DON’T TRY TO GO IT ALONE. Flying RC aircraft, like most sports, is a skill to be mastered. At the club we like to help beginners get into flying, and we are always eager to give advice and support. Try it on your own, and you may not even be aware exactly where you are going wrong.
BUY RIGHT. Check in at your local Hobby Shop, and ask experienced modellers for advice before buying ANYTHING. They will guide you to make the right choices. We know that you are eyeing that warbird or aerobatic model, but a typical trainer setup is extremely important in mastering the all important basic techniques of flying.
GET A SIMULATOR. Although not strictly essential to learning to fly RC, simulators accelerate the learning curve greatly, and teaches you that all important co-ordination aspect of flying. Most hobby shops have a simulator on demo, go try one out, and you will see what a great help it is. Many experienced pilots still spend many hours on a simulator, perfecting that next maneuver.
ENLIST AN INSTRUCTOR. Our club has a number of club and SACAA approve ARO instructors on hand to teach you (for FREE) once you are a member of our club. The preferred method of training is the “buddy cable” method of training, where the trainer and student’s radios are connected by means of a trainer cable. When the student makes a mistake when flying, the instructor simply releases the trainer button on his transmitter, and control is regained in a matter of milliseconds. Training done this way means that you never have to crash your airplane due to pilot error.
Our Club has a very strong contingent of ground and flight instructors to help you fly your first solo with as few mishaps as possible.