Chris,

Yes, aerobatics are a great way to build flying skills. Even flying full scale, "Unusual Attitude" training is considered a must for the serious pilot. BUT !!!!!

I've been an instructor for over 20 years and I would just like to pass on a couple of observations.

1. ANYBODY can CRANK AND YANK a plane around the sky. You can call it loops, rolls, snaps, avalanches, hovering... etc ...I repeat ANYBODY....

2. To do these maneuvers with skill and precision takes an aerobatic ship. Call it a pattern ship if you would like but it takes a plane that goes where you point it and doesn't do anything by itself. This includes the IMAC planes as well as the true Pattern ships. Your Alpha can teach you to loop and roll , stall turn and a lot of basic maneouvers BUT there is ONE THING YOUR ALPHA CAN TEACH YOU VERY WELL>>>>

3. That is HOW TO LAND !!!!!!!!! I can't possibly stress this enough... ANYBODY CAN FLY... IT TAKES A PILOT TO LAND !!!!!

4. When can you land?.... When you can put your plane plus or minus 10 feet on the center of the runway regardless of crosswind or other conditions. This is what makes a pilot. Sound harsh? Maybe, but once you have THIS most important skill mastered, everything else is a lot easier because if you master landing, you have learned to use all your controls simultaneously to make the plane go where YOU want it to.


I didn't mean this to sound like a soapbox, but I see it everyday at the flying field. Sure, they can loop,snap, fly inverted.... but they can't put the airplane on the ground in anything that even looks like a landing... usually it is the 3 or 4 bounce till the prop stops touchdown. Funny how all those cool points he just made whooping around the sky just went down the tubes when he couldn't land.

And, yes, I fly pattern.. it is the area where I find the most challenge and the most skill as it relates to what I want out of R/C. I hope that you do advance to that level and that perhaps one day you do compete. Good Luck...

and.. the reason the Alpha won't snap is that the CG is too far forward and the airfoil doesn't want to have a sharp break on the stall...a snap is what it was designed NOT to do....

Deadstik [8D]