How long will it take me to earn my solo certificate? Each person is unique but the average student requires 10 to 15 hours of kinesthetic training to demonstrate solo capability. You can expect to accomplish 2 hours of training per day (beyond 2 hours of training in one day, students tend to saturate and stop learning).

Is it easy to learn to fly radio-controlled model airplanes? In a word, no. Flying (and especially landing) model airplanes is much harder than flying full-size airplanes because there is less time to react and the pilot is faced with a constantly changing perspective on the airplane he or she is controlling.

The local club has free instruction. Why should I pay you? At Hobbies Aloft R/C Flight School you will learn to "solo" in days rather than months or years, and you will do it without damaging your (or our) trainer model airplane. Click on "Our guarantee" for more details.

How much is it really going to cost me to learn to fly? Total costs of flight training to "solo" capability will vary depending on how fast the student learns the piloting skills, and whether the student provides their own trainer aircraft/fuel/equipment. A student who provides their own equipment and can accomplish the solo demonstration flight (three good take-offs and landings in a row with taxi back to flight station) in 6 hours would spend $360 for the flight training and $30 for an initial test/optimization flight of their airplane for a total of $390. A student using our equipment and requiring 9 hours to solo would spend $810 for their training. When you figure in travel costs, rental car, food, and lodging for a typical 5-day stay, the training costs may not be the main cost of the trip. Of course, you do get to enjoy all the attractions available on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula after training has concluded (typically we are done by 1:00 P.M.) each day.

Where are you located? We are located near Monterey, California, which is on the coast about 100 miles South of San Francisco. Click on "Our location" for complete directions.

What is the best time of year to take lessons? Monterey's weather allows year-round flying, so whatever fits your schedule will work just fine. All you need to do is schedule in for training and show up.