RE: Mastering a Trainer?
Here's my 2¢<div></div><div>I first got into this hobby about 15 years ago. I started with a Tower Trainer and learned to fly it. My instructor at the time had the same mindset as many of you in that he didn't think I was ready to move on until I could basically do very nice legit aerobatics: perfect loops, axial rolls with no altitude loss, fly inverted for a tank of fuel, etc. And I practiced and practiced on those things until I could do them, and do them well. By the time I moved onto my 2nd plane (a .40 Patriot) I was more than confident in doing anything and everything with my trainer. However, what I found out is that a lot of the things I learned on my trainer, I had to unlearn on the Patriot. The Patriot was a much more capable plane and it was sooooo much easier to do aerobatics and things of that nature that my naturaltendencieslearned on the trainer actually hindered me at first.</div><div></div><div>Now stuff like still being able to get out of trouble, being able to take off and land, and basic skills still served me VERY well, but the more advanced maneuvers I learned on the trainer ended up frustrating me a lot at first.</div><div></div><div>Now fast forward to present day. During high school and into college I got out of the hobby as I had other priorities. This year, after about a 10 year hiatus, I got back into the hobby. I started off with a trainer, and picked everything back up pretty quickly. And now I'm ready to move onto a new plane. However, I'm moving on not being able to do perfect axial rolls on the trainer or fly inverted all day long because of my last experience. I am comfortable landing/taking off in gusty cross winds, I can place it perfectly on the field where I want to, can get myself out of trouble, and am confident everytime I go up in it.</div><div></div><div>My rolls aren't perfectly axial, I have a hard time holding her inverted, but for me I don't want to make it do something its not designed to do.</div><div></div><div>It would be like using a monster truck to do an indy race. It could be done, but I'd rather use something designed to do it.</div>