I understand that this probably is not the place to post this, but it is as good as any that I can find. I just finished my Skywalker 168cm. It has the following: APM 2.5, 4000mah 4S 30C, 3DR Telemetry, 5.8Ghz 1W Video Transmitter and Receiver, Belly mounted pan servo with Hero 3 bolted on (Custom Made) Optional Flaps Setup, and it weighs about 5.4lbs (2.5Kg). The basic reason I'm mentioning all of this is because of the simple fact that I am scared of trying to fly it. I know this sounds dumb, but this will be the first plane that I have flown. I tried using XPlane Simulator to practice but it would not run on my laptop and I do not own a desktop. I have instead hooked up an XBOX 360 controller and setup the controls to mimic those of the Videogame "HAWX" exactly. I have beat HAWX twice on the hardest difficulty (I know this is sounding more and more dumb so please just stay with me). I'm hoping that FPV coupled with XBOX skills and the fact that a Skywalker is considered a trainer plane will make up for my lack of flying experience. I'll be waiting on your opinions, so till then I'm going cower away from this thing sitting in the middle of my bedroom floor. It would be a shame if I never tried to fly it but at least I would still be able to say that I have learned a ton from the build experience that will help me in the future as an aeronautical/aerospace engineer. I would like to thank this community for providing such a simple way for complete newbies to get into this hobby.
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I second that. Just like your first car, get a wrecker. And since the Skywalker is a cheapish airframe you are lucky. Build a second one using regular cheap r/c electronics and fly the snot out of it. In fact you will most likely have more fun flying that then the pimped up FPV version. And when you have crashed and fixed the "wrecker" a couple of times and start getting comfortable, add some weight so you get a feeling for how the 2.5kg FPS version will behave.
Also, R/C controllers are A LOT more sensitive then game controllers and nothing beats reality when it comes to eh.. real flight physics. But that's what makes it fun, since the felling of having mastered the task is now real in every way.
And finally a tip about mindset to keep relaxed while flying. This might sound silly but consider the fact that the airplane will most definitively crash. There is no way around it, just a matter of time and number of flights, and you will crash. For expert flyers this just means that there is more time between crashes, but they still happen. So why be nervous?
Well done on getting everything setup and learning about it all. Now I've taught many people to fly and I would SERIOUSLY not recommend you fly a complex 2.5kg plane as a first plane or DEFINATELY not for the first time. It will end in pieces I'm afraid. Even for those for whom flying becomes naturally the learning curve is intense. Flying a simulator (an RC one not a general plane one) for 2-4 hours is the minimum I'd recommend. Then try a light weight trainer (500gr or less) and a buddy cord with an experienced pilot. Once you can do take-offs, landings and touch-and-goes happily only then I would think about the Skywalker, I'd learn to fly it first well before putting the APM in.
Remember EVERY new plane has to be trimmed out to fly correctly on it's first flight and many have to be re-trimmed at the start of every flight. If you don't know how to trim a plane and are just trying to keep it in the air then a disaster is probably seconds away.
Take this advice, I've made the same mistakes and watched many people make the same too ending up with a re-kitted model.
One HAS to crawl before walking, there are no shortcuts.