Hi Gene.

Yeah. Each maneuver is in a pattern sequence.. thus patten flying. It all starts out with a straight line for without a straight line, you can't set up the first maneuver properly and it all falls to crap pretty quickly after that.

I focus on my sticks. For instance, when doing a loop, I focus on my input so that I pull stright down on the elevator stick and really focus on not putting any aileron into the loop maneuver. After a while, and this all comes down to muscle memory training by repitition, it comes automatically. Your brain thinks "LOOP" and you pull straight back with no side to side movement that will tend to make a loop look sideways or induce a roll attitude in the loop.

The same goes for the Half Cuban Eight, or Immelman, or Split S (from the top).. all starts out with a straight line followed by pure straight inputs. Entering a half cuban eight, for instance requires a pull back to 45 degrees climb altitude. Then the roll to inverted at the exact middle of the 45 degree climb to altitude.. with as much climb before as after the roll to inverted. The roll to inverted must be 180 degrees (not 190 or 170). Pure moves to pure rolls. If you miss the roll by, say 10 degrees, it tends to make the pull to finish the maneuver.. the half loop to the opposite direction straight and level flight, as is the total half cuban 8 maneuver..

So, all starts out with a straght and level approach into the maneuver followed by pure input to the sticks with no tendency to roll where a roll is undesirable.

What I do after I do several passes at about 100 feet (I also do the half cuban eight instead of a roll to turn back in the opposite direction... helps learning the move without pressure). Then after several passes that I really focus on straight and level, I begin the focused half cuban eights.. or the focused Immelman which will put you "On top" do a straight line and into a split S maneuver (roll to inverted at about the 3/4 point as it passes by you at altitude, then pull for a nice large return to 100 feet.. trying to keep all the maneuvers big. For instance.. don't just roll to inverted and yank for a quick return to the opposite direction flight, but do the move slowly and purposefully. The same for the Immelman.. picture this.. you are in the upwind direction, you are straight and level, you want to reverse direction.

Step 1: Straight and level flight upwind (say left to right).
Step 2: you are at the 7/8 point in the "Box" and you want to reverse direction using the Immelman so you slowly pull on the elevator giving you a large radius half-loop. (pure pull, no aileron) You end up on the top of the large half loop.
Step 3: You then roll 180 to upright flying.

Now you are flying right to left but up high.

Step 1: You want to reverse direction using a Split S. So, at the 7/8 point of the "box" you roll to inverted using pure aileron and roll to exactly 180 degrees inverted flight.
Step 2: You finish the last 1/8 inverted and then pull pure elevator for a large half loop.
Step 3: You finish the half loop and are flying straight and level, upright and headed back left to right.

You completed two maneuves in a row that were set up by straight and level flight.

Wphew.. takes practice!!!

Dick.