Time

Pride

Inconvenience

Expense (AMA membership)

Marketing hype. Lots of big, colorful pictures of planes that are "Almost Ready To Fly!" Heck, you mean all I have to do is stand here and the plane will fly itself! Yippee!


I quote:

"With Hobbico's SuperStars, only the choices are hard"
- - - Whew, I thought getting the engine broken in and running and trimming on the first flight was going to be hard. Guess not.

"Ready for take off in as little as 20 minutes"
- - - Small enough to fit back in the box in 23 minutes.

"Slow-flying and so stable it self-corrects if you release the sticks"
- - - Yep. You can crash in a level attitude. What happens if you yank back on takeoff (or have the control throws with too much travel) and stall the wings at 20 feet? You can release the sticks all you want and it's still a broken plane.

"You will successfully learn how to fly with a Tower Trainer MkII, or we will replace it with your choice of another trainer of up to equal value."
- - - The fine print is at an AMA-chartered club with a qualified instructor. It's enough of a intro that a confident young male (are there any other kind) will figure he don't need no steenkin instructor.


Flight simulators. A blessing & a curse. They instill a false sense of confidence in those who can fly dozens of planes, hot and not. Real life throws you curves not on the machine. Engine to lean? "sputter" Konk! Deadstick. Up elevator (natural instinct). Stall. Land in tree, or dirt nap. Wheel collar loose? Oops! Cartwheel. Crosswind gust? "Yip", tip, flip! Battery low? Bye Bye birdie. Hope it doesn't land where it hurts someone.

But they do teach you to react to the difference of a plane flying away vs. towards you. That's a big head start.

What I learned on the ground from "The Elders" was worth more than what I learned in the air . . . well, almost. How to tune an engine. What's causing those bubbles in the fuel line? How to balance a plane. How to check C.G. Radio & servo adjustments. Pre-flight inspections. (How many planes are lost because someone is in a hurry to get it in the air in front of peers, or just on their own and excited)?

It's also good to have someone level headed nearby when you reach through a prop to adjust a needle valve. I bet 60% of all new pilots do that in their first year without an instructor to yell at them every time it begins to happen.