Dude, join a club, get an instructor. The sim is nothing compared to real life. Simulators depict a perfect world where there is no windshear no updrafts, downdrafts, distractions, etc. I did it on my own, and got lucky (I soloed successfully on my first attempt to fly an R/C Airplane.) Looking back i would say it is not the best of routes, and I did almost end up like the general population, 5 seconds then the ground, but I lucked out. I now know that I missed out on so much trying to fly by myself. I didn't range check, I didn't know what a control throw was, I didnt even know how to tune my engine. There is just so much that the sim can't teach you. Do yourself a favor and resist temptation and grab an instructor. R/C flying is a lt harder than it looks. Not everyone is lucky like I was.

Adam