I had a succesful maiden flight, all by myself, with no instructor...just me and my...slow stick! Now I'm in the process of building my first gas trainer by GP and I also bought a Super Decathlon .40 kit to build on the side. However, as comfortable as I may be with the slow stick, I feel that I still have a way to go before I'm ready to get the gas planes in the air. I've been racing R/C gas cars (80mph+) and I feel extremely comfortable with my orientation, hand/eye co-ordination, judgement, distance, etc but flying R/C aircraft is different.

I second the posts that echo the intention here is to help keep the TinyX in its present condition until you may feel comfortable flying it. Some stick time on something cheap and foam like a GWS slow stick is valuable advice in my opinion. I didn't buy one and start out with it because someone told me to, it just seemed like the logical choice. I, like you, want to learn to fly with no instructor. I have played on the sims quite a bit, and they are fun to play on, but it is just that, play. There are no trims, there are no winds (on FMS at least), there are no control arms that pop off in flight. The sims are good for learning orientation, but as far as how the plane behaves in real life situations they are mediocre at best. Fun, no doubt!

I *will* teach myself how to become a *good* r/c pilot without formal instruction from a club. But I know better than to risk a balsa plane that I've spent a lot of time building to start that journey with.

If you want to do it, go for it! I agree, set the controls at the bare minimum throws, and cut the throttle back a bit once you get the bird up to a safe altitude to set the trims. No wind and tall grass is a good idea as well.

For me though, I took my slow stick out to a parking lot and let 'er rip. It's half grass field, half paved. It was a nerve jangling experience, those first few flights, but I knew if something catastrophic happened I could just go buy a new stick for $39. Now the slow stick is highly modified, and can handle 10-15 MPH winds and the things I am comfortable doing with it are extremely fun. Now, when my balsa planes are done I'll have the confidence and know-how to handle what may or may not happen on that first flight.

Great looking plane! Oh, and please don't take the comment about reconsidering your cover scheme as a put down either, that guy meant well! It's easy to get disoriented with the slow stick too, and its red on top, white on bottom. I've had it flying inverted over traffic, before I realized the wind had flipped me around and I was flying away from me and not towards me.

Best of luck,

Wes