Like you mentioned and as I said in [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3621880]this[/link] post, it really helps to be in an open area with practically no wind and perfect Ti so you can actually experience continuous controlled flight with long linear approaches and smooth bank turns to get a feel for the response and have more time to recover because of the open space. The DF will fly just like a plane and will do exactly what you tell it if you think of it like BB_DF described. Think of yourself as being onboard and you can't go wrong in any orientation unless you don't know where the nose is. I would highly recommend installing a nose and tail LED and fly an hour or two before dark so those LEDS show up really well. You would be amazed how much easier it is to learn if all you have to do is know that what ever color you choose is the nose and just think about where you want that nose to go and your hands will automatically do it.