I taught myself to fly with a Great Planes Spirit. Building it was hard for a first build but took my time and it turned out really nice.

Flying it is fairly simple, slow with lots of time to react and I had a nice big hay field to fly on so I didn't have to worry about landing close when starting out. The hardest thing was the launch using a high start. Launches weren't the prettiest to begin with but got much better.

Getting help with flying it to begin with, especially launching would have been worth quite a bit. Judging height and knowing when to set up for landing takes a few times to learn. Looking at something powered, like a GP Spectra, it would still be a good idea to have experienced help with getting up in the air.

I got a regular trainer a few seasons after, and it was an easy transition to powered flight.