ORIGINAL: RCKen
..... And I have to disagree with goliath on the length of time needed to learn at an AMA sanctioned flying field. A lot of how long it takes to learn to fly really depends on the skills, determination, willingness to listen to instruction, and a few other things of the student. As an instructor at our field I've ran the whole range of students learning. ....
my second set of pennies thrown in here.
It's too bad that all instructors are as dilligent as the one's in your club. There are many instructors who never show up for an appointment with a student or visa versa, There are clubs that have a "training day" which means possibly three flights a week for a beginner. These conditions will lengthen the time to learn, period.
As for the Co-pilot, the first few lessons, the Co-pilot sensitivity should be set at 50%. Two reasons #1 It helps the new student from over controling the plane #2 It decreases the time to learn left / right, because he gets to fix his mistake, and not have the instructor take the plane. As the student progress, then sensitivty is reduced and he finally has to make the corrections himself. When the Co-Pilot is used in this way, it is really is a good tool. The catch is, experienced pilots have to get use to having the sticks feel different. (The sticks have to be "held" longer to turn and the plane is always nose level, even when landing) So now landing is accomplished with throttle control instead of the elevator, hmmm new concept... One more thought, the Co-Pilot does increase the amount of time the student actually flies the plane during his lesson and it DOES NOT replace the buddy box.
Any just my two cents!