reviews

Lesson Plan / practice structure

Dave Scott of the "1st US R/C Flight School" offers a very complete training syllabus that he employs during his famous 4-5 day Flying School. Jerry Festa, RCM Beginners' Bench Dave is both very patient and very thorough in his instruction, and I felt he had a true concern for my understanding of the information. Dave has the student focus on making prescribed controls inputs and the aircraft follows along - versus reacting to the airplane and always being one step behind it. Dave's friendly approach made the lessons easy to learn and the training flights allowed us to immediately put his techniques to use, get feedback, and continue on. I've now successfully flown 21 flights on my own. I hope to return to Wisconsin for an aerobatics course. Bill Felton. Apex, NC I think you should stop calling yourself an instructor and begin calling yourself a teacher, coach, and inspirator. The way you have structured your course, from simple to complex, is educationally sound and it works. Your teaching and coaching ability is however, the thing that brings it all together. Your explanations before the flights and during the flights eliminated the usual disorientation and lack of control. If anyone had told me that a person who had never flown R/C could solo in just 4 days, I simply would not have believed it - I do now! Faye Stilley. Wilton, CT Thanks to your training I had a great summer going to the field each day with a specific goal. Having a practice plan made learning new stuff enjoyable and much easier to accomplish. What a difference knowing how to execute the maneuvers beforehand made on my practice and figuring out where I needed to improve. By fall I realized that you had given me something that I didn't expect - CONFIDENCE! I was no longer nervous about any aspect of flying. Thanks for a VERY enjoyable season of flying and learning. Dave Coutie. Oshawa, CAN I can not thank you enough for your ability to take what look like very difficult maneuvers and break them down and stretch them out into easy segments and then bring them back together. I no longer stand back and look in awe at well flown aerobatics but have to ability to understand how maneuvers are performed and I am transferring that knowledge to my own sticks. My life long dream is now coming together! You deserve the respect of the whole RC community. Ron Francis. Ontario, CAN Your teaching manuals are awesome. So easy to read and understand. I'm helping others in my two clubs and already the beginners are noticing that they are making more progress with me as I EXPLAIN HOW to do the basics like turning and flying straight lines. The other instructors just shout "turn left"!! They're not aware of my secret weapon - the 1st US RC Flight School. I'm teaching myself the moves using your manuals and you're right when you talk about bigger rewards when you are progressing. It's just nice to have a goal rather than fly around aimlessly. Pity I'm not in the USA - I'd love to be one of your pupils. Tony Forrest. United Kingdom Your nearly 30 year effort to define 4 fundamentals and break each maneuver into its component parts and steps accelerated our learning. Calhoun Wick. I think you have excellent manuals. I read through a couple of the online versions, and I found them to be extremely well written and informative. I've learned several new ways to look at some aerobatic maneuvers the next time I go to the field. That's the mark of an excellent article, in my opinion.  Bob Lavey. Dave Scott is a SUPERB teacher, with "nerves of steel" and a quiet, relaxed manner that leads to early confidence in flying. Prior to each flight Dave would explain exactly what we were going to accomplish and why. After each flight Dave critiqued it (always most politely) at which time he explained what happened and why. The student's only concern is to learn, and have fun while learning. The tuition is far too low for the results obtained-approximately 30 solo "takeoffs" and "landings" each, by myself and my son before the week was over!!! After 5 days in class, I have completely revised the approach I will take with respect to the equipment and the type of aircraft I will build. Even if you exclude stick-time, the school was cost effective. Tony Fassi. Palm Beach, FL Please allow me to reiterate what a fantastic experience your primary course was for my sons and myself. Your approach of treating both flight preparation and the actual flying as though it were full scale is absolutely on target for maximal learning and fun with minimal headaches. I only wish I'd come to the School BEFORE making all the ridiculous mistakes! Hope to see you again in the near future for aerobatic training! Ken, Nate, and Ben Moore. Las Vegas, NV I've heard club members ask why would anyone pay for RC flight training when he can be taught in his club for free? I have attended several clubs and have not seen anything that resembles the professionalism, amount of thought, enthusiasm, and the personal attention that you bring to training your students. Joe Thompson. Palm City, FL Let me say the week was fantastic. You have again restored my interest and confidence in the sport! Your approach to our weaknesses and correcting them and presenting a firm reason for doing what we do and the aerodynamics involved is priceless. I know even better how to form a plan of action in the sky and carry it out without becoming totally "unglued." Dr. James Kropelin. Lewiston, NY It's official Dave. It all came together to allow me to Solo. What a rush! I even landed the plane on the runway in front of an audience of 3 other club members. The combination of concentrated training, emphasis on fundamentals, and your infinite patience has enabled me to be successful. Thanks. Archie Paez. Jacksonville, FL The school has been one of the best time investments I've made in years. You're very professional and structured classroom setting complimented the flying time you individually tailored to the student. You have succeeded in establishing the foundation that every pilot needs in order to be successful. Mike Anthony. Naperville, IL My club instructor would tell me to do this and that, but not explain how to do it. Dave began each lesson by explaining how and why, and that made learning much easier. I wish I had come to the school a long time ago and I would be a lot further. John Jundt. Dublin, OH My first approach was set up really well so I landed. I shut the engine down so I could let it sink in that a person really can learn to fly R/C in 5 day's! Your training program works as advertised and I wouldn't change a thing. (I'm actually quite thrilled about your program and very impressed with the amount of thought and work you have put into it!) I will return for your aerobatics course next year! Bob Thomas. Fowlerville, MI Hi David - Thanks for a great week and for the excellent instruction. You are very well suited for instruction, very professional and very knowledgeable - your mastery of both the sport and the training are very evident in everything you do. Glenn Dye. Saukville, WI I owe my RC flying skills to you and your progressive and insightful series of classes. I was very disenchanted with my club instructor's techniques and the progress I was making before I signed up for the primary flight course. I was very impressed with your approach to learning and learning to solo in only 3 days. The lessons I learned in the primary course stuck with me and I was able to solo back at my home field with no problems. Chris Leyden. Fort Wayne, IN The bottom line for any service is did you get your moneys worth and was it worth the time? The answer to both is definitely yes. I will recommend the school to new students. I would also say buying the flight book in advance was a great help. I think all beginners should study this book so they have an idea what they are trying to do when on the buddy box. John O'Keefe. Springfield, IL I was extremely impressed with your approach and methodology to Primary Flight Training. I have had a lot of 'advice' over the past two years, but no one made any effort to work on the pure basics with me.....'just go fly the plane and if you crash, it is just part of the learning curve'........I now realize that with attention to consistent patterns and ground references, there is no need to get into a situation where a crash can occur. Read Jeff's Full Report Jeff Wallach. Dallas, TX I flew yesterday, but on take off a line of squalls came through creating turbulence. The plane performed all sorts of gyrations on its own at low altitude. Heard David's voice, neutralize and level wings! IT WORKS! Completed circuit and arrived safely. Thanks David, your system really works. I learned so much and continue to learn as I reread the manual which reinforces what you taught us. Thomas Harris. Ajax, ONT I'm going to touch a bit of controversy by plugging the 1st R/C Flight School site because there seems to be a great deal of debate about whether people should have to pay for R/C instruction. As far as I'm concerned, if it gets more flyers in the sky and they have the cash to pay, then why should anyone care? Regardless, they have a good site and offer a step-by-step ground school there, which contains some excellent lesson plans and graphics that can be useful to any instructor or beginner. I dare you to go see them! www.rcflightschool.com R/C Cyber Tour, Model Aviation CAN I cannot express how much you've helped me gain confidence. That first day when you had me fly in 20 mph winds, I would not have believed it unless I had tried it myself! Your training has helped me to be better prepared to fly successfully on my home field. Read Michael's Full Report Michael Anthony. Naperville, IL What another wonderful week I spent under your great teaching and direction, and I wished that I could have been there again this Monday. I know you have heard this many times, but I must repeat it again: You are not only a great teacher, but a very dedicated professional who knows how to inspire your students to "reach for the sky". Michal McClure. Lake Forest, IL My brother and I are both very pleased with our progress throughout the week long session. We have, and will continue to recommend your flight school to those looking for this type of concentrated, personal attention in sharpening their skills. Gary Smith. Springfield, IN Apparently you have built a business using proper flight instruction methodology-i.e.-a SYLLABUS---something unheard of a local fields. I observe the absolutely abysmal state of most flight instruction for modelers. Even contest caliber modelers can't seem to grasp the function of the rudder control in all phases of flight - including crosswind take off and landing technique. Just as in full size flying - proper instruction (making the airplane do what the PILOT wants it to do as opposed to accepting whatever the plane wants to do and sorta guiding it around) is the only way to learn consistency. Your program indicates an understanding of proper instruction - 99% of articles on flight training that I read in trade pubs is utter garbage. I find your program truly worthwhile and would recommend it to aspiring modelers. Phil Sibille. Nats, Top Gun, & Masters Champion Now when flyers hear that I have been to aerobatic flight school they always ask if it helped or if it was worthwhile. I cannot be more positive about my experience to other flyers. There was no other way for me to advance my skills so quickly. I am not sure any amount of time would have helped this much. I think differently about flying. As the flight school taught me, I no longer react to what the aircraft is doing. I anticipate what to do and control the plane. The smoothness of my flights is better. My flying is improving and I am having more fun flying aerobatics than ever. Read Ken's Full Report Ken Weddell. Fremont, MI Because of the organization of the material, tailoring the lessons to the pupils needs and your constant input, my learning curve rose steadily and left me with the confidence and complete satisfaction that I could master the aerobatics routine at my home flying field. Jim Kropelin. Lewiston, NY
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