that's a GREAT plan! Like I said, you'll meet some of the COOLEST, FRIENDLIEST, and MOST GENEROUS people you'll ever meet anywhere when you visit a club. I guarantee, if you make an effort an introduce yourself to a few people, you'll find out pretty quickly about the "brotherhood of pilots" that I was talking about. Listen to the "veterans" - the ones that have been flying for 10, 20, even 40 years! They know what they're talking about and their patience in questions from newcomers will re-enforce your faith in "'Random Acts of Kindness"!

Don't be suprised if someone gets a trainer up in the air and hands you the controller! People LOVE to help the new guys learn and the LOOK on somoene's face when they FIRST fly is absolutely priceless It's what makes me want to learn everything I can and practice every chance I get, so that, ONE DAY, I can be "that" person who "shepards" the new pilots along and instructs them into becoming a good pilot.

Just DON'T get ahead of yourself! You're going to see some WICKED COOL planes and you're gonna want one Remember, you have to crawl before you can walk (or fly ) so no matter what you decide on, make sure it's stable, a little slow, easy to handle, easy to fly, "self correcting", and easy to setup and fix. Listen to people's advice and use your head. You've got 2 ears and one mouth, use them "proportionally"

>>>>> i'm going to tell on myself and how naive' I was when I 1st started getting into this: I THOUGHT that the FIRST plane I was going to buy was a P40 Warhawk - I've had a thing for the P40 since I was a kid. Now I know that "warbirds" are NOT for beginners (even the Hanger 9 "PTS" planes -progressive trainer system- they're SUPPOSED to let beginners fly planes like P51's and F15's with the help of some "extra" hardware that makes them handle a little slower and gentler; but they're still not for "raw" beginners and I've even seen some "intermediate" pilots BURN IN with a SHATTERING BANG!). If I HAD gotten that P40 I wanted, I would have smashed the ground like a meteor inside 5 minutes and carried the plane home in a bag , been heartbroken, out of a couple of hundred bucks, and probably would have never wanted to fly again. Thankfully, someone with more experience and wisdom than I had told me the truth about them and explained their flight characteristics and how that was the WORST thing I could do! I'm glad I wasn't hard-headed enough to ignore them because now I've got 3 great trainers, a little airtime, and I love flying more and more EVERY DAY and I LEARN EVERYTHING I CAN at every opportunity so "I" can be the best pilot I can be. ONE DAY I'll have that P40 (and a Big Stik [8D] too) but it WILL NOT be before I'm ready and before I know enough to handle them properly. Think about it this way: You get your driver's license on a Monday and buy a Z06 Corvette on Tuesday > how long do you think you're gonna last without becoming a statistic? [:@]

Enjoy your visit to the local club! You're going to have a BALL !!!!! I really envy you because you're going to be amazed, baffled, confused, and LOVE IT! I wouldn't be suprised if you get cheek cramps from "perma-grin" while watching a really good pilot fly a beautiful plane into some mind-blowing maneuvers