Question for the "Pros" the guys with the golden thumbs!

[SleepyC]

Ok...

I'm calling out all you guys that have SKILLS...

Drop some knowledge on the rest of us....

How do you get to that next level... (and we know we have to burn GAS....)

I'm saying what are some good methods to get your flying smoother, 3D Sicker and generally become a better pilot?!?!

Ok.. here's the situation:

A pilot is decent, been flying for a while, has the basics down, can do loops, controled rolls, blenders, rolling circles (sort of), hover and harrier (sort of).... basically he have some roots,
but is not amazing by any means.

Ok Mr. Pro guys... in your opinion, whats the next step to get good (properly good, like actually become a GOOD rounded pilot).

Whats the right path if there is "one".

Or at least, what are your suggestions to help reach the next level...

This is a big question, and I'm hoping for some big answers.

We all know it takes practice, but practicing the "right" things will work a lot better than practicing the "wrong" things.

Thanks in advance!!
Sleepy

[Wayne]

I'm no pro but if you want to get better fly IMAC.
It will help your 3D and overall flying.
I like it because you can see results (or lack of results) right away.

And, Burn a sheetload of gas.

[rcplanefan]

I'm no pro, either, but I gotta second Wayne's reply. Go fly IMAC or Pattern. Your skills will improve quickly and dramatically.

Ken

[WOODisGOOD]

Sleepy,
All the above is true but also if you can hook up with some guys that are better and fly with them you will learn quicker. If you want to get better at Imac start watching the top guys when they fly. You can learn alot just from watching where they place there figures and which direction they roll in different wind conditions.

[bodywerks]

All good suggestions. another one I'll throw in is KNOW YOUR RUDDER!!!! Most sport pilots can fly a plane at them with confidence or in any attitude as long as they only use aileron and elevator, but will darn near crash if you ask them to input the correct rudder for a given aircraft position.
For starters, on vertical lines and in a hover, I learned to perceive my rudder by flying the nose when the canopy was facing me and the tail when the belly was facing me. It really helped. Yu can do the same thing for other aircraft positions as well just to develope the proper habits. Once you do it enough you won't even have to think about it - it just becomes natural.

[GremlinX]

Buy a better plane right Tony? Should have bought that Twist Sleepy! As for getting better, man, Watching planes and the sticks has helped me as much as flying!

[Nobody]

Sleepy, you kind of answered your own question at the end of your post - PRACTI CING THE CORRECT WAY! I can't say enough for that. Find someone who does it the correct way and practice. I have had David Scott from First US RC Flight School spend some time with my son, Seth (helping him with his pattern stuff) and I was completely blown away by the approach one should take when, not only in plane set up, but in actual flying. Way different than we were practicing. A couple of the many things I learned from him:

First, don't believe in the saying "I just have to get used to the plane". That is big time wrong. You should first of all, set the plane up to where it flies like "you" want it to. Not only balanced as far as weight, but also balanced in the feel of the control surfaces - don't have a weak rudder, with mild aeilerons and a touchy elevator. Set up the plane so when you move any control surface, the plane will re-act in the same speed and angle of direction change. Hence balancing the contro surface' feel.
Secondly, watch how the plane flies without correction. Say a loop, fly a loop while holding your elevator in the same position the whole loop - watch where the plane pinches or floats in your loop. Then in your next loop, know the exact time to take out elevator when it pinches and the exact time to feed in elevator when it floats. Then after that, every loop will be the same, you'll know exactly when to work in or out elevator so every loop is round. Hence, you are now flying ahead of the plane and not reacting to it. Proactive versus reactive. My son was learning to be a reactive flier, waiting for the deviation then reacting to it. Fly ahead, and know what input you need before getting there.
We are far from pros either, but just these two simple things made his precision flying much much better. I could not believe the difference and this was just twop points among many he shared with us. But alot of practice the RIGHT WAY is the key. Hats off to David Scott - awesome instructor. We learned more in a few days then we had known since starting the hobby. He is from First US RC FLight School.

[GremlinX]

You know, I forgot who wrote the thread, I think daddy Leseburg did actually. Or maybe it was a mag article. I forget, anyway, it spoke about trimming of the airplane. I read it and said whats the deal, my plane will fly hands off. And then I started doing some on/off throttle testing as his article suggested... I was way out of whack! Trimming properly is not as simple as I thought it was. I am sure you are all trimmed out, but ..Just a thought.

[JoeAirPort]

No pro here, but the AFP sim made me way better. You can do much more risky things on the sim. Practice your a$$ off on the sim and you will look very good at the field. Rolling harriers and torque rolls were learned on the sim, it's pretty hard for me to learn on fuel alone (cold climate).

[Nobody]

Yes, trimming takes time, and even things like servo speed make a difference. You can even trim your rudder by doing a straight vertical climb while doing rolls. Watch if the plane pitches left and right while it rolls. Adjust the rudder until it flies straight up with no deviaton while rolling. I learned this from David, I always just trimmed rudder to where it just looked like if flew straight.

[Rob B]

Fly precision(IMAC), that will take your skills to the next level and beyond. Start working on 1 roll circles, 2 roll circles and change roll direction halfway through. And always practice 4 and 8 point rolls in BOTH directions, and counterclockwise and clockwise.

just to name a few things........

[SleepyC]

Ok... all good. BUT everyone is saying IMAC...
I'm down... ALSO I meant this as a more general topic a bit.
(Its not just for me... I need improving, but I meant this to be a useful thread for all guys who could use a skill level increase!)

So when you guys SAY IMAC - give some specifics... what maneuvers in paticular are really good for building skills, what maneuvers should you sequence together to help become smooth... Wheres the best place to learn IMAC if you have no one around you that flys it?

When you guys do a "proper" practice whats the layout for the practice, meaning from the time you get to the field to you leave, whats your procedure.

See where I'm going with this??!?!