ORIGINAL: Rcpilet
Hey, I say GO FOR IT!!!!!!
All of us who advise beginners to get an instructor have no idea what we're talking about. We never actually needed an instructor either. We just did it to appease the old farts.
If you go ahead and fly the plane on your own; whats the worst thing that could happen?
You might get lucky and get it off the runway without breaking it or running it into someone. Then if you get it off the runway, it will surely fly straight and level and just climb gently to altitude without throwing you any curveballs, right? What are the chances that you might have the ailerons reversed, or the elevator reversed? Heck, I'll even bet a weeks pay that you'll have the balance perfect!!!!!!
Go for it buddy!!!!!!! YAAAAHHHHHOOOOO
It only costs about $500 to build a plane. You've got deep pockets and if you happen, by some unforseen reason, to crash it; just go get a new one, right? No problem.
I'll bet you can even land the sucker on your first attempt. After all, you do have extensive flight simulator experience. And any idiot knows that a simulator is "Just like the real thing". Flying a simulator has probably made you an expert pilot already, and you haven't even flown a real plane yet. Flying a real RC plane isn't all that different than a simulator. Just go for it!!!!!!!!!!
You might want to take a few pictures of your plane BEFORE you head out to the runway. Just in case something bad happens, and God forbid, you wind up taking the plane home in a trashbag.
Good luck. Heh heh.
While the post above is sarcastic, he is trying to make a point and that is that a new flyer doesn't know he doesn't know. That is why I took the RTF route. This way I could not build it crooked and I could not miss balance it because the one I selected came fully balanced.
I chose electric so there was no tuning of engines or concern about fuel mixes. And I didn't have to deal with flamable liquids, and didn't have to wash down the plane at the end.
I chose a starter plane that could take some crashes. I didn't start with a beautiful P51 Balsa plane I started with a pod and boom plane made out of polyetherlene that is practically indestructable.
I chose a three channel high wing plane so it would be stable, highly self correcting and provide enough control to fully manage the plane.
I chose an large, very large open grass field, not a busy, tightly managed field with a runway to do my learning. Take offs were hand launches and landings were a matter of sliding into the grass, no landing gear.
This was all based on a plan to be substantionally self taught. Now, if I was going to join a club that had a tightly managed runway then I would absolutely want an instructor and a buddy box. Too much traffic and too much need for precise take-off and landing to be teaching myself.
If I was starting on a 5 pound glo plane flying at 40+ MPH then I would want an instructor and a buddy box. That is a lot of weight and a lot of speed. Dem things can be pretty dangerous.
While a 16 ounce 15 MPH electric can still cause damage, there is a lot less energy involved and, from what I have seen, there are more slow flying electrics than glo models. I have never seen a glo model designated as a slow flyer. Some electrics can fly as low as 4-5 MPH in full contol.
So, the need for an instructor is a matter of goals and situation. An instructor is always good, but if you are going to go it alone, consider what you are trying to control. What will be the outcome of an error in terms of injury to yourself and people around you as well as damage to your model or property of others if you mess up.
Fly that 4 pound e-glider into a car and you could be looking at $1000 in damages. I know because a guy flew his 4 pound e-glider into my car. Guess how much it cost him.
You can do it on your own, I did, but be smart about it!