How Long Does It Take To Learn RC Flying?
How long to learn depends on what kind of flying you intend to do. I'm a glider guider. It took me a summer to learn. I didn't burn ANY fuel, I had no instructor, and I got a workout to boot.
What I did was construct a simple foam 2Meter glider (balsa tails). Then I HAND LAUNCHED it from a small hill at the back of the field. But then I'm still learning how to land on a runway. Putting a glider down somewhere on the field with the wings level is not that hard. 3 fuselages later I could
a) put it down where I wanted it with the wings level
b) stay out of trees
The wing held up very well and the tails never suffered dammage except to break off the fuse when sliding out of a tree. The occaisional hard nosein required tape and maybe even some epoxy.
As for hitting a runway, that requires adding direction to the landing equation. I can, throw it, thermal it, catch it, but not really land it, I'm still learning that.
Total cost was very small because I did not have to travel to the club field 20minute up the road - flew in a local school yard! I could just grab the plane and xmitter and fly whenever I had a chance. I didn't burn any fuel and a foam fuse is really cheap and quick.