Beginers guide to flying

* Where I'm at.
I'll be the first to tell you that I don't have a clue when it comes to flying the PA pattern. I can fly a fairly level inverted at 5ft or sometimes less and I can usually do a fairly competent inside loop and a half decent wing-over when I remember to fly it instead of just watching it. I am just starting to get a lazy 8 to look something like an 8 if you hold your tongue just right and squint really hard. My most recent accomplishment is outside loops that actually aren't performed in a shear panic.

* What am I getting at?
Well there is a rather large discussion going on about handles, hand position, control speeds, and body positions. The general feeling that I get from that discussion is that there are certain methods that will help you learn faster and fly better. There are several source that give you VERY general guidance on flying the pattern but they don't really cover good and bad habits when it comes to body position and control. From a beginners standpoint it would be helpful to have a baseline from which to start. Where to start for a beginner is always one of the hardest things to decide. What is right/wrong/gray? I am hoping that, possibly, we can build a thread that will give a beginner a solid basis from which to start.

* Areas to Explore
Hand position
Control inputs (arm movement versus wrist movement)
Flying arm position (locked or bent)
Walking the circle or heal pivoting
Body bias to the maneuver being performed
Picking reference points for intersections corners and bottoms (I know that this is done but don't remember seeing it mentioned here)
Order of maneuvers
Full pattern Vs beginners’ pattern Vs OTS pattern
Any I forgot?

*Considerations
This is advice for pilots who can fly normal level flight and is ready to start performing maneuvers. I think that there is a distinct difference in the way that a non-flyer is taught to fly versus the way that a novice pilot should be taught (e.g. straight arm Vs bent arm). Let's focus on the pilot that is just beginning to go for maneuvers. We should take into consideration that there is a multitude of posts here that deal with aerodynamics, building, engine tuning, and aircraft trimming, we should focus on the pilot and what he can do to train his body to fly. The right habits up front means an easier progression later on.

* Expectations
I know that there are as many different styles out there as there are pilots. Each of us has ADAPTED to certain habits, controls, and body positions. Am I willing to say that there is only one best way to do anything? NO, I'm not willing to say that. I will say that there are general habits (good and bad) that contribute to the speed in which something is learned. Should we follow this thread there will no doubt be several heated discussions on individual methods, but please keep in mind that this is for the beginners out here. As I beginner I don't expect that I will fly like any of the great flyers we have here on the board, but I do hope that the information gleaned from these posts will help beginners along the road of progress. Nothing replaces spending time at the field with tested veterans but this forum is an excellent place to follow up on that experience.

If this thread takes off, I would like to periodically extract prevailing conclusions and add them to a guide post. With all that said let's get started...

This is the conclusions post that items will be added to at a latter date.

Finch:
Your questions sum up what stunt fliers have been discussing for decades. The problem as you stated is that we are all different and what works well for one won't work as well for another. At your level of flying your main concern should learning how to do each maneuver, and the order which is available through the AMA rulebook or from PAMPA. The best advice ,IMHO, in learning to fly is to find a knowledgeable person with the patience of Job to watch your flights, critique your mistakes, and help you correct them. Having a top flier fly and help trim your plane will reduce that area of concern and let you concentrate on flying. The best in the world like Tiger Woods and Barry Bonds all have someone they go to for advice.

You listed several specific items such as hand position, straight or bent arm, and full arm or wrist input. Of these three using the wrist instead of the entire arm is the only one that seems universal.

Hand position as has been discussed in several threads should ideally result in the handle being verticle through the entire flight, however as Ted mentioned he flies inverted with his palm up, other top fliers will do this during the inverted portion of square loops, and there have been top fliers who flew with their palm down. While we are all after the ideal it is harder to do the second corner of an outside square loop when you are worried about how you are holding your hand.

Straight arm or bent, again you'll see both being used by top 20 fliers with variations in where they hold their arms and the angle at their wrist. The thing is every time a top flier puts in a flight his arm/hand position will be the same. Use the method that works best for you, but do it the same every time.

That's my 2cents worth, now we need an expert to correct my mistakes.

Get yourself a copy of the AMA rulebook. It is online at modelaircraft.org. A hard copy is available to AMA members on request. It contains the descriptions of the maneuvers for both the Beginner Pattern, and the AMA Precision Aerobatic Pattern used for Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, and also Classic.

Unfortunately, so far as I know, the OTS pattern is not available online. There are two sets of OTS rules, GSCB and PAMPA. These differ in aircraft specifications and scoring. Both use the 1951-52 AMA Precision Aerobatic Pattern, which is somewhat different from our present day AMA Pattern. The PAMPA rules, including the flight pattern, are available from PAMPA products.

At this point in your budding career, I would suggest careful reading of the AMA rules, and concentration on learning to fly all the Beginner Pattern maneuvers correctly. By correctly, I mean flying rule-book horizontal 8's rather than lazy 8's, for example. Once you can do this with some confidence, then fly each practice flight as if you were flying at a contest.

If you can get experienced help, that will be wonderful. I learned alone, and later found, in some instances, I had been practicing to perfect mistakes.