I agree with JAMES,

Just take your time, you have a good aircraft to begin it alone with. it is a very good floater. once it gets in the air just remember you're sim. training.

Make all of your transmitter inputs very smooth and as little as possible until you get the hang of it.
concentrate on circles. keeping the aircraft at the same altitude while doing them. play with your throttle at a relatively high altitude and see how slow you can fly it and still stay in control. THEN FLY IT AT THAT THROTTLE. IT will give you time to think about your next input.

and most importantly, REMEMBER TO "TRIM IT OUT" once it's at a decent elevation. nuetralize the sticks(bring them both to the nuetral position) and move your "sub trims" until the plane flies straight and level "hands off" now if you have a dead-stick you don't have to fight the controls.
I had to do it this way also, Then I met a guy who used to fly pattern contest. He really helped me along.

BEST OF LUCK! HAVE FUN.

RON in NEVADA