Hey fiddlefly, where in California do you live? Maybe I can give you a hand.

Some great suggestions here. I first learned on a Firebird Outlaw. That is also a 50 dollar plane BUT...........the throttle is variable, not just on or off.............big difference. I can't imagine trying to fly a differential thrust plane with no way to vary the throttle. It sounds like the problems that you are having has more to do with the plane than you.