Day 1: Get started with a simulator

Start practicing with FMS (Flying Model Simulator), the free RC (remote control) airplane simulator. Yeah, it’s a little wierd that you need to use a simulator to practice a hobby, but flying with FMS will teach you how to orient the plane (hint: it’s backwards when it’s flying towards how), how to be gentle on the controls (pulse the controls instead of holding them down), and how to land (cut the throttle almost all the way back, and tip the nose up just before you touch down).

Buy a gamepad with two analog controls (it should look like those XBox or PlayStation controllers). I use the Logitech Cordless Rumblepad. Configure FMS to use it: put the throttle on the left stick (vertical), the rudder on the left stick (horizontal), the elevator on the right stick (vertical) and the aelerons on the right stick (horizontal). Spend 30 minutes practicing today, and every day for the next two weeks. Start with the “SlowFly” model shown below.