I currently live in Mississippi, but I'm from Alabama. I went to my local airport today and talked with a few different instructors and some guys that just "hang around" the airport. I, eventually, decided to take the intro to flying flight, and now I have the bug real bad. Of course, the instructor took off and landed, but once in the air I got to do most of the flying. Much easier than I thought it would be, but I know much more goes into it than just flying around. I actually do think that the R/C flying has helped. I felt like I knew what the major parts of the plane were and what purpose they had. When the instructor was walking me through the pre-flight checks, I was able to understand what he was talking about. Without the R/C experience I feel I would have been a little lost.
Now, I just need to find a way to fund this new hobby.