No, no, not a Troll. Honestly. Yeah, I know you guys have been giving advice and I know I should be listening to it, but the truth is that I bought a beater plane and I just want to get going. Probably, you're all thinking I'm a fool, and that's okay because with regard to this I probably am. I see it like this: If I were building a car, or an actual airplane, I'd need to make sure I were 100% up to snuff with regard to the condition of my vehicle, my construction techniques, and my operating skills. But, this isn't that. Sure, it's much more advanced than most, if not all, people should begin with, but it's what I have and it's what I'm going to learn with. Yes, I agree, I should be with an instructor, but here's exactly what happened today..... A guy I work with knew I'd be trying again today, and so asked his g-friend's father to stop by and help me out (unbeknownst to me). Anyhow, he gets here early flies his plane, and does a great job. Well, suddenly, I'm not feeling so hot about flying mine. I know I'm no good, and I know I'm probably going to crash, but I don't want to be told what to do, or not to do, only to be told "you should have listened to me". I decided to get mine out anyway, and immediately, the guy starts telling me HOW I should fuel it, and what a crappy radio I have. He starts grabbing my stuff, and going through my field box. By the time he was finished with me, I didn't want to fly anymore today. He literally sucked the fun right out of it. I know it's a pretty exacting science. I know everything has to be just right. But for now, I just want to learn it for myself, and enjoy it along the way. Trial and error is part of the process, no? I learn better by doing. As I get along, I fully expect that I'll be asking more and more questions. But at this point, as I mentioned in my original post, I have so many questions that I don't know where to begin. Anyhow, it's supposed to be fun. And, if I get my fun, at least for now, out of making mistakes, laughing about them, and then repairing them, then I'd hope you guys would be happy that I'm enjoying myself. But, if it is going to be taken so very, very seriously, just let me know, and I won't come back, it's all good. Finally, when asking for advice, I'm really expecting to hear something funny in response. "Be sure and get with an instructor" is good, sound advice. "Be sure to unplug from the instructor immediately before takeoff" is funny. "Three-quarters throttle into the wind" is right (maybe). "WOT full rudder left" is clearly sarcastic.

I'm not taking any of this personally, and I hope none of you are either. I'm not here to make a mockery of a sport that many of you love so much. I'm just getting started, and I want it to be fun. One day, assuming I learn well, and take it seriously, I'll come to love the sport. Right now, it's just fun.