the first plane that i bought was an Firebird Scout from hobbyzone. I did not like it at all and soon went out and bought a J-3 Cub from Parkzone and that is what i flew to learn how to fly. I flew this one without seeing an instructor because of distance isssues and it flew great. So i guess you could say that i first learned how to fly by myself. However a few things that i learned the hard way. Number one these planes will handle little to no wind at all so you have to be patient as far as that goes. Number two as i live on a farm i flew out over a field so that any crashes (there were several) were less hard on the plane. So if you could do that it will save you some cash Thirdly buy a couple of spare wings several props and some prop shafts as you will need them. You can do it on your own but the learning curve is a little slower. When i bought my first glow plane (hangar-9 Arrow) i got an instructor more $ at stake. You can learn by yourself just be ready for some setbacks (backordered parts) that you might not have with an instructor. Good Luck

Flyboy76

P.s. buy a couple of battery packs or you will spend all your time waiting for the battery to charge.