Virtually all the problems I had learning to fly this plane related to wind. I took my first 5-6 flights in winds of more than 10 MPH. I was advised not to do that. Even the instruction manual advises against it, but I did it anyway.

Once I got a calm day, I was up and flying easily. The plane is very easy to fly.

Also make sure you have enough room. The manual says you should have at least 600X600. Once you are comfortable flying, you can probably work in half that space, but leave plenty of room when you start. And, don't be afraid to pull the throttle back to half, once the plane has reached flying speed. She flies beautifully at half throttle and you will have more time to make your turns and adjustments.

Speed is the beginners enemy! Altitude is the beginner's friend!

All new flyers have the following challenges:

1) We tend to over control the plane - go very soft and slow on your adjustments, especially on the launch. The plane will be unsteady until it gains speed. Big adjustment can cause you to lose lift on any plane.

2) Always launch into the wind - Helps the plane gain lift

3) Always land into the wind - one of my worst crashes happened when I forgot this

4) Gain altitude - we tend to want to keep the plane close to us, but minor wind gusts or a pilot mistake could cause you to lose altitude. If you are only 30 feet in the air and this happens, you might not have enough room to recover. Get it up 100+ feet to give yourself some room. I have had the bird up around 400 feet with no problem.

Personal errors

1) I tend to hit the trim adjustments on the control system and knock them too the extreme. If you do that the plan will likely crash on launch, especially if you push it so the elevator takes the nose down. Very Bad

2) Make sure you check the wing to make sure it is straight. After even a smooth landing, check it. I had two crashes because I didn't do this. As I launched the plane and it moved away from me I could see the wing was not set properly. A minor miss adjustment makes a big difference

3) Watch your flight time - Don't push the battery on your early flights. If you lose power to the motor because the battery is too low, you still have flight controls, but you have to come in dead stick. Actually this is the way I like to land, BUT if the motor quits when you are at a bad location, say near some trees, you may not have enough glide to get back to the landing area.

Flyers in my club, both new and experienced, have commented on how well the plane flies. I often cut the motor and just ride the wind for a while. It has a nice glide characteristic.

Since we have an all grass field, I take the landing gear off. I hand launch and I belly land. Works fine. If you have a runway, you can try rising of the ground (ROG) but I am told hand launching is easier.

Almost all trainers are three channel planes, except these low cost electrics. They sell the two channel planes as the beginner planes. They are simpler to fly, but they are limited in what they can do. If you are very limited on your $$, or are not confident you will want to continue on, the firebird II, or XL are good choices. If you can swing the $$, get the Aerobird. You will have a much longer growth path with this plane and develop your skills more fully.

I love it and would recommend it to anyone.