Originally posted by Borzak
After going back and reading the WHOLE thread MORE (actually amost zero did) people in this thread need to ask the newbie - not the instructor about how well paid instruction would be received.
Try it before you get set in stone one way or the other.
Think abou this. I'm a 32 year old adult who has followed RC for over 10 years and recently moved to an area where I can actually drive to an instructor.
Money wise it breaks down like this..
Plane/Engine/Radio - $350ish (100 plane/100 engine/ 150 radio)
Field Box with equip - $120
AMA - $58 (or whatever it was)
Club dues - $120
Odds N Ends (fuel etc..) $50
Total - $648
People in this thread act like the people coming out to fly are flat broke. Take a look at how much a "complete" system cost nowdays with a radio and all the equipment that you accumulated over many years - now buy it all at once. You think paying $100 or $200 more to actually FLY would matter? Not likely as I've yet to see in 3 months a honest to god person show up who was less than 18 at our club. In fact at age 32 I'm the second youngest person I've seen at our club actually fly.
My MAIN concern now is getting enough instruction so that I can solo confidently so that I can go out to the field and actually fly when no instructor is there and I can get out of the way so the next person can start bugging the instructor for time.
I expect my actual time at the field will triple or more once I don't need the instructor there to fly and I can fly at any time I want 
I have excess to the most amazing RC flight instructor I've ever seen and that is no exaggeration. What I mean is that I've only met him recently, but I've seen him dozens of times hand the tx over to spectators, (many my newest customers) stand next to them for 5-10 minutes and then step back a few feet and let them fly, (no buddy-box) with only an occasional "suggestion" on where/how to make a turn. Totally amazing.
He does get paid, but usually from people from out of town. He does teach for free on Tuesday and Thursday in one club and Wednesday in another club. He says he likes teaching for free better because he can cut the beginner off in 5 minutes or 30, it depends on how he feels and how many beginners he has to teach, as opposed to paid instruction where he is totally obligated to spend at least an hour with any student.
One thing I have to mention about other club instructors. That is that although they mean well, it seems that literally none of the beginners who take lessons from these instructors seem to ever learn anything. It's like, day after day, month after month, year after year, no progress is ever being made. They can say they "teach" for free, but are they really doing anything worthwhile if no beginner ever learns how to fly on their own?
I've seen 3-5-7 year beginners not doing any better than when they first started, but with the other instructor, they literally learn to fly very well within a few minutes of their first ever RC flying experience.
Good news (?), the RC industry has finally taken serious notice of this instructor, but I am a little torn, as I'm afraid these industry members will take him away as he is doing excellent in-the-field marketing for my recently opened hobby shop. Want to learn not only to fly, but takeoff and land immediately and get the learning process over ASAP? I firmly believe that literately every beginner does.
nascarjoe
Lighthouse Hobbies