A book for Beginners and Improvers to Pattern Flying
 

About 10 years ago when I took up pattern flying, I couldn't find a book to help me. Lots of stuff on 3D but noting on pattern. The best book I could find was for full size aerobatics by the late Neil Williams. After struggling through the first round of competitions and setting up some training courses, I wrote a thread elsewhere on how to start off in precision aeros. Like all threads it became too difficult to navigate easily and someone suggested I write a book.

Some years later, and having re-written 90% of the original text, I now have a book available. If you are interested you can reach it on Amazon - just type in Model Aircraft Precision Aerobatics. It's available as a Kindle or paperback. Be happy to respond if you have any queries.

Peter

Cool......

Back when the Internet was young and we didn't have all the clickbait ads and pictures to contend with you could get a lot more information on things like pattern flying. That's where I got my information: what the different classes were, what the pattern was for each class, how to fly each pattern including entry and exit, how to set up you plane for stable flying; who was in your area that could help (yes they actually did help); all the things you needed to know. And it was all free.
The Internet was developed for engineers and scientists in schools, companies and the military to work with each other over long distances so information that wasn't classified was readily available. Today it's full of crap for people who want to play games, watch movies, shop for unnecessary toys and read drivel. And, of course, it's loaded with pictures that slow all the engineering speed improvements for the original users down to a what we had 20 years ago.

Yep.......

Just like to thank the 49 of you who have bought my book and hope that you are finding it useful. If you have any comments about it please feel free to post and I'll respond.

Hi Folks

Just thought I'd update you with where these books have been bought. In descending order of sales they are: United Kingdom, USA, Italy, Germany, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.

Total sales to date now exceed 150 copies.

Peter

The largest circulation R/C magazine in the UK, RCM&E, has just published a review of my book in their September Edition. The Editor, Kevin Crozier, is happy for me to quote his review in support of my book. The full text is below.:

MODEL AIRCRAFT PRECISION AEROBATICS

Over the years the market for aeromodelling books has dwindled to the point that no major publisher that I am aware of is currently releasing new English language titles on a regular basis to appeal to R/C model aircraft enthusiasts. (If they are then they need to start sending RCM&E review copies!) It therefore takes some guts for a new author to write such a book, especially knowing that the only realistic way for it to ever see the light of day is to self-publish. But that is exactly what Peter Jenkins has done with his new handbook, Model Aircraft Precision Aerobatics: A Guide for Beginners and Improvers.

Peter used the Amazon CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing platforms to bring his 136-page book to life in both printed and e-book formats. And a very fine job of it he has done too! It even has an ISBN number: 979-8728383345.

Although intended as a primer for those interested in maybe someday competing in precision aerobatic competitions, such as the F3A class events run by the GB R/C Aerobatic Association, it really has much wider appeal and will be of interest to any intermediate or advanced level club pilot who wishes to improve their standard of aerobatic flying.

Written in an easy-to-read informative style, Peter covers the following topics:



· Getting started

· Basic concepts in aerobatics, including the effects of gravity and wind

· Setting up and trimming

· Flying basic aerobatic maneouvres

· Practice routines for beginners

· Flying the GBRCAA Clubman Schedule

· Starting to fly in competitions

· Aerobatic aircraft characteristics



One of the benefits of limited run self-publishing is that is relatively easy to add to such a book and in the review copy Peter has already added two Annexes for those pilots seeking more information on Setup & Trimming, as well discussing Some Aerodynamic Issues affecting F3A style models.

There's much to be learned from Peter's easy to digest writing, even for model pilots of many decades experience. For instance, if you find yourself screwing out at the end of rolls, rather than carrying on rolling on the (sort of!) straight and level, start rolling on a 45 degree up line until you have perfected a straight roll. With the danger removed of your model heading towards the ground after such a manoeuvre you can relax and really work out what you need to do to keep the model rotating axially. Then gradually reduce the angle until you can roll your model neatly across the horizontal.

This book is packed full of such gems and when you've read through it for the first time it would be well worth make notes of individual tips, such as the one above, and using a few flights to really hone your skills before moving on to improving another area of your flying. This will make much better use of your flight time than just stooging around the sky for five to ten minutes and pulling the odd scruffy loop and roll. Then, after a bit more practice, you could well be ready to take part in your very first aerobatic competition!

Available to buy from Amazon.co.uk the paperback version is priced at £19.99 or just £6.99 for the Kindle e-book.

Kevin Crozier

Just a casual observation I've recently made about my flying, and which I've noticed in a few other performance sports I've participated in over the years is that I have tended to "learn" to get good at something. I put "learn" in quotes because I'm like the person who's learned to play many songs on a piano, but can't actually play a piano. They can play whole songs and string together parts of those to play medleys, but they can't play a piano in the true sense.

Two things really brought this to my attention. While learning to fly heli's I had no trouble with flying around and flying towards myself for landing until the heli stopped nose-in in a hover. I was using the "flying towards myself" part of the brain from my fixed wing experience but didn't have a "hovering nose-in" part wired up yet. Although for all intents and purposes the orientation and control reactions are identical.
The 2nd one was flying the heli inverted, the "flying inverted" part of my brain was wired to the fixed wing down elevator pressure almost like a TX condition switch, pulling "up elevator" to fly the heli inverted kept jarring my brain out of it's "inverted" mode.

Those two things got me thinking and it's a re-occurring theme for me. Learning to do something specific well, then combining that with something else to build a repertoire of learned actions rather than develop the fundamental skills. There's a reason students practice the scales when learning to play a piano, but we don't seem to have an equivalent approach for learning to fly a pattern ship. We're stuck on learning the sheet music and improving how you press the keys.

All good points bjr_93tz. The best way to learn new tricks is to think the whole process through on the ground first. Trying it out in the air without thinking about it is usually a precursor to a bad outcome! For example, learning how to do a bunt is best done either by starting much higher than you would normally fly or else rolling inverted and pushing. I always encourage people who are learning to speak aloud key facts such as PUSH PUSH to get the natural tendency to pull when in difficulties. Saying this out aloud, at least for me, reinforces the message. In pattern, we spend roughly half the time flying inverted or carrying out negative g manoeuvres. After a while it becomes second nature but, as you point out, learning this new procedure is neither quick nor easy but requires perseverance.

If you are looking for a present for Thanksgiving or even Christmas or the New Year, why not drop some hints to your friends and family about buying you this book. Alternatively, you might want to buy the book to give to a buddy who is getting into pattern aerobatics. You will find the book by following this .

Over 400 books/kindles have been bought world-wide. Get your's now and start practicing to impress your buddies in the 2022 season!

Incidentally, the book has both been bought and been recommended by both the President and Treasurer of the NSRCA, the AMA's specialist body for aerobatics.

At the December 2021 AGM of the Great Britain R/C Aerobatic Association, a motion was passed that completely changed the existing Clubman Schedule. I took the decision, therefore, to update the section in my book for the Clubman Schedule. As I had had a number of suggestions for improving the book, I took the opportunity of incorporating these suggestions. I also changed the Practice Routines chapter as it was no longer much use with the new Clubman and then took the opportunity of adding a description of how to fly the Intermediate Schedule as an Annex. A few pilots, who are more experienced at aerobatics, are now entering competitions at the Intermediate Schedule level, the next schedule after the Clubman.

This has resulted in the book increasing in size from 136 pages to 189 pages. Unfortunately, this has pushed up the price but I hope you will think that Edition 2 is well worth the price. The book is available from , , , https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09QN72NVK, , https://www.amazon.es/dp/B09QN72NVK and https://www.amazon.it/dp/B09QN72NVK.

If you have any comments on the book, please feel free to PM me.

Hi Folks,

Just a quick note to say that both Edition 1 and Edition 2 of my book has now sold over 600 copies world-wide. Thank you to all who bought it.

If you are looking to get into precision aerobatics, it's a great book to get you started. It's available from Amazon - just type in "Model Aircraft Precision Aerobatics Edition 2" in the query box and you will find it.

Hi Peter.

I bought this book last April and It is just great!

Unfortunately, I haven't had very much opportunity to put the lessons into practice as there are usually several pilots teaching beginners takeoffs and landings at our club during the time I have to practice. I'm currently flying a small foamy Extra 300 so I can't fly it very far from the runway and still see the orientation.

Hopefully, this season I will have my 2M plane finished and be able to practice maneuvers at 150 M out from the flight line, out of the way of the landing pattern.

Hi Gorilla Toast

Thanks for the feedback on my book. I hope you get to enjoy flying your 2 mtr. Do use one of the trimming techniques to make sure you set it up correctly. A badly setup model, even a 2 mtr, will not help to one bit! Which 2 mtr is it that you have got?

Flying at 150 mtr out is not easy to achieve initially and requires constant practice, preferably with someone to advise on how far out you are. The wind is a constant challenge when it is blowing across the flight path - which it always seems to be all the time! A small key chain camera or a GPS will help to let you know how far out your aircraft is.

Good luck.

Thanks for the counsel Peter.

It's a Jeff Carder design, "Lightning" from 2011.He offered free plans and a short kit including wing and stab cores was available from Eureka Aircraft. It turned cold last fall before I could paint it, so now I'm waiting for spring to arrive to finish it up.

At our field there is a low tree line about 200 M out from the runway, so I've got a pretty good idea where 150M is.

I've used the trimming techniques on my little Extra, but its control surfaces are not very precise so it's hard to tell sometimes what effect the adjustments are making.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...b682549d8e.jpg

Looks good GT. I had a look at the website and the thread on RCU on the build. Not often you get a plan and short kit being offered for a 2 m bird.

Go sparingly with the spray paint! Will keep an eye out on the Lightning thread on how you get on.

I recently received a review of Edition 2 of my book from Andrew Palmer. Andrew flies in the the New Zealand F3A Aerobatics team and has represented NZ in many World and Continental Championships. He posted this comment on FaceBook and is happy for me to use it here:

Interested in radio control aerobatics (or just improving your model setup and flying)? Peter Jenkins (UK aerobatic flying enthusiast) has recently released a second edition of his book "Model Aircraft Precision Aerobatics".

This second edition is a book I would thoroughly recommend to anyone starting out in aerobatic flying. It also contains some good words of advice to more experienced pilots.

Well done Peter!



If you would like a copy you can buy one from Amazon.com ( or just type Model Aircraft Precision Aerobatics into your country Amazon) as either a Kindle ($9.99) or paperback ($33.87).

Hi Folks

Total sales of this book have now exceeded 700 world-wide. There appears to be quite a demand building up as the year progresses. All the feedback I've had has been how useful the book has been even if you are not interested in entering aerobatic competitions. You can find the book on Amazon - just type in Model Aircraft Precision Aerobatics by Peter J Jenkins.

If you have any feedback, please feel free to contact me via a PM.

Thanks

Just to let you know that my own and Amazon sales have just passed 800 world-wide.

You may find the latest endorsements on the Amazon site of interest and I have reproduced them below:

C. LONDO
5.0 out of 5 starsAwesome RC aerobatics book.! The new standard.!
Reviewed in the United States on 3 September 2022
Verified Purchase
Excellent book. Concise and very clear. Optimize for kindle. Very helpful. Recommend anytime to anyone in the hobby wishing to improve aerobatics skills

Richard Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on 5 September 2022
Verified Purchase
Very good book that covers a lot of ground.

Incidentally, the breakdown of Amazon and my sales are as follows:

• UK ..............390 + 135 (sold by me) = 525
• US ..............205
• Aus/NZ ........32
• Canada ........12
• Germany ......11
• Spain ............ 6
• Italy ............. 6
• Netherlands.... 4
• France ........... 1

The latest edition aerobatic book checked out by 9 times World Champion, Christophe Paysant-Le Roux
Model Aircraft Precision Aerobatics – Edition 2 Amended - A Guide for Beginners and Improvers.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...268e673bd7.jpg
Photo by Mark Allen

You won’t find another book like this one today! Ideal for you or as a present for someone keen to start or improve their aerobatics!

Available on as a Kindle or Paperback. If your home Amazon is not .com, just enter "Model Aircraft Precision Aerobatics" in the search box to find it in your country Amazon.

The book has been mentioned in NSRCA's newsletter KFactor by Charlie Barrera (Aug ’21) and John Decker (Nov ’21), respectively the then President and Treasurer of the NSRCA.

Charlie said “If you are a pilot interested in precision aerobatics, you might take a look at this publication*. John said “It is a good book and definitely one to keep in your library”.

Andrew Palmer, New Zealand F3A Team said “This second edition is a book I would thoroughly recommend to anyone starting out in aerobatic flying. It also contains some good words of advice for more experienced pilots.

It has received a 4.6 star rating on Amazon.com, and some of the reviews are below

Awesome RC aerobatics book! The new standard! – (Reviewed in the USA 3 Sep ’22)Excellent book. Concise and very clear. Very helpful. Recommend anytime to anyone in the hobby wishing to improve aerobatics skills

Excellent – (Reviewed in the USA on 5 Sep ‘22) - Very good book that covers a lot of ground.

Get your copy today and start improving your flying! The book has been updated and republished in January 2023.

Holy cow, paper is expensive. I got the Kindle version ;).

That's why I made it available as a Kindle. However, the paperback outsells the Kindle by 2 to 1. I guess it's more convenient to take a book down to the flying field. Also, do not read the book on a Kindle reader but download the Kindle app to your PC/laptop/tablet (it's free) and read on that. The Kindle reader only does black and while and gives too small a screen to read the diagrams easily.

The books are printed on demand so I guess that drives up the cost. Traditional publishing would have printed a couple of hundred at a time which would have reduced the print costs I guess.

Let me know what you think of the book when you've had a chance to read it.

Over 900 copies now sold world wide. Join the pilots who have bought the book and get into or improve your pattern flying. The book is available via most Amazon stores but the .com line is .

Hi Folks

Amazon will be increasing the price of printed books across the board from 12 am UTC on 20th June 2023. It looks likely that this will add just under $2 to the price of the print version of this book. Till then, the price remains at $30.29. The Kindle version price remains unchanged at $9.99.

I will let you know what the new price will be once I have had notification from Amazon.

I guess the print cost increase is only to be expected given the increases in raw materials and labour.

Hi Folks

Just to confirm that as from today the price of the paperback on Amazon.com is now $37.49. The Kindle version remains at $9.99. As I said the cost increase is caused by an increase in printing costs by Amazon and not by me.

That having been said, you might like to see a comment from another forum regarding this book:

"If you're aiming to achieve the manoeuvres in the B test (used in the UK as a more advanced competency test) I'd highly recommend getting a copy of Peter Jenkins' book on Precision Aerobatics for beginners and improvers. It's an absolute mine of good information and without wishing to blow too much smoke in Peter's general direction, is in my opinion, one of the best books I've bought about anything, ever. Don't be put off by the "precision aerobatics" nomenclature. Much of the content is as applicable to sport flying as it is to competition."

A book for Beginners and Inprovers to Pattern Flying
 

Hot off the press!

Yesterday evening, someone bought the 1,000 th copy sold of my book from Amazon Germany. My book has now been bought in 10 countries around the world despite it being available only in English. Sales through Amazon are:

530 paperbacks and
327 Kindles,

I have personally sold 143 paperbacks making up the total of 1,000 books sold.

This has surpassed my wildest expectations. However, it also means that 1,000 folk think enough of it to buy it!

A book for Beginners and Improvers to Pattern Flying
 

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...6bbef00006.jpg
2023 FAI Aerobatics Champion Lassi Nurila. Photo courtesy of Mark Allen.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...ad3dee21d6.jpg
CPLR perusing my book. Photo courtesy of Mark Allen.

The latest edition aerobatic book checked out by 2023 World Champion Lassi Nurila and 9 times World Champion, Christophe Paysant-Le Roux
Model Aircraft Precision Aerobatics – Edition 2 Amended
A Guide for Beginners and Improvers.

You won’t find another book like this one today! Ideal for you or as a present for someone keen to start or improve their aerobatics! Available on as a Kindle or Paperback.

The book has been mentioned in KFactor by Charlie Barrera (Aug ’21) and John Decker (Nov ’21), respectively the then President and Treasurer of the NSRCA.

Charlie said “If you are a pilot interested in precision aerobatics, you might take a look at this publication*. John said “It is a good book and definitely one to keep in your library”.

Andrew Palmer, New Zealand F3A Team and 21st in 2023 World Championships said “This second edition is a book I would thoroughly recommend to anyone starting out in aerobatic flying. It also contains some good words of advice for more experienced pilots.

It has received a 4.6 star rating on Amazon.com, and some of the reviews are below

Awesome RC aerobatics book! The new standard! – (Reviewed in the USA 3 Sep ’22)Excellent book. Concise and very clear. Very helpful. Recommend anytime to anyone in the hobby wishing to improve aerobatics skills

Excellent – (Reviewed in the USA on 5 Sep ‘22) - Very good book that covers a lot of ground.

Get your copy today and start improving your flying! The book has been updated and republished in January 2023.

As Thanksgiving approaches, this book might make a great present for a budding pattern pilot or just someone who would like to fly better!

A recent purchaser of my book sent me the following feedback and he's happy for me to share it, so here it is!

Comment

I have been slowly digesting your book, not been putting anything into practise as have not had a chance to fly, I have checked out my Wot4 to ensure it’s ready to go mind so will using that for now.

I really like the easy way you have written it, for beginners but easy to get on with, having spent so many years with gliders I have got into a rut a little and although I thought I knew how to trim models this has reminded me of things I have not done for years but what is more a better understanding as to why, strange I know but I believe those who taught me back then were very good at explaining to me at the time but I more or less did it parrot fashion without really thinking about it but just recognising some traits. I am really enjoying it, just feel I must have become complacent over the years and with lack of time some models fell by the wayside before I had a chance to get to their full potential as they were not as good as I hoped. I feel I hadn't made the best use of my time unfortunately, due to more snatching a flight here and there and getting easily lead astray with new toys! That stops now and the New Year’s resolution is to make the most of what I have got and (one for the wife) sell on those I don’t used before getting another.

Your book has done so much more for me! 😂 focus being one important thing.

Thank you for that.

I've sent you a PM.

Hi edenfieldbob6, my PM seems to have failed! So, if you are based in the US follow this link to find the book -
If you are in another geography just enter B09QN72NVK into the Amazon search or type in the book title "Model Aircraft Precision Aerobatics". That will get you to the page from which you can buy the book.

Barnowljenx

I am pleased to announce that Edition 3 of my book, Model Aircraft Precision Aerobatics, is now available on Amazon.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...bf0073001a.jpgEdition 3 of this book introduces the new UKF3A Entry Level Schedule as well as describing how to fly the UKF3A Association Clubman and Intermediate Schedules. This Edition also includes a new section on RC Transmitters and the functions that are particularly useful for precision aerobatics.

This book is a guide both for beginners as well as improvers to model aircraft precision aerobatics, or F3A, competition focused on UK schedules. However, it is just as relevant anywhere else in the world as the issue of how to control an aerobatic model aircraft is not limited to a single geography! If you are not interested in entering competitions, this book will bring you some of the knowledge and techniques that you would only pick up by attending them. If you are sufficiently disciplined in your flying, there is no reason why you should not reach a good aerobatic standard after following the advice and guidance contained in this book.

The book is available from Amazon in ($9.99 ), ($36.94) or ($44.16) versions as at Jan 2025.

The book is available from most Amazon stores world wide.

I got ALL on Kindel !! Nice and its good to read all editions as thier are some nuances better explained in one vs the other

Thanks for buying my books thefastfred, I hope you achieve your aims.

This is the latest Edition of my book for beginners and improvers. It is available in most Amazon stores but try this. The book is available as a Kindle, Hard cover or paperback.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...27b000b0b1.png
It would be wrong to assume that this book applies solely to aerobatics. In fact, it’s applicable to most radio controlled flying. Once you are safely flying solo, you will find much in this book to help you get your model to fly better and to help you to understand what is going on with your model in the air. Almost any discipline in radio controlled flying will improve by following the advice in this book.

Edition 4 of this book describes how to fly the 2026 and onwards UKF3A Association Clubman and Intermediate Schedules. This Edition also includes a new section on RC Transmitters and the functions that are particularly useful for precision aerobatics as well as numerous other updates.

This book is a guide both for beginners as well as improvers to model aircraft precision aerobatics, or F3A, competition focused on UK schedules. However, it is just as relevant anywhere else in the world as the issue of how to control an aerobatic model aircraft is not limited to a single geography! If you are not interested in entering competitions, this book will bring you some of the knowledge and techniques that you would only pick up by attending them. If you are sufficiently disciplined in your flying, there is no reason why you should not reach a good aerobatic standard after following the advice and guidance contained in this book.

This is the book I would like to have had when I took up aerobatics and first entered competitions. If like me, you have wanted to take up precision aerobatics but couldn’t find any resources to help you, this is the book for you. The book covers the basics of starting aerobatic flying, from when you have just gone solo, to helping you to get ready to take up the challenge of flying in aerobatic competitions.

The book contains advice on how to set up your aircraft covering for example: centre of gravity position; engine/motor thrust lines; control throws and how to set up your Transmitter functions. It then takes you through the basics of aerobatic manoeuvres with both diagrams and words. Once over this initial phase, you will get much more detail about set up and trimming as well as how to fly large smooth manoeuvres ultimately taking account of the impact of the wind on the flight.

The book contains a chapter on mini training schedules that allow you to build up your skills before describing how to transition to the Intermediate Schedule. Finally, I have included references to how you can access the resources to help you to progress from a practical flying viewpoint.