Hi Ptarmigan,

It's not clear what alternative to the buddy box you've heard about. Ray's method (instructor's fingers hover over student's fingers) certainly works, but you'll find a lot fewer instructors comfortable with that method than the buddy box. Here are some other methods that I've heard about or seen:

1. Transmitter hand off: Student flies as instructor talks. If student gets in trouble, he quickly hands transmitter to instructor. I do not recommend this method, unless, perhaps, you're flying a U.S. Aircore plane, but you'd be surprised how many folks use it. Expect to learn airplane repair.

2. Simulator: Student spends many hours with a simulator before going to field. This method only seems to work for young people, but I've heard credible reports. You've got to really spend hours with the sim, which bores most people to tears.

3. Park flyer: These electric planes fly very slowly, so they give you a lot of time to react to errors. I don't think they're much like flying glow-fueled planes, but I mention this here because a lot of people feel this is the best way to learn to fly without an instructor.

Whatever you choose, good luck!