I need to echo something that NuCrasher said. I put my Aerobird Challenger away and bought a Nexstar glow trainer. I went through flight training at the local AMA chartered club and solo'd on the Nexstar. I found that, after I'd solo'd on the Nexstar, I could suddenly fly the Aerobird much better than before.

I don't want to discourage you, but I didn't have much luck learning to fly on my Aerobird Challenger.

It sounds like you're getting a decent charge if you can run your engine at full power for ten minutes, but having the wall charger as well as the car charger is just a good idea. When you hand launch the Firebird, make sure you're throwing it level. When I first started out, I had a tendancy to throw it upward at a 20 to 45 degree angle and I would cause it to stall before I could gain control of it.

Good luck, and let us know how you're doing!