ok so this has been bugging me for a while and i finally decided to just ask. been flying freestyle for about a year, mostly self taught off youtube, and the split S is the one maneuver that just does not click for me. every tutorial makes it look so smooth but when i do it i either come out way too low and have to abort or i lose orientation halfway through the roll and just kind of flail until i recover.

running a 5inch on betaflight, rates are pretty moderate still, not trying to do anything crazy. simulator time has helped a lot with other stuff but even in liftoff the split S feels inconsistent for me. is there something fundamental im missing about the entry or is it just reps

the entry altitude is everything with split S and nobody really emphasizes that enough in tutorials because they're filming at places with tons of vertical room. you need way more altitude than you think, especially while you're learning, because the whole maneuver is basically converting altitude into forward speed through the half roll and pull. if you're starting too low you're already setting yourself up to scrape the ground on exit.

for the orientation thing ? are you losing it during the roll or during the pull? because if its during the roll you might just need to slow your roll rate down a bit so your brain can keep up. people think faster rolls look cooler but for actually learning where you are in 3d space a slower roll gives you more time to process. once it's automatic you can speed it back up. also are you doing this line of sight or goggles, that changes things a lot

liftoff is decent for learning it but i always felt like the physics are a little forgiving compared to real life. velocidronehas a more punishing feel which actually helped me nail down exactly where i was screwing up the exit. not saying liftoff is bad just that sometimes switching sims shakes something loose. also your rates might actually be too moderate for split S weirdly enough ? if you dont have enough roll authority the maneuver kind of drags and gets harder to time, theres a sweet spot