the 1st plane i had was the brolga 2 (glider) and i wrecked it first flight (i was only about 12, and it was way too windy to fly). Luckily my old man had guessed this would happen and had photocopyed every balsa part before i built it.. i was able to fix it real easy.. (basically rebuild the most of the wing and remake half the fuselage)
then i went to a club and they helped me with a first flight..
was the park flyer one of those electric ones? my mate has one and its great fun as long as there is no wind.. its onlt got 2 controls (throttle and v tail) which makes manovering it hard but simplifies flying..
theres some good rc simulators on the net for free.. if your interested i'll get the name of the one i have.. it helps to get over the problem of knowing which way to turn the stick depending on the orientation of the stick (and its fun, and free)