ORIGINAL: Aerohead

I think most fliers have to work very hard to learn 3d maneuvers. I've been flying RC for well over twenty years, just boring holes in the sky, and just recently started to learn some 3d. Actually, I got interested in IMAC type flying a couple of seasons ago, and it opened up a new world of flying for me. I hardly ever used the rudder before then, except for taxiing, snaps and spins. But when I started trying to add some precision to my flying, I realized that proper use of the rudder is vitally important. Now that I've started learning to hover, torque roll, slow roll and rolling circles I realized that if I hadn't started to use the rudder better, none of the 3d manuevers would have been possible. It has taken me a lot of hard work on the sim (AFPD) to start smoothing those out, but I'm still struggling with harrier rolls. I know it's only a matter of time, because when I was trying to learn to hover, I failed time after time after time. Then suddenly it began to fall in place. I feel sure that's the way it will be with harrier rolls, too. I can do a few very sloppy ones before I lose it, but little by little my timing will get closer until I am comfortable with them. The guys who get to me are the ones who say, "Oh yeah, I learned harrier rolls the first time out." That may be true for the few really gifted ones, but I'm sure most fliers have to learn it the slow, agonizing way that I'm doing now. Either way it's okay. The only one I'm in competition with is me.