Does anyone else think you'll only be as good a pilot as your DNA will allow you to be?

I've been flying for five years now, and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm as good now as I'll ever be. Now, before I go any further, I must point out that in that five years I have NEVER violently dissassembled a model. Yes, I've had plenty of "imperfect" landings that required on average 10 minutes of repair, but never had I the need for a garbage bag either.

My flying buddies tell me I need to quit being so conservative or I'll never progress. But when I fly, I try to imagine I'm in a real aircraft and I won't get a second chance. I believe that's what has preserved my models for so long.

But is it also what's holding me back?

If I were to give an example of the type of pilot I am, it would be TJ from Black Sheep Squadron. Remember him? The endearing "competent enough to take off and fly" pilot with the occasional ugly touchdown?

I will point out that grass field landings are a cinch even for me, but we mostly take off and land on a remote country highway, and it's quite a different thing threading the landings on a paved runway with water filled retaining ditches on each side. And if the wind is wrong, you have no choice but to deal with the 90 degree crosswind.

Still, my friends come in and touchdown like it's programmed in their brains, while I have to concentrate like I'm playing chess to achieve the same results.

So the question is: Can an RC pilot plateau?