In this case, the plane slowly descends, and you start looking for a good place for a landing. Electric winch launches usually propel the model to higher altitudes before releasing the tow ring. Also, if available, a retrieval winch drags the line back, so that on a good day, we can launch one plane per minute at our field. Once you've soloed, you'll appreciate rapid launching capacity, until you learn to find those thermals to make your flights last longer. A typical flight without thermals lasts two or three minutes.
Beginners can expect to spend a good portion of time walking to retrieve their models.
Learning landings is fairly easy, because these planes glide so slowly. As you progress, you will experience lots of landings. Just be sure to keep the wings level and head the model into the wind. It's quite a thrill when you find your first thermal and manage maybe a five-minute flight. You realize that your plane is not totally at the mercy of the wind and gravity.