I say good on ya' Dave. Its good to hear you are committed the way you are about RC's. And I respect that and what others have to say. Im not saying there is a right or wrong answer, all im saying is...yes its possible to teach your self. I can understand people like you are gonna be frustrated to hear people say what a waste of time Intructors are..etc etc, because of all the hard work you have put into this hobby.

I can just see this discussion going on and on, someone said they should made a Sticky, maybe so...That way everyone can get an idea.
Look my 2 cents is that you can learn several ways. Either:

Yourself
Simulators
Intructors
Friends

Just to name a few...