Hey Guys!!
I'm just getting into this whole airplane thing. It seems pretty awsome. I have some ?'s:

1. Is it hard to teach yourself to fly with a beginner nitro plane?
2. What's the CHEAPEST (lol) nitro RTF or Kit?
3. umm......mayb ill think of some more later.

THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP!!!!!!
-Mike-

While it is not impossible to teach yourself to fly you will have better odds of doing it cheaper and with more fun in the long run are by joining a club and getting with an instructor. Most clubs provide instruction at no charge to members. You may locate a club through www.modelaircraft.org in their charter club locator section.
I'm not at my usual computer and this one is rather slow but others will list good basic trainers for you. RTF and kits come out very close in cost for the first plane due to the tools you may need to purchase. I might suggest something like the Alpha 40 RTF as a good start.

No, it's not hard. It's only expensive and dangerous. Go to a flying club and get an instructor.
Plan on spending + - $350.00 to get started.

mikexnxike01,
Yes, unfortunately it is very difficult to teach yourself to fly. While there are a few that do successfully fly by them self, they are in the minority. I'd say that less than 1 in 100 succeeds. And even if they do succeed to teach them self to fly they will usually go through several aircraft in that process. If you want to learn to fly I would recommend that you seek out a club and find an instructor to help you learn to fly. Most clubs provide instructions at no charge. You can locate the nearest club by using the club locator on the AMA website here: [link]http://www.modelaircraft.org/clubsearch.aspx[/link]

Hope this helps

Ken

What if I used a Simulator...would that take the place of an instructor??? like could i use a simulator and go in the field and fly?

Thanks!

While it will help a little bit, it will not be enough. Is there some reason you don't want to join a club? I can assure you that it will be cheaper in the long run.

edit for many typo's

Well, i dunno, i just wanted to like buy all the parts and just go out and fly. I don't know anyone in the hobby so..... and i cant find any clubs around here.

An instructor will teach you how to properly set up the plane, check it for assembly errors, how to start it safely, show you how to handle it safely on the ground and in the air, get it (and you) in the air, show you how to trim the plane, demonstrate proper flying techniques including takeoff,climb, turns, landings and basic aerobatics. He will then debrief you after the flight and prepare you for the next flight. All this while making sure the plane remains in one piece.

How much of this will a simulator give you?

That freebe sim. download won't help much at all. The GP G2or 3 will help, BUT it won't teach you safety rules and different flying conditions at the clubs field. Go visit a local club and start asking questions there. If you try to play Lone Ranger, you won't stay in the hobby very long and keep all your fingers.

Go to your local hobby shop (LHS) and ask there about local clubs. They should be happy to help you because you will be becoming a customer.

I don't know your age and if you are able to drive etc but there are about 15 clubs showing to be within 25 miles of what should be your zip code.

Ok thanks, im gunna look into that because your right, the sims wont give me that expierience.
Thanks for all your help!!

If you want to teach yourself I recommend starting with a simulator, then moving on to a 3 channel park flyer. Something like a Lite Stik, the simulator will teach you stick control and then you can learn actually flying with a park flyer. They fly slow enough to be forgiving and generally dont do too much damage when they crash. When you master your slow flyer you can move on to a more agile aircraft like a Zagi, which are virtually indestructable, and once you have mastered that you can move on to nitro planes. If you can, get out to the club though and find an instructor. It wont take very long before you will be able to fly them yourself, maybe 4 or 5 days.

Welcome to the hobby - you're going to love it.
As you will notice from the responses, it will help you immensely to find a club and an instructor. I recently bought a trainer kit at a yard sale for $40. It was a complete Hangar 9 Alpha 40 trainer package (plane, radio, field box, electroncs, etc) that had been wrecked. The guy who sold it was getting out of the hobby because he could not fly it. He was one who thought he could buy everything and 'just go fly'. He said he flew it for about 10 seconds then "it crashed". He did not seek out any instruction beforehand. The whole package probably costs $400. I hate to see someone quit because of that. If he had only known about RCU, he probably would be flying today and loving it.
Don't become another statistic - find a club and an instructor. Keep us all informed as you progress because your posts could help someone else who is just getting started.

All the best.
Richard



P.S. Oh yeah, I am repairing the plane. The damage looks bad, but it's amazing what some epoxy and wood can do... Everything works but it needs a new prop and fuel tank. $40 well spent I'll say...

Just one more benefit from joining a club,,your probably gonna find someone with a .40 trainer used and for sale from a fellow member looking to get some money for a 4 star or something else (next plane)..if you dont have money for a plane,,forget about sims they're no type of replacement for an instructor, like anything, some people swear by them, others swear at them...and as an earlier post shows used trainers dont command very high prices, heck new ARFs arent all that high, heck 12 years ago my Eagle 2 kit was about what the Tower trainer ARF is now and believe me I would have gone ARF if it was cheaper back then...Rog

THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED!!!!!
-Mike-

Mike,

The nearest clubs to you are in Corona and in Trabuco Canyon.

There may be a new one in Irvine in a few months. Go learn to fly in Corona...I can get you an instructor, or at least some help finding one.

Welcome to the end of 'free-time' and ' disposable-income' as you now know them. I can sell you an Airtronics RD6000 and a buddy-box for it if you need them.