I did learn to fly on my own so I say it is possible. In my case I learned with electrics and needed my first flights to be in the early morning when wind was at its lowest.

The first flight ended in a crash though it was due to a bad RX and not pilot error. The 2nd time I flew was an aerobird and again had RX problem was this time was able to get it down saftly.

Once I bought new TX and RX, everything went smooth though were plenty of tense knee knocking moments. So far have flown a 3ch plane, high wing aileron plane, flying wing and 3d plane. Since then I lost my slinger in fog once and got my Cessna in a tree though no damage during those crashes. All my planes are in flying condition though if I ever did wreck one beyond repair I could afford to pay $60 or so bucks for new kit.

I don't fly scared like some people and just do laps around the field with maybe one or 2 loops thrown in. I fly all out knocking the sticks pretty hard. I'll take a trainer plane and fly inverted, do rolls and outside loops. Only thing I don't do is low passes or touch and gos.

I do feel a sense of accomplishment having learned on my own. At the time I was training I only had 2 battery packs and it would have taken forever learning with instructor only 1 or 2 days a week. If you have an instructor willing to teach, it's well worth it to get help at least the first couple of flights. Though I see that some fields are harsh on anyone getting a warbird to start with though I think it's possible to learn on such a plane if you have Sim training behind you.

I can understand most people that start into this hobby don't realize just how much it's going to cost. They see a RTF kit and jump into it thinking that is all there is to it. Or they want to skip some levels and get a aerobatic plane or 3d plane to save $'s. It's very easy to spend $1000+ dollars your first year in the hobby.