RE: Who has taught themself?
I tought myself. I started out with an old birdi trainer years ago. It didn't last long. My next plane was a Cadet that someone had donated to me. It had been crashed and repaired quite a few times. The covering looked like Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors. My 3rd plane was a skylark kit. I think having to put the kit together and do all the work myself made me appreciate it a little more. I was more mindfull of my actions, and it lasted quite a long time. I think I still have the old Kraft radio I used in those planes. It can be somewhat costly doing it by yourself. I wish they had corrugated plastic beck then...