test fly his new model! It's pretty doubtful that a novice pilot could successfully fly the model while having to hold the control stick off center just to maintain level flight. The model would most likely crash before the novice even realized what was going on.

FIRST TURNS: To make a good turn, begin by moving the right-hand control stick either to the left or the right, depending on which direction you want to turn. That control stick is hooked to the ailerons on a four-channel model, or to the rudder on a three-channel model. Either way, the model will bank to the left or right on command. When it reaches a gentle bank angle of about 15° - 20°, release the stick, allowing it to return to neutral. You don't have to hold the stick over during the entire turn; if you did, the model would continue banking and execute a slow roll! If the model banks too steeply, past the 15° to 20° you want, apply opposite control to lift the low wing slightly.

Every airplane needs to have a bit of up elevator applied during the turn to help keep the nose up and to keep the model from losing altitude. The steeper the bank angle, the more up elevator that will be required. Concentrate on giving the model just enough up elevator to maintain altitude. When you want to come out of a turn, simply bank the model back to level flight with opposite aileron (or rudder). It will take a lot of practice doing circles and figure-eights in the sky to make really precise turns. Concentrate on making turns that hold a constant angle of bank and do not gain or lose any altitude.

WORK TO BECOME A GOOD PILOT: A good pilot always flies in a safe and predictable manner! Don't fly around the sky aimlessly — learn to make the airplane go where you want it to go. Try to fly your model parallel to the runway, turn around, and then return back parallel to the runway again. If you want to fly in circles or figure eight patterns, that's okay too, but you should have a picture in your mind of exactly

where you want the airplane to be at all times. We have an old saying at our flying field that says, "Fly the airplane, don't let it fly you!" Some fliers never learn this — they let the model fly off in whatever direction it happens to be going until it gets very small in the,sky, then they turn it around and let it fly back on whatever heading it happens to come out at, until they are forced to turn again. They are not in command of the model, it is flying them! If you keep these thoughts in mind during the early stages of your flight training, you will develop into a good R/C pilot.

LANDING: When it comes time to land your model, it's important to remember, once again, to keep all of your control inputs smooth and gentle to avoid over controlling. You don't want to be doing anything drastic when you get close to the ground! The most important thing to remember is to cancel a landing approach that is not going right, before the model gets too low. If it appears that your model is going to miss the runway, is in a bad attitude from over controlling, or is in any other less-than-ideal situation — take a waveoff! Push the stick into high throttle and climb back up for a new try.

Good landings start with a good approach! You should follow the same three-leg approach that full-scale pilots follow when landing their airplanes. Start with a downwind leg by flying parallel to the runway, but downwind and out away from the runway about 150 - 200 feet. When the model is directly across the runway from you, decrease the throttle a bit and start a shallow descent. You want the model to descend gradually without gaining airspeed. Use the elevator to hold the model in a very slight nose down attitude, and use the throttle to control the airspeed and rate of descent. The secret to a good landing approach is in balancing the throttle setting with the correct amount of up elevator to establish a gradual descent that will end with the model touching the ground directly out in front of you. It is tricky — landing is the hardest part of learning to fly R/C, or even full-scale airplanes for that matter. You must pay close attention to how the model is responding at all times.

Follow the downwind leg with a 90° turn to the base leg, still descending gradually but not building up excess speed. If you are gaining too much speed, throttle back a little bit more and hold more up elevator. One more 90° turn will put you on the final approach. When you roll out of the turn onto final, the model should be directly aligned for the runway and still descending. Reduce power a little more and continue to feed in up elevator to slow the model further. When you are certain that the model will make it to the runway, bring the throttle to full low and concentrate on keeping the wings level as the model descends towards the ground.

If your approach has followed the above description, the ctual landing will be a cinch! When the model is about one foot off the ground, start to flare the landing by carefully feeding in more up elevator a little bit at a time. Watch the nose of the airplane and the ground carefully! Try to keep the model flying level, at one foot or less of the ground. If you keep adding up elevator gradually and smoothly as the airplane continues to slow down, it should not rise or descend. If you put in too much up elevator and pull the nose up too high too soon for the amount of airspeed you have, the model will rise back up. If you don't hold enough up elevator, the model will fly into the ground at too high a speed. Try to hold the model just inches off the ground until it finally slows enough to settle onto the runway. The ideal situation is for the model to touch down nose high, on the main wheels (of a trike gear model), with the elevator stick held all the way back.

Always remember, if the final landing approach isn't working out right, it's best to add power and go around for another try! If the final approach is properly lined up with the runway and you have the rate of descent under control, the actual landing will be easy.