A thread about how many progress to a second plane got to discussing what proficiencies are needed to progress to that second plane.

If you want to become a good RC pilot... you need to practice flying with some discipline, rather than just "boring holes in the sky."

OK... now what does flying with discipline mean?[&:] It means... PLANNING what you will do with a flight and then attempting to do what that plan requires.

You choose a task such as... 10 "perfect" touch-n-goes. and you do laps around the traffic pattern shooting touch-n-goes until you have 10 that meet your standard of perfection. (and next week you may decide you need a higher standard...) During your laps around the patter... (especially on the downwind leg...) you can do anything you want.

Eventually... it s a VERY good idea to read up on the Pattern Aerobatics schedule... and try to learn to do the Sportsman Pattern. Its a CHALLENGE! It puts a purpose to the flight and gives you something to measure your proficiency by. (and the Sportsman schedule can be performed by most 4 channel trainers)

You don't have to compete... you don't have to devote EVERY flight to this stuff. Its a method to improve your skills.