RE: Complete beginner's guide
You want to learn to fly model aircraft then you NEED to read "Stick and Rudder: An Explanation of the Art of Flying" by: Wolfgang Langewiesche. It may contradict many points you are taught by your instructors. Many R/C "instructors" have no formal aviation experience and were taught by a guy at the field that was taught by anouther guy at the field and so on. It is generally hands on only with some basic explanations on flight theory. Unfortunitely there is a lot of misunderstood aspects of flying that get passed down through the line of students. I guarantee some of the points in this book will contradict what some believe to be true because of misunderstandings, poor training, and erroneous anecdotal evidence. Don't get me wrong there are some great instructors out there and clubs with great programs. These will always require homework before the next lesson and incorporate some form of ground instruction. Just remember read the book, and find a good instructor. Barring that READ the book and find someone to help you keep from destroying it while learning. If your instructor is just there to take over and give some occasional prodding then read up on the different aspects as they become relevant, and if you can't make sense of it use the forums. There are some very knowledgable people here and can help you understand, just give as much information as you can.