It was a good experience. The instructors out at the field that day were good people. They were there because they wanted to be there. They volunteer their time every tues. to teach beginners like myself without pay. They were happy to help me and were helpful in answering all my questions. I had a little apprehension about seeking instruction at first, but that was just totally ill founded. I said in my earlier post that I took off my first day. My first attempt at taking off wasn't good at all. I stalled it and my instructor took over immediately. There is no doubt in my mind that I would have lost the plane had my instructor not intervened. I think this is one area the sim falls short. Takeoffs are a breeze on the sim. I've never been one to seek instruction. My golf game stinks, but that's ok. I would never get a golf coach or anything like that but this rc thing is a different story. You don't have anything to lose. You can only gain from going to your club's trainer night. There's just no reason not to get help.