I have been flying my Avistar for the season having soloed in the spring. I am comfortable flying and doing basic aerobatics. I am good at landings in mild winds. However, I am still having trouble with throttle management into a wind with gusts or with a cross wind. I am having trouble telling the speed of the plane. I had my first crash because of wind speed change and stalling before I could adjust.

There has been a lot of discussion on landing but I just couldn't find specific input on throttle other than maintain height with it. Is there anything other than amount and how "mushy" the elevator feels to tell the speed of the plane on approach? When the plane is wing edge on coming straight at you there isn't any visual clue so it seems like control feel is all you have. I guess I need to just keep the plane's nose slightly down and keep my throttle ready to keep it up.

My plane was an RTF and fixing it was fun. I liked learning about how the plane is constructed and have a lot more confidence that I could build a good kit. I did learn about the weakness of the Avistar tail. :-)

My next plane will be a Four Star 60 but I will start with the Avistar again in the spring to get my feel back. This forum has helped a great deal with that decision and I thank you all.