piper chuck, I have read many a thread here where the 'instructor' causes the crash! One I believe was a young boy's plane, because that instructor was watching another instructor's plane crash. The thread I think is called '3 crashes' or somethingwhatever. They had 3 planes in the air at once with instructors in control. Ya see even with an 'instructor' it can get expensive. I encourage others because it can be done. I, like others, take pride in learning something on my own. If it costs me a litte more, it's my money. Now I'm sure you will say it is safer to have an 'instructor' to teach one to fly, see my earlier comment on the 3 instructors having 3 student's planes in the air at the same time. How safe is that? Like gjeffers said it's an individuals choice.

Gosh, I feel for you. I only needed about a month with my instructors to solo. It was at a time when buddy boxes were the exception. They had me landing before I thought I was ready, but it turned out they were right! No crashes while learning, but they sure did save the plane a time or two. The nice thing about a GOOD instructor is he will keep you focused on what you need to learn and practice rather than letting you bore holes in the sky.

MANY? I love these exaggerations! Yes, it is personal choice. In order to make this choice, it's important that the person have ALL of the facts, such as the large numbers who try on their own and give up, instead of only seeing over simplified reports from a few who have made it on their own, allegedly without crashing. It's kind of funny that some people have gotten their bees in a bonnet, and have to resort to exaggerations, in response to a much needed reality check.

What do you mean you feel for me, i was probably ready to fly the avistar after about 2 weeks on the sim but i was having fun and i was not about to fly the avistar in the middle of winter. the point i'm trying to make is the sim's do work, and people who didn't learn that way know nothing about that subject.

Thats funny chuck. No, my bees are not in my bonnet over this or you( mr reality check,lmao). And I don't think I'm resorting to exaggeration myself, there are plenty of stories to back me on that one. You're the one who said " For every one who made it there are probably 100 OR MORE who gave up..." Now who is exaggerating? I guess you keep a count.
I just rather give a positive vibe to someone that wants to try it on thier own, not be negative. If someone started a thread asking if they should get an instructor to learn how to fly, I would not sound in saying not to. And I would not tell them they should try it on thier own first. I don't go sticking my nose into others beeswax.
Ge Force was asking if it can be done and I just gave some positive reinforcement, and then some suggestions. Perttime gave real good advice to get a less expensive foam plane first. Seems to me your the one with 'bees in the bonnet'.

You can go it alone as some of you will be hell bent to do and there is no stopping, nor talking you out of it. This is fine, do what YOU like! We're hopeful some of you will listen to the voice of reason and experiance. I would guess between Piper and myself we have close to (if not more then) 50 years of experiance in this hobby. I can say uniquivically learning with an instructor is the best way to go and I have the years of experiance to back this up. One particular incidence where an instructor or instructors screwed up, shouldn't be construed as adequate reason to throw the better success instructors have brought to teaching the sport to others!

This is a beginners forum. We're attempting to help people learn this activity, not point them to the more difficult path.

Mode One, you are correct in your statements, and I would never argue that it is not best to get an instructor. For me and my work schedule, setting up a time for an instructor would be difficult to say the least. I'm sorry, I did not mean to imply that because instructors have made mistakes a person should forgo one. Ge Force asked if it's possible, and a few of us told our stories. I don't see whats wrong with that, and maybe give a little positive reinforcement to him along the way.

My point is you learned when sim's were not around, and now sim's are around and your giving advice that's not current to what is avalable, you discount first hand knowledge and blow out of purportion the numbers of failures. Both ways are good and both ways have failures.

Start with a cheap foamy.....Accepitasus Baduis (I thinks that's how it's spelled?) or similar plane. Get a big open space and fly. Once you conquer this plane, then you are probably ready for a high wing trainer on a clam day with lots of open space. I started with a Duraplane and crashed it a few times (twice into a tree and twice into the ground after a dead engine), but once I started to keep it up in the air, I haven't crash since and now I'm flying a Nexstar. The only thing I could suggest is to be ready to power back and trim it, otherwise your'e going to crash again. And my last suggestion - Altitude is a must. Good luck and if you are good at the simulator and fell confident.... go for it without and instructor.......you'll do fine.

Very good points made there chris77. Maybe some have forgotten the joy they felt when they first learned to fly a RC. I think some think since someone may only have a few posts under thier name than that means they are inexperienced. Far be it.
More good suggestions ( and vibes ) from Johnmpa.

after a lay off of 20 years and after the horrors of being self taught when I was 15 took forever to solo.so I went out and got a NEXTAR and went over to the local club, the guys were most helpful checking out and trimming the model for me. the main problem with the self taught method in my opinion is trimming. the knowledge more expierenced pilots have can make or break your ability to fly I had flown before so after 5 flights I soloed again. now after gaining some expierience myself I still ask for help with a new plane, it never hurts to ask for help,there is so many things to overlook when you dont know what to look for. check to see if a generous person in your area would drive to your location to help you with your plane he/she might find that you have a better place to fly than they were using. the radio check is vital and many details a noob would overlook because lack of expierence. you need 2 people to radio check a plane if it don't pass you might fly your new plane away, 10 to 15 min of flight time goes along way from you when you dont have a car to chase it down with . and AMA insurance is vital if you loose control and were to hit somone or somthing you dont even want to think about that, the things to think about when you are going to learn to fly by your self either way good luck its a great hobby

Perhaps when you can count your flying experience in YEARS instead of MONTHS you'll be better able to assess this.
Positive vibes are fine, but I've always found reality to be better.
Your last sentence is rather telling. In case you hadn't noticed, this is not YOUR forum. It is the RC Universe Beginner's forum. People come here to learn, not to just get a warm fuzzy from people they agree with. Some of us invest considerable time in the forum and in real life helping others. Over time, we've seen enough to know what works and what doesn't. It's always interesting to see someone who has been in the hobby for a matter of months telling people with years of experience what they should and should not comment on.

I haven't forgotten the joy I felt when I first learned to fly, and I doubt Mode One has either. I also haven't forgotten the sorrow I felt when my second plane prematurely met its end. However, I also know that I learned a huge amount from my instructors. If I had learned on my own I would have missed out on their experience.

I've also seen my share of planes that students brought to the field thinking they were ready for their first flight. I can tell you that MANY would have gone home in a trash bag if it weren't for one of two sets of experienced eyes going over them. Time on a sim is valuable, but there's way more to getting a plane in the air than being able to wiggle the joysticks in the proper manner.
JD, please do tell us about your experience. Help us understand your qualifications to determine what's best for a student. Share with us stories of some of the students you've helped train. We're all ears (well, eyes).

Sure, that's it, we've been doing this too long. A very small minority manages to learn to fly on their own with a sim and suddenly anyone who suggests that method is less than ideal is giving outdated information. As I've said, there's much more to flying than one can get with as sim. While some can learn this way, it's less than ideal, and way more fail tham succeed. Most people understand the value of learning from experience. Others feel they need to rediscover things on their own. Oh well, to each his own.

Ge Force, I still suggest calling a few of the clubs in your area. You might discover that one of the members lives near you and could help arrange transportation to one of the clubs.

However, if you end up going it on your own, pick something slow, durable, and repairable. I recently put together a GWS Slow Stick. I'm pleased with how easy it is to fly and how durable it appears to be. When you are ready to try flying for the first time, remember that you'll need much more room than you think. Small backyards, busy schoolyards or parks with lots of people playing are not good places to try flying. You need lots of space, and you should not be anywhere where you will fly near or over people, cars, houses, etc. Consider a place with long grass, it softens unexpected landings. Set the control throws on the flying surfaces at the minimums suggested by the manufacturer, and remember to not over control when you try flying. Be sure you choose a plane with good spare parts availability, just in case.

Ge Force, I'll relate my experience learning how to fly and see what you think. I was given four airplanes and all the flight equipment by a friend who knew he would never use it again. I liked the looks of the little Tri-Pacer, so a different friend who flew offered to buddy cord me on it. On the first flight, he said I was doing fine and quit watching. I flew it into the setting sun and he couldn't take over in time to save it. I got mad and decided to learn without an instructor. After crashing two more trainers, I decided to get the Real Flight G-2 simulator. About 100 hours later, and after flying every plane on the simulator, I tried it again with a new trainer. It was so easy this time, I moved on to a Four Star 60 soon after. I honestly feel if I had done the 100 hours on the sim first, it would have had good success flying the first time with a high wing trainer without any instruction. The G-2 will not help you with proper plane set-up, engine tuning and the like, but that's where RCU comes in.

Like I said, just because someone only has a few posts under thier name does not mean they are new to this. I don't have to qualify myself to you mister. I'm no expert, never said I was. I've learned that those that toot thier own horn usually can't carry a tune.
Mode One, none of my comments are meant for you. Your seem like a rational person, with a good, logical opinion on things.
Sorry Ge Force, this thread is starting to turn into a match, just because some people get a little bent.
This will be my last posting under this thread, no matter what is said by whom. Some folks just don't know when it's best to stop. Some just can't help themselves.

Ge Force, take care and good luck to ya whatever ya decide to do.

I've watched this thread unfold over the last day or so and I've thought about getting involved with the discussion, but that little voice in the back of my head told me to sit back and watch because I would need to step in at some point. That point is here. I've noticed that some people here are taking things entirely too personal and the discussion is getting out of hand. I'm going to lock this thread down. If Geforce feels that he doesn't have the answer he was looking for then he can start a new thread on this.

Ken