Practice.

For the pattern flyers, none of the considerations you've mentioned determine the location or path of the maneuver. If the pattern calls for a vertical upline, its supposed to be vertical, with corrections added to account for the wind.

Now for the beginner - Where you perform the maneuver is where ever you want. You should be able to do it upwind, downwind, or cross wind. The key to success is watching your plane carefully and "getting ahead" of the plane. In otherwords, anticipate what the plane will do and compensate, not waiting for the plane to do it.

Getting the plane trimmed well is the next step. There are a number of sources of trim charts that describe what maneuvers to perform, what to look for in the maneuver, and how to corret it. It takes some time, but is worth it, and is a fun excercise.

The plane you select to perform the maneuvers on, engine and prop selection, will ultimately determine how much work you have to do to perform the maneuvers. Pattern ships are designed the way they are for a reason. The typical trainer is not designed like a pattern ship for a reason. Can you do nice loops, straight up and down lines with a trainer? Absolutely. But its going to take a lot more adjustments during the maneuver to keep it that way with a trainer.

Find the experienced pattern flyer in your club to watch you. He will be able to help you see what the plane is doing, and give you much better feedback on how to correct.

So I repeat the first piece of advice.

Practice.

Good Luck,
Brad