After wanting to get in on this hobby since I was a kid, my wife finally bought me a plane- Firebird XL. Here are some thoughts from a "first timer".
I have been out flying everyday almost for the past week. And it is a blast. The FB is easy to fly. The only crashes I have had were from not paying attention to what I was doing. Looked away once and hit a power line. A second time, I glanced at some people looking on and lost it into some trees. I have had a couple of hard landings but other that, smooth flying.
The nice thing about the crashes is that the plane's wing, which seems to absorb most of the damage, is totally repairable with packing tape. It may be a little heavy now but still takes off from a ball field in 30 feet or so.
The only RC club I can find around me is a good 45+ minutes away so I will be teaching myself. I think at this point the FB is a good plane with which to train. I am learning the controls with the plane coming towrds me and then going away. To apply some power when turning (= up elevator with the FB), taking off and landing into the wind.
I am almost ready for my next plane- perhaps the pico stick FD or maybe the pico J3-F. Any thoughts from anyone? I want something with a little speed and can take a little wind.

Skip the Pico Sticks and get a Slow Stick.

The nice thing about the Firebird XL is that it teaches you proper use of the throttle.

The old form vs. function argument, I do not really like the looks of the slow stick. Not a big fan of the stick models. Any other suggestions?

First Time,

Looks like your in the same position as me, apart from a small pond :-).

I have my 'bird' for about 2 weeks and have now cracked it. My problem was wind and emfusiamsm (sp?). Having raced 1/10th off Road to National Uk Standard I knew the controls well.

The next question is whats next?.

Do I look at doing mods to it? - any suggestions? (prefered choice)

Or what is the next plane?, the obvious choice is a 3 channel but what to choose (remember UK market here!).

Thanks!

Neil D