Originally Posted by init4fun

Since , thanks to advances in computer technology , these devices do seem in fact to work by keeping the model from crashing , here's my opinion on their use ;

Of course , the first and best choice in learning to fly an RC model airplane IS the real life instructor route . The learning curve is much quicker when being mentored by an experienced teacher .
But , there are those folks who , for whatever reason , don't want to go the instructor route , and I will not attempt to analyze or denigrate their motives , obviously the industry believes there are enough of these people wanting to go it alone that they spent all that money developing , perfecting , and marketing things like SAFE .
But now what of the question of the stagnant skills aspect of having the plane fly FOR you rather than being flown BY you ?
Simple , anyone who is self taught with these systems has the choice to use them proactively . By this I mean that you let the plane fly itself to a safe and comfortable altitude (the proverbial "Three mistakes high") and then switch off the autopilot and learn to fly it up where you can't crash it , then use the crutch to get it back down in one piece . As the skills of flying up high progress begin pushing yourself again , you line the plane up for landing and let the autopilot finish the landing a few times , eventually landing it yourself totally without the help of the electronics . Ultimately it's up to each self taught pilot just how much they want to push themselves to learn VS having the plane fly itself for them , and the plane will only do just as much or little of the flying as the person at the controls decides it will .