Here's a good guide which explains the different types of heli available, and which ones are best and worst for a beginner. If you really want to get straight into flying without the complex set up that goes with CP helis, take a look at what the article says about the HBFP. Of course it won't fly upside down, but being so robust and cheap and simple to repair and set up, many folk find it not only accelerates the learning curve, but the heli will have paid for itself by the time you are good enough to be able to take advantage of what a CP heli can do. Also being a real heli, you will learn much faster and have much more fun than with a sim
Newbie R/c Heli guide
There was a similar guide to this ^^ online when I was learning the basics, the newbie guide above covers all the basics really well.