AB, yes, there is a lot to learn. The best thing you can do is sift through the BS and get to the heart of the issue.

There has been, and always will be, a lot of theory and "full scale experience" throw in these forums and posts, especially when it comes to maneuvers and some basic flight information.

The toughest part of being a novice is to recognise what is fact and what is fiction, or theory. Most of us will give you what we believe is the best information based on our RC... note RADIO CONTROL experiences, which vary quite a bit from some of the full scale stuff that we read about all the time here in the forums.

Go ahead and fly and remember that your experience will come with time and, as my instructor always said, by burning fuel. Get out there, experience the fun, the joy of RC flight and do your thing. Practice, practice, practice. That's the only way you gain experience.

What you will find is what seems very difficult now will, at some time seem routine at some time in the future. Your responses will be automatic because you learned it and you learned to fly. You will recognize when the AC needs to be trimmed and when it does not. You will learn how to do an appropriate downwind, base, final, land. You will learn that once you are "wheels up", you let the aircraft gain airspeed (you can't really see it, but you can hear it and feel it) then you can begin to make a turn and climb out to your "working altitude" and then begin to play.

What I suggest you do is continue to fly but do something new each day. Not each flight, but each day. Just a small change, but do something to improve your skills. Repeat it over and over again. And, at the same time practice some basic stuff.. emergency procedures (dead stick is the best one to practice) and do touch-and-go's to get the landing sequences down and in memory so that it becomes automatic.

Again, sift through the BS and get to the basics and expand from there. You will be amazed at how much you learn in one season, and how much you progress in one season.

Above all, don't sweat the small stuff. Just practice basics as often as you can and fly and have fun.

What I do is this: I arrive at the field, I grab my frequency pin, unload the car, and set up on the bench. I completely inspect the plane to make sure that it is ready for flight, including a check of the battery voltage using an ESV or the installed Voltwatch, then I assemble it (connect servo wires, wing on, bolted or elastic banded down, and make sure all is square). Then I range check it before starting it up do that I am sure all works. Then I fuel it up, briefly check everything again, then start the engine. Once started, I tune it and make sure it is ready for flight, then I do another range check. Again, if you have a voltwatch, check it to make sure all is well with the electrical system. Now you are ready for flight.

Next, once started, I walk it out to the flight line (carry it) and set it down on the centerline (announce your presence on the flight line to other pilots). Now, I hold the plane and run the engine up to full throttle to clear it out and get it ready for flight. You can almost hear it yelling at you that it's time to fly!!!

Take off and fly it. For the first flight of the day, I do several orbits and get myself back into the groove. As you get older, you will find that you will need a few orbits, maybe a couple of tanks of fuel, to get back at it and get yourself ready to fly for fun. It does me.

Next, well, I do some emergency procedures. I pick a spot in the sky and idle the throttle, and initiate a "dead stick landing drill". I don't land it, but come to a point where it is ready to land, then add throttle and go around. I may do that once or twice, but I do it on the first flight of the day, every day. It is not only really good practice, but, it can be fun and a challenge.

The next thing I do is make several approaches, not necessarily landing, but approaches and go around. Then, I do a few touch and go's. Once all that stuff is done, I get into my fun flying and make the best of the rest of the day.

I can tell you this, all of the practice, the drills, the emergency stuff, can be fun, is always fun and a bit of a challenge depending on where you put yourself in the emergency situation, but it adds to your experience. I can tell you this too.. I've had a few emergency experiences and all of them.. ALL OF THEM.. have resulted in good and safe landings. Some of them long, meaning down the runway a bit, but the plane survived and I was a happy camper.

Best of luck.

CGr.

All this takes only about 10 to 15 minutes but it is time well spent.