Originally Posted by acdii

Not entirely true. I never had an instructor, and have been flying for only 2 years, yet maidened several planes that I built, including a twin. I may not have perfect skills on everything, but once I get plane trimmed out, balanced, and tuned, I can take off, land without incident, fly it around doing immelmans, loops, inside and out, snap rolls, knife edge, etc. Only once did a dead stick ever result in a crash, and that was because it quit just past the runway and not enough altitude to return. I have had my fair share of wrecks, only one resulted in a loss, but that was a failure of the plane, and not anything I did. I had a 4*120 ARF that the wing snapped off on, the joiner box wasn't constructed properly. My LT40 has had a couple wrecks and both were on landing, one was overshooting and hitting the wing on an obstacle, the other was a stall with a cross wind that flipped it over.

My friend who I fly with is quite impressed with my skills too, he has been flying for over 30 years and has yet maidened a twin, and his casualty rate vs mine has been much higher, yet he is a good pilot, its just that his planes are old and has been giving him problems, mostly with the engine quitting.

You can master the art of flying on your own using a Sim, and a starting with small planes like UM. My first was a UM T-28, after I put enough flights on it to make it look like it went to war, I advanced to an Apprentice, and first flight, good takeoff, flew it around and good landing. I also dont have the luxury of a large field to takeoff and land from which makes it even more challenging for a beginner. Imagine taking off and landing in an area 45' wide by 350' long with 10 ' high walls surrounding you, thats my flying field.

Not knocking the use of an instructor, if you can get access to a club with one, go for it, but if you are where you dont have a nearby club, or the time to go to the nearest club, and have a place where you can safely fly a park flyer, go for it, the newest planes out make it much easier to learn on with panic buttons that correct the planes attitude and help get it out of a tough situation. While they cant take off and land on their own, they can help keep the plane from dumb thumbs. Just start out small and cheap, the UM and Apprentice are great for this. I still fly the Apprentice even though my regular planes are a highly modified LT40 and a modified 4*120. On a calm day, the Apprentice is a relaxing plane to putt around with, and surprisingly enough, flies upside down with little input to keep it there.

Just use common sense when you do, dont fly if there are bystanders around, fly with a friend, even if they dont know how to fly, its good to have someone with in case you do something dumb and get hurt. Relax, think everything through before you even put the battery in, or fuel the tank, and most important, DONT RUSH IT! Go through the posts on the forum, there are many many great threads with great advice and tips to learn from. I learned a lot from this forum regarding landings, and takeoffs, and tips to correct problems with the plane.

And last, dont get something you think you can fly that isnt a trainer! Something like the PTS T-34 or PTS Mustang. While they say they are a trainer, they are not! After you get the hang of taking off, landing, and can ascertain the stall characteristics and how to prevent it, then you can advance to those types of planes. Those planes you have to stay ahead of, or you will break them. A high wing trainer is what you want, they are very predictable, and will allow you to gain the skills you need to be able to fly.