Realflight will teach you a thing or two about stick movement, but there is so much of flying that depends on how you set up your plane ,and that can only be gained through an instructor.

You can fly on your own with a lot of patience.

I got a Graupner Tispy for Christmas, and learned to fly it. I would liken it to, say.... Wilbur and Orville. Flight times increase exponentially. The first ones on the order of a few seconds. Took me a month and a half to find out how long the plane would fly on one battery charge. About 30-45 minutes.

Crashes are devistating to confidence, unless you have a inner drive to not let the plane win. But fortunately my whole plane is made out of foam so it glued right back together with epoxy, and never broke in the same place twice.

Don't waste your money on RealFlight, download FMS for free, or look around for a copy of Ikarus' Easyfly for like 20 dollars and comes with a cord, to hook up to your TX.

Read, read, read. I know that 4 out of 5 posts here are like....
"Are you friggin nuts? Why would you throw hundreds of dollars down the tubes. Even if you had to drive 6 hours, get someone to teach you. " Which, were I starting up in glow planes would say yes. But, keep reading, here and there the choice knowledge is interwoven. Word of caution, some people here are FOS, for example: When trimming your plane's CG, you put it into a shallow dive and let go of the sticks, The proper set up will gradually level out out or climb slightly. A tail heavy setup will make the nose drop. Nose heavy will make it swoop back up. That one was debated for two pages here. Aeropace engineer won.

Before Flying
- Wait for a calm day.
- Keep waiting for a calm day.
- Tighten everything. You would be amazed at the stuff that loosened the last time you flew it. Even if you put Loctite on it.
- Range check your plane, there is enough to worry about without radio interference.
-Pull up your antenna. Don't ask, sore subject.
-Check the controls, LOOKING FROM BEHIND, the elevator goes up when you pull back on the stick, the rudder follows the stick, and the ailerons move up on each side with the stick(i.e. the right aileron is up when the stick is to the right.

Taking off
-Get someone else to throw it. A gentle toss straight into the wind, level or slightly down.
-You probably don't need full throttle. Maybe half, or a little more. I've flown fifteen different planes in the last three months, and all of them like to climb like crazy at full throttle. This quickly leads to an inverted V. Plane swoops up, stalls and then comes crashing down.
- Trimming it, do you have to, no. I flew for a months before I was proficient enough to trim it. All the trimming does is make the plane fly straight and level when the sticks are centered. Does it make the plane easier to fly? Ten fold. If the plane is out of trim, you constantly have to ride the sticks to get it to fly straight. Be careful trimming, get someone to help you. Tell them to move the trim tabs a couple of clicks, following the way your having to hold the stick. If your by yourself, slide your left thumb over to trim. Never take your eyes off the plane. You must realize the primary objective is to fly, not trim. It is easy to trim the plane right into the ground.
- The more proficent you get, you may have interest in a lower wing, faster, more acrobatic airplane. Low, straight wing planes, with thin airfoils, need speed to fly. You'll want to give it a harder toss. Other wise you'll be fighting with it until you get up to flying speed.

I know I ramble on, but I thought someone else might appreciate the help. I know I did.

Raabid makes good points...

First, don't try a glow trainer on your own. An electric parkflyer is different.

I agree about RealFlight, I have it and use it extensively for practicing glow skills. However, I find it very ineffective for electrics. The one parkflyer I tried just doesn't feel right.

I used Cockpit Master Backyard Edition (and I may have already said that). Its not nearly as expensive as RealFlight. I have never used FMS.

The proper place for setting up your CG is on the ground BEFORE flying!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not in the air!!!

The proper way to for setting CG location is given as a range in the instruction manual that came with your plane read it understand it BEFORE attempting any flight an overly tail heavy plane will be all but uncontrollable and most likely crash

I do agree with the first part of the quote though.

First off you'll most likely need more then 1-2 days of training.
Second bare minimum will be 58$ for AMA less if your under 18

Most but not all clubs train new members for free. Don't be surprised if your asked to join before instruction begins.

Crashem,
I think what raabid was talking about was fine adjustments to the CG for better flight performance. The manual or plans aren't written by any diety, they aren't always the "best" location, and frequently they are conservitively nose heavy to make sure the first flight isn't a very short one. So one starts with what the instrutions say, and go from there when trimming a plane. Not checking it at all on the ground before the first flight is crazy, which, I think is your point, and I don't think anyone would disagree with it.

The "best" location for the CG can only be determined by flight testing. However, the plans or instructions are usually more than good enough for a trainer and most sport flyers.

Montague,

No they are not written by and deity, However they are usually set up as you put it "conservitiely " to ensure a succesfull first flight. A goal I'm sure all beginners are looking for.

Actually the above statement was my point and you said it more clearly then I.

Alot of the questions posed here are already answered by the instructions. Something that seems to get overlooked.

While I agree with you that flight testing is the only way to determine "best" CG for a given plane, However I believe that most beginners especially someone trying to learn without an instructor are not going to be able to tell the difference. (Which was the intent of raabid's post) In this case I believe following the instructions to the letter would be the wisest course of action.

To clarify:

I did not suggest that any beginner abandon the manufacters CG point. I was giving the example that some people on here post, incorrect information, or solely opinion based information. For example, many here feel the only way to learn is with a club instructor on a 40 size trainer.

By this example, I must still not know how to fly.

But I sure pretend alot!

Thanks for the info. I haven't checked this post in a long time. Maybe I should get a sim, you do have a point in that it would be hard to learn everything in two days. I did fly again three times in very calm winds. Success!!! gotta love my mini piper. Anyway, I have posted in the flight simulator forum, but nobody wanted to start an arguement and I was just told to spend more money again *sigh*. A question. With the CG, if you put it aft of the manufactor's point, that would make the elevator more sensitive right (it would move the nose more for the movement it makes,, leverage i think) and the opposite would make it less sensitive right?? So when i would want to do aerobatics, I would pull back the CG??? Not that I would, just wanted to know...

Different types of planes respond differently when the CG is moved forward or back. If you set your planes CG to the Manufactures specs you will be fine and you will be able to perform aerobatics as well provided the plane is capable of them.

Remember that the characterics that make a good trainer (stability self-recovery) are different then those that make a good aerobat.

True, I guess the CG question was a little more complicated than a simple yes or no answer. I will stay with the manufacture's CG as I don't want to crash too bad, I just wanted some clarification. I guess I'll take that quesiton to the aerodynamics forum, it belongs there.