Is it?
Once you get the hang of it, is it like riding a bike(cant loose balance even if you tried)?
I keep thinking im gonna crash on my first flight(with instructor) and every one will laugh at me!
What about a sim? I have thought about getting a simulator so I can be prepared, but does Real Flight G2 really help? I dont understand how it could help.

Yes flying is kinda like riding a bike, but sometimes you hit that patch of gravel, stone, slick spot and wipe out. Even if your an expert at flying, you may have your problems. A sudden gust of wind on the downward leg or at take off. An engine stall, radio glitch, or even the newbie who tunes up his TX w/o checking frequencies first!!!

As for Flight Sims, as Tony the Tiger would say, Theirrrr GRRRREAT!!

Check this one out, its' free:

http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/

It will help you identify your planes orientation. Is it flying away from you or towards you? Are you turning left or right? When the plane is coming at you, your controls are opposite. Practice, Practice, Practice...

sims are a big help in learning to control the plane,but they are not a replacement for actual flying,if your instructor is worth the time of day he will not let you crash,no its not like riding a bike,you park your plane to long and the thumbs go brain dead

nmtr13:
Get the g-2. I crashed everything I tried to fly for a long time, so I never got the feel of actually flying a plane. It appeared the only thing I was good @ was crashing. I finally bought the realflight, I practiced a couple of hours each day for about 2 weeks & wala, I went out & made my first successful flight. Now dont get me wrong I do still crash every once in a while but my success rate is pretty good. I owe it all to realflight. Or get with an instructor to help train you the correct way. I didn't have that option when I started in the hobby.
Good luck
Gil

G2 great sim do not zoom it in where you can not see the ground . Put in some flight falures. stay as close to the ground with out crashing and practice practice.Will keep your thumbs in touch with your brain??????????? When you go to the flying sight every thing will fall in to perspective.With an instructor you will pick it up pretty fast . remember practice

I'll say flying is like riding a bike. if all you do is ride on a nice smooth path, normally you don't have any problems. The problems arise when you try to ride a wheelie across a fallen log spanning a raging river, 200' bellow.
Once you learn, and flying becomes reaction instead of concious thought, then you surely can get back to it with little or no problems.
I hadn't really flow but a handfull of times in the past 4 years, this summer I finally finished a Sig Cap231ex. Went out for the maiden flight, no one was around so I fired it up, took off, landed, remover 1/2" of elev travel, checked my nuts (and bolts). Went back up 3 or 4 more times and was flying well enough. Yes i was a bit rusty yet, but nothing a couple gallons of fuel wouldn't cure.
If your plane crashes on you first instruction flight, then you have a very bad instructor. I've had guys trying my Zen 50 who had never touched a control. A few of them could handle it in a race trac pattern, but it was a bit hot for most of them.

Someone on RCU (forget who) compared learning to fly R/C to Playing a video game. You cannot win the game on your first try. You will crash without an instructor.
You will crash eventually, be it dumb thumbs, equipment failure, or them. (borrowed another one).

Flying is a lot like a video game except there is no reset button!

Seriously, you will not crash with an instructor. Once up in the air and "a few mistakes high" flying is not that hard, and there is plenty of time for your instructor to take over control if you really lose it. Landings and take-offs can be hairy for a beginner (like me!) but after enough practice time in the air you will have enough feel for the plane to get it up and down pretty safely.

The buddy-box system is great! I have only been flying since the summer but I have had no problems letting inexperienced family members try flying on the buddy box with me as the "instructor".

Nah... you may lose some of your precision, if you ever had any... but the basics come rushing back.
I stopped flying for 10 years, and was scared to death of that first flight back...
to the point of purchasing an Advance 40 as my "re-entry" bird.
The first flight was very exciting... complete with knee-knocking on my first landing, even though
it was a nice "greaser" type landing, after one "missed approach" overflight.
Still... after 3 more flights, I found I'd been worried for nothing, and was bored with the plane already.

It all depends on how your instructor. If he or she considered it difficult to learn then much too often, they will pass that degree of difficultly on to their students. When I teach, I present learning like it is as simple as a walk in the park, which more times than not, it is. There is very little stress involved for both my student and the instructor, in fact, I usually have a pleasant conversation, many times about nothing to do with flying. Once the trainer is level, we have several seconds to talk about anything.

Most of the people I teach learn to fly very smoothly within a few minutes, whereas I can step back and let my student sort things out for themselves. Some get it right away but it might take others a full tank to figure out what's going on. IMHO I would say learning to fly RC planes can be quite easy and a pleasant experience. BTW, I don't use a buddy-box to teach.

Take care,
CCR
http://www.kites.org/rc_instructors

How long does it usually take to solo?

Some people solo in a day. Some people fly for years and never solo. I would guess the average is between 1 and 2 gallons of fuel.

Somewhere between 1 flight and 30 years.

If you understand flight, how airplanes fly and have good coordination, probably less than a dozen flights. Most of my student solo after three weekends, and move up to a higher performance airplane abbout 6 weeks after that.

Will agree with Steve Guinn.

Interesting thread in the clubhouse along these same lines:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...347&forumid=59]

I think 1 or 2 gallons of fuel seems kind of high. Granted, my experience is limited to the 5 trainees in my "class" this year, but I think there are factors that impact the average.

Video games - Most people who have played video games have less of a problem with orientation than those who never have.

Flight Sims - The two people with sim experience in my class (me and another guy) soloed in about 6 - 12 flights. The three without took a great deal longer. One older gentleman had been trying to land for two years.

The instructor - I had a variety of instructors, several took the plane up (really) high and then said have at it. The best talked me through a specific set of exercises and after getting it up to altitude talked me lower and lower until I was able to land.

As long as you're having fun, its not a contest to see how fast you can solo.

GB

Only at first

Well said. I think the most fun I had flying was learning, with my best friend playing "instructor" on the buddy box. He'd be yelling at me, and I'd be smiling, and just having a great time.

On the other hand, if my only opportunity to learn was at the club training day, one morning every two weeks, 9 months of the year, and it was so popular that I only got 2 flights each session (this accurately describes my club's program), then I might be more concerned about how fast before I soloed.

My rule of thumb is 4 gallons of fuel, but maybe I define "solo" differently than others. By solo, I mean very competent with a trainer. You can put it down exactly where you want to, you can take off and land in a cross wind, and you're very comfortable in all the normal trainer orientations in the sky.

One thing to understand when you answer, "Is it that hard?" is that there's a lot to learn besides just controlling the airplane. Just getting comfortable with glow engines takes a considerable amount of knowledge and experience.

My best instructor said you needed to land 50 times.

I flew 4 - 12 times a week for four months and didn't quite finish my first gallon.

I have been flying now for about a year, but I don't think that I would have done it if this were the situation!! That doesn't sound like much fun. Perhaps things are different where you are, but we welcome new people. We often have people just drop by on a weekend wanting to watch. I often take my old trainer out to the field to have a little fun chasing birds and shooting touch-n-goes before I really start practicing. When someone really interested comes in, I will take some time between flights to show then how the model works, the difference between different models, how the engines work, etc. If they are interested in flying, I ask one of the instructors if they would mind taking this guy (or lady) up for a spin. I think I have something like 20 different people who have flown at least one lesson on my plane.

My point is, we love the new guys!! Our club is 100 strong, but we are always looking for more. As for the original question, I would not let an instructor have a stranger up on my plane if I thought there was a chance that the instructor would lose it due to pilot error! No worries my friend...just get out and fly!

As for the sim...
Realflight -> $200
Traner (rtf) -> $300
feeling of watching YOUR plane flying around the sky under your control......PRICELESS
(don't bother with the sim...most of the instruction is in learning about aerodynamics, engines, and radios.)

just my thoughts

Zee

Like anything else (and especially like learning to play a guitar) there are two phases you go through learning a skill.

Firstly you start to realize that, for instance you should move the aileron stick 'toward' the drooping wing when the aircraft is coming toward you to level the wings. This is a useful thing to keep telling yourself, but is still no use in difficult situations until you reach the second stage. . .

Guitarists call it 'finger memory' and it's the state you get to when your fingers (or thumbs!) move before you seem to think about it.

It's similar to an experienced tennis player telling you that if he is given time to think about a stroke, he is more likely to fluff it!

It's this second stage that simulators teach you, especially the G2 , which is amazingly realistic. It allows you to get in many hours of experience (and many crashes!) in a much cheaper way than the real thing!

-David C.