its $82.00 or $130.00 for the ARF version not $350.00! I have to disagree with what you said about "foamies are virtually indestructable". This in general is not true! There are flying wings that are made of solid foam that are almost industrdable called a Zagi but it doesn't really look like a plane. Also balsa planes can usually be repaired by pushing back the splitered pieces and then gluing them back together. Unless the crash is really bad, you don't really to buy anything more than a prop and maybe a spinner. MY sons LT25 broke in 2 when it was flipped backward by a huge gust of wind. The repair time only took about an hour to piece it back together and then recover a small section using leftover covering. In short, balsa and lite ply beats foamies hands down! [8D]