Building kits
I guess 35 years ago you had to bulid your own planes. There were no RTFs and ARFs to buy. Today we can start learning to fly first, then repair, then build.
This is similar to the path I took with cars. I never actually built a car, but I could take 'em apart and put 'em back together pretty well. Rebuilding engines was fun.
I think some of those skills have helped me as I have made larger and larger repairs.
For those of us who would not want to build something and put it in the air, this has been a great way to go. I can't tell you how many people have told me they bought the kit, and the radio, etc. Then they spend months building it and it is sitting in their basements for years because they are afraid to fly it. Some have been sitting for so long that the radio equipment is no longer legal.
After all that work they are afraid they might crash it.
Sad.
Someday I will build a kit. Maybe next year, in my second season.