ORIGINAL: paradigmer
Hi, I am looking into getting an RC airplane and I have a question about intructors. - are they absolutely necessary and if they are, what sort of fees do they charge. I have looked around a lot on different sites that seem like they know what they are talking about and I get a lot of mixed opinions. Some say yes, some say know, others are indecissive.
I have messed around with flight simulators (not for RC's, but computer game type things) and know a bit about the laws of flight (I've flown private planes), given those circumstances, what are your thoughts.
Back to the original question(s).
You don't need an instructor. An instructor will only save you thousands of dollars and hours of wasted frustration and keep you from developing bad habits that will continue to frustrate you, enough so you will probably give up, but they are not necessary. No more that they are needed for a full size aircraft. The Wright Brothers never had an instructor and they flew. If you are careful you can teach yourself to fly a private aircraft. If you live through the first six flights or so.
Fees? I could get paid? There are places that will train for pay - you go like a seminar - but in this area you join a club ($50 to $60 per year plus $58 to join A.M.A. and possibly a one-time buy in fee depending on the club). Or, you befriend someone who knows how. Most L.H.S. around here have bulletin boards that highlight local clubs or the owners can supply names.
Experience with real aircraft is of relatively little use in R/C. Think of landing while facing the tail and looking at the airfield in a mirror. You're looking at the plane, not facing forward out of it. No horizon to line up with, no ground objects to reference turns on. No instruments. A 15 mph wind to a real plane behaves like a relative 60 mph wind to a 60" wingspan model. It certainly will help with concepts of aerodynamics and flight surfaces.