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Improve Flying
#1
What things have you all done to dramatically improve your flying?

For me, probably the number one thing I did was I got more batteries and get in a lot of flight time.  When I first started out, I would fly my one battery, charge it for an hour then fly again.  I have a big enough yard to fly at my house without having to go anywhere.  When I bumped up to 4 batteries, I found that I could get enough flight time in at one time to start making really noticeable improvements.

The second thing I did that really helped me out was putting in a bunch of hours on a flight simulator but it really doesn't compare to the real thing.  So now I feel like I'm at a bit of a plateau.  I have a good handle on the basics but I want to get to the next level so I figured I would see what others are doing in their journey.
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#2
Hey Grr...

two thoughts... the first being that simulator experience is good but not perfect. In fact one of the things that I would suggest is go with one of the more popular sims to learn but then to try at least 2 others to get the feel for the differences in their physics. For example 3 main ones that i have experience with are liftoff, DRL, and fpvfreerider.

To me the difference between liftoff and DRL is about the same as the difference between my custom build and my vortex 250 ARF quad. They fly very close to the same but there are some basic differences and as I gain experience I seem to understand those differences and how both the simulators and the real life quad are behaving.

Not everyone is going to agree with me on this but FPV freerider seems to overcompensate for gravity and acceloration and as a result it doen't quite feel the same... however I can still fly in it! that's the important part. I am probably in the neighborhood of 200-300 hours of total (conservative estimate) experience on the sticks between quads and in the air... (including mostly take off to landing time)... While I have seen steel say that consistency is important I would say from a simulator experience that diversity gets you more ready for the differences in RL.

My primary recommendation: fly once per day, for an hour per day... for about 3-4 weeks in the simulator (regardless of the time you spend on batteries in the air)... in ACRO only... see if it helps your flight.

That's my personal trick... pretty much to boil it down... obsession and acceptance that the feel of flying in a simulator is as exciting as flying in RL!
carl.vegas
Current Quads: Operational: Diatone GT2 200 In need of repair: Bumble Bee, tehStein,  Slightly modified Vortex 250 
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#3
(08-Jun-2017, 03:25 AM)Carl.Vegas Wrote: Hey Grr...

two thoughts... the first being that simulator experience is good but not perfect. In fact one of the things that I would suggest is go with one of the more popular sims to learn but then to try at least 2 others to get the feel for the differences in their physics. For example 3 main ones that i have experience with are liftoff, DRL, and fpvfreerider.

To me the difference between liftoff and DRL is about the same as the difference between my custom build and my vortex 250 ARF quad. They fly very close to the same but there are some basic differences and as I gain experience I seem to understand those differences and how both the simulators and the real life quad are behaving.

Not everyone is going to agree with me on this but FPV freerider seems to overcompensate for gravity and acceloration and as a result it doen't quite feel the same... however I can still fly in it! that's the important part. I am probably in the neighborhood of 200-300 hours of total (conservative estimate) experience on the sticks between quads and in the air... (including mostly take off to landing time)... While I have seen steel say that consistency is important I would say from a simulator experience that diversity gets you more ready for the differences in RL.

My primary recommendation: fly once per day, for an hour per day... for about 3-4 weeks in the simulator (regardless of the time you spend on batteries in the air)... in ACRO only... see if it helps your flight.

That's my personal trick... pretty much to boil it down... obsession and acceptance that the feel of flying in a simulator is as exciting as flying in RL!

Thanks for the advice.  For me, I think obsession is putting it lightly :-)

I agree with you about the simulators, I primarily use FPV freerider and DRL. I've found using multiple simulators helps because they do behave differently so they each have things they do closer to real life than the other (they complement one another that way).

I have mixed feelings on consistency.  I understand why you want consistency but at the same time I see a lot of benefit in continual improvement.
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#4
The other thing I didn't mention is deliberate practice.

Define drills for yourself that you can do to specifically improve skills... An early drill that I used to do was to fly through a specific wall of trees, then circle around a big tree, then back to the previous wall of trees, then turn around and do it again making sure to change which direction I was going around the big tree and turning around. This is how I got to where I had control in my turns.

Another one that i spent time on was blowing through the forest section of the gates of h*** map in DRL as quick as I could... this was to help me get used to maneuvering left and right while maintaining forward momentum and staying low the to ground.

Lately I have been focused on developing and understanding specific acro techniques including flying upside down for longer, adding yaw to my rolls, positioning my quad so that I am flying backwards and it's visible to the camera, and maintaining momentum so that I continue to travel in a specific direction without throttle during hangtime. Generally in a simulator session I spend about 5-10 minutes each on these and then just fly around and try crazy stuff that will make me crash to see if I can discover something new Smile
carl.vegas
Current Quads: Operational: Diatone GT2 200 In need of repair: Bumble Bee, tehStein,  Slightly modified Vortex 250 
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#5
how to improve? crash more often  Tongue otherwise you're not pushing yourself to learn more
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#6
(08-Jun-2017, 06:19 PM)ZERONEST Wrote: how to improve? crash more often  Tongue otherwise you're not pushing yourself to learn more

I must be learning allot then. I crashed hard last night and now my escs aren't beeping on. I haven't taken a look why quite yet.
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#7
I don't necessarily agree about crashing being the way to learn more... Or at least not faster. It kind of slows things down for me. But crashing in sims and flying safe in RL to solidify technique is pure gold.
carl.vegas
Current Quads: Operational: Diatone GT2 200 In need of repair: Bumble Bee, tehStein,  Slightly modified Vortex 250 
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#8
I think the best thing here if you feel stagnate in improving your skills is to access what you can do. Have you set up gates or gaps to shoot through yet? If you have make them smaller or arrange them in a way more difficult to navigate through such as no easy straight through gates but perhaps a gate you have to hit immediately after a hard turn.
As Carl stated plan your flying practice around a certain "drill" for example one day focus on circling an object like a tree while keeping it centered in view. Then go faster. Then get closer Wink Maybe then you stay below the branches and circle the trunk. Next day you do figure-eights or a course, dont forget to think 3 dimensions too. Power loops, I love, personally I have been practicing to keep the quad tight against the top of the tree (my favorite obstacles Tongue ) I am looping, keeping it in view if possible. As Zeronest said if you're not crashing your not pushing yourself to learn. Too boaring, mix in some tight stunts while practicing these and turn up your rates.
I played with super rate in BF yesterday myself. Definitely a step in improving my skills only after 8 packs even.
The Obsession IS Real!
My Youtube and Instagram links
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#9
just lots of practice Smile that's why it's also called "stick time" Smile
find a friend to fly with, that way you can motivate each other to progress quicker

and finally, yes, simulator does help a great deal too!
Don't be a LOS'er, be an FPV'er :)  My Gear - Facebook - Instagram - Twitter
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#10
That's something I'd love to have! A flying buddy Wink

I forgot to add trying to increase camera angle as well. Just something else I have personally done recently.
The Obsession IS Real!
My Youtube and Instagram links
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#11
Sounds like I'm on the right track then.  I've started to practice different types of moves I've seen in various videos.  Is there any resource that lists what different tricks are and their names?  For example, I don't want to call it a "swoopy turn" if it has a proper name.  Some things I've been practicing lately is being upside down as long as possible and power loops.  Not particularly good at either of those things quite yet :-)

Thanks for the advice!
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#12
(13-Jun-2017, 02:18 AM)grrbuilder Wrote:  For example, I don't want to call it a "swoopy turn" if it has a proper name. 

LOL! My best trick at the moment is called the 'avoid everything!'
Windless fields and smokeless builds
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#13
(13-Jun-2017, 02:18 AM)grrbuilder Wrote: ... Is there any resource that lists what different tricks are and their names? ...

That would be helpful, although I haven't seen one yet... For me I name things myself sometimes... or sometimes insist on making other people's names for things stick like the "fake-out" or "invertet head wag (featuring name by sloscotty)"... the way I see it there might be another name for some of the stuff I am trying to learn but as long as what I learn is explained in the name I call it that's good enough.
carl.vegas
Current Quads: Operational: Diatone GT2 200 In need of repair: Bumble Bee, tehStein,  Slightly modified Vortex 250 
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#14
Simulators and stick time are the best ways forward. Pushing yourself i.e. trying new maneuvers when you're confident with the basics etc.

Not sure about the comments on crashing - I still manage to crash my quads in an open field with no obstacles on a pretty regular basis.
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