And I would ask everyone how can you ever really truly enjoy flying without feeling, sensing and knowing the air and how it interacts with your airplanes. You might as well take up golfing as a hobby/obsession.
I guess that feeling comes through a lot of practicing, not from theory, although I love theory too.
However, real feeling of flight can only be obtained by flying a real aircraft.
Feeling of flying model aircrafts is different. It's not so much about flying in the traditional sense.
A good pilot needs the feeling, he/she should be like a part of the aircraft.
It should be like riding a bike or swimming.
Theoretics and proper training should tell the do's and don'ts in advance. If something unusual happens, beyond that training, then the most skilled pilots will act properly by intuition.
Cheers,
Ikaros
PS
great thread !
DS