Let's talk about this one for a second. The problem with this is that when you are self taught you just don't know what you don't know. That may sound a little bit cryptic but it's a very true statement. How can you know what an instructor is teaching you when you have never been with the instructor. How do you know what to teach yourself? I'm sure that most everybody that has taught themself will agree with this as they look back upon their experience. There is a lot more that an instructor is going to teach you than just "moving the sticks around" to fly the plane. While this is not a complete list of things an instructor will teach you, it gives you a good idea of what I am talking about.
Your instructor will teach you to...
[ul][*]Diagnose engine problems[*]Properly tune your engine[*]Correct radio installation[*]Correctly setting up the radio to control the plane[*]Safely starting the plane[*]Deadstick procedures[*]When to abort a takeoff[*]Introduction to aerobatics[*]Answer any of your hundreds of questions that are asked while training.
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As I said, this is not a complete list but it gives you an idea of what I am talking about. There are so many more things that an instructor will teach you, but when you teach yourself you don't even know about a lot of these things. And how can you teach yourself something you don't even know about??

Something to think about.

Ken