Shawn,
I know a Russian homebuilder, who built his two-place helicopter (based on Kamov Ka-26 engine, M14V26 - the derivative of famous M14P), and learnt to fly it - he has no flying experience at all before this!
I saw his 2-hour video with his steps shown.
Anyway, it's obvious that the proper training with an instructor is a must - the only mistake may become the final.
Cheers,
Alex
<a href="http://galsaero.al.ru/" target="_blank">Rotors in Russia</a>