Well, yes and no. Its all about learning to fly REALLY straight lines and putting the airplane exactly where you want it when you want it.

There are several keys to flying precisely.
A. A good flight setup. You need to learn to setup your plane to fly neutral. Neutral basically means that it only does what you ask it to do and nothing more other than what gravity obviously effects. That is,
1. when you want to fly straight and level it flies straight and level.
2. When you pull vertical and the wings are level, it goes straight up!
3. When you roll inverted it takes a SLIGHT amount of down elevator to fly level.
4. When you fly knife edge it goes straight.
5. When you do a stall turn(hammerhead) and the plane is falling straight down it should go straight, not tuck to the wheels or more commonly pull towards the canopy with power off.

B. Good mechanical setup of your servos to the control surfaces. You need to get the maximum resolution and mechanical advantage for the type of flying you want to do. This can be a trade off, so you have to decide which you can afford to compromise and go from there.

C. Practicing the basics until you can do them in your sleep.
1. Flying a stright line is probably the most ignored skill there is. You should be able to fly a straight line at a continuous altitide and a continuous distance out. Regardless of crosswind, headwind or whatever. If you cannot fly a straight line you cannot fly precise.
2. Flying a constant speed. Learning throttle management is another key to precise flight. You need to be able to make the plane appear to be traveling at the same speed all the time. Only use throttle, when you need it and learn to only use what you need! Too much os not a good thing.
3. Yes, learn to make round loops. Learn what a round loop should look like, not what YOU think it should look like.
4. RUDDER CORRECTION- This is CRITICAL to flying with precision and real control. Learn to use the rudder man. Flying straight lines is one of the biggest helps for this there is.
4* Exercise- Fly a straight line upright from one end of the field to the other start into the wind. At the end of the straight line, Pull and do a 1/2 loop. Make the 1/2 loop a specific size, do it with purpose. Gently correct with the rudder as you pull through the loop and exit inverted. MAINTAIN THAT ALTITUDE and HEADING but inverted!. Fly right back down the field, inverted and at the altitude and distance out that you exited the 1/2 loop. Correct with the rudder so that you fly STRAIGHT back down the field. At the end of the inverted line, get off the throttle, pull through a nice gentle 1/2 loop the same exact size as the one on the other end of the field and exit at the exact same alitiude the exact same SPOT as you started the exercise.
Wen you are done, this should create a giant upright oval in the sky that is flat on the top and bottom. The 2 half loops the same size, the two straight lines parallel and at the exact same distance out.

Do this until you can do it perfectly, from one end of the field to the other. Lines parallel, exit the 1/2 loops flat no climbing or diving on the entry to, or flight through, the straight lines. Sounds boring, but until you take the time to learn these simple drills you will not be able to really control the airplane.

Whenever you go the the field have a plan. It does not have to be complicated, just pick a few maneuvers that you can link together to form a looping sequence and that way you can just go through several simple maneuvers, ending up right where you started so that you can practice whatever it is you want to work on that day.

I alway try to save about 2 minutes at the end of the flight to relax and punch holes though. Helps me to relax, and often my last flight is nothing but 3D, or just goofing around to keep it fun.


There is a lot more to tell so ask questions,. We are all learning, just sharing what we learn with each other as we go along.[8D]