Learning To Fly

The very subject of learning to fly a radio controlled helicopter is lengthy to say the least and many books have been written about it so I don't intend to set out an in-depth guide on learning to fly here.

For many this where the fun or the problems start, depending which way you look at it.
In my opinion when you are first learning to fly a model helicopter you will decide as I did whether model helicopters are for you, after the first few minutes you will know if you want to invest in the time and money needed to learn to fly your helicopter.
When I first started in this hobby my helicopter went home in pieces every weekend for about a month, it was a very costly time for me and a lot of my time was spent on repairing my helicopter and I remember thinking to myself that I would never be able to fly a model helicopter.
Because I only flew at weekends I forgot what I had learned the previous weekend, sometimes a learning session would only last a few minutes then it was off to the model shop.....again!
I became very frustrated at the amount of time and money I was spending and felt as though I was getting nowhere so I thought seriously about selling my helicopter, then one weekend I hovered the helicopter for about five seconds but the sense of achievement was imense and that was it there were no more doubts, I still had crashes, mainly tip-overs but my confidence quickly grew thanks to those few seconds hovering earlier.
Now of course I can fly my helicopters very well and crashes are rare but when you are first learning it is important not to give up no matter how long it takes and once you acomplish that first hover you will be hooked just as I was.

There are many books and instructional DVDs available to help you learn and these are worth their weight in gold especially if like me you are planning to learn by yourself.
Read everything you can on the subject as it will help to prepare you and give you an idea what to expect once you get started.
One essential item is a training undercarriage, the cross-sticks and balls is the best one as this will allow the model to slide around and it will prevent the model from tipping over during your early attempts.
Try to slide the model around on some smooth tarmac to familiarize yourself with the controls before you try to lift the model off the ground, I have seen people try to lift the model off the ground hover on their first lesson and it has ended in disaster so be patient, get used to the controls until they become second-nature to you and you never know you might learn to fly with very little or no trouble at all.
Learn from your mistakes, try to remember why I particular thing happened. I used to take notes about each practice session which I think helped me a lot so you might want to try that.