Similar to yourself, I was nervous my first few times out...it's a lot of money if I completely "wreck." I started out in the country and literally went in a triangle motion for the entire motion, just to get a feel for remote/wind speed and direction, and play with automated features (return to home, auto-take-off, etc.) While good experience, it did get a little boring after a few hours of flying. Then, I came back the boards here for additional recommendatiuons/knowledge. Turn outs, one of the links on this forum is for "Regional Meetups." I found the area where I live (Mid-West) and began searching for other pilots in my near vicinity. The majority of pilots on this forum are very nice, and enjoy the hobby and teaching others "newbs" just as much as flying for him/her self. Anyhow, I found a guy that lived closed to me on the forum, I reached out explaining that I was new, but wanting to learn, and would like to fly with someone who had more experience than I do. He promptly replied (Thanks Bobby!!), took me out to an open pasture location, and then we just spent the afternoon flying and learning. I found that method to be very helpful. Flying with another pilot who has hours of experience will benefit you, I promise! Since that time, I revisited the forum, always looking for more people in my region to meet up and fly together. Not only am I getting to meet new people with similar backgrounds, I learn something new every time I go out with other Phantom pilots!