Please do follow the advice above and find a club with experienced flyers who can help him learn. Successfully flying an airplane by R/C is not a skill one can pick up in a weekend or two. It takes time and practice to develop one's reactions. For instance, the model's left and right are OPPOSITE to your left and right when it is coming toward you. And most people who have not flown (model or full-size) don't realize that it is normal for an airplane to put its nose down when it starts a turn, and this must be compensated for.

With a new airplane, there is no way to be sure which way it will go the first time it takes off - it may pull left, right, up, down, roll over, or some combination. If the control throws are too great the model will be a tiger by the tail, reacting violently to the tiniest movement of the stick. An experienced flyer will have a far better chance to react correctly than someone who has never done it before.

It takes a lot of time and effort to prepare a new model for flight, even an ARF, and it is discouraging in the extreme to have it destroyed only a few seconds after it becomes airborne the first time. When someone tries it on their own, this is almost certain to be the outcome. Most often they leave the hobby never to return and that's a shame because they miss out on a truly wonderful hobby that can provide enormous satisfaction for a lifetime. Some help and guidance from experienced people can make all the difference.

Newcomers usually do not realize that it is NORMAL for a new airplane to require some adjustment and balancing before it really flies right - Just because you spent all that time building it does NOT guarantee that it should fly perfectly the first time!

I hope I'm not worrying you; I just want to give you some idea of what a newcomer is up against trying to do this the first time - people who haven't done it often have unrealistic expectations. It's not brain surgery, it's just that it takes time to develop one's reactions, and incorrect reactions can so easily crash the airplane.

Books can help educate the newcomer and simulators can often be a real help in learning orientation and control response but neither is a substitute for actually doing it with a "real" (not virtual) airplane.

I hope your boyfriend has good success and finds great enjoyment from this hobby.

Tom