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Tricks & Flow6 min read

Roll, Flip, or Power Loop: What Order Should You Learn Tricks?

Different guides recommend different first tricks. Here's why Split-S before power loop has the strongest case, and where the alternative advice comes from.

Valentin Cohere

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Roll, Flip, or Power Loop: What Order Should You Learn Tricks?

Photo by TheRegisti on Unsplash

Key Takeaways

  • You'll find genuinely different first-trick advice across FPV guides: some recommend rolls first, some flips, some Split-S. The disagreement is real, not just inconsistent writing. - The strongest case is Split-S before power loop, because Split-S is mechanically the exit half of a power loop, so it builds the exact skill the next trick needs. - "Learn rolls, then flips, then power loops" is common beginner advice too, and it's not wrong, it's just optimizing for a different goal: broad comfort with inversion, rather than the fastest path to a specific signature trick.

If you've read more than one FPV trick guide, you've probably noticed they don't agree on what to learn first. Some put rolls before flips before power loops. Others treat the Split-S as the true first trick, with power loop as the natural second step. Neither camp is making it up, they're optimizing for different things, and understanding which goal you actually have will tell you which order is right for you.

The Case for Split-S First

The strongest, most mechanically grounded argument is Split-S before power loop. The reasoning: a Split-S is a half-roll to inverted followed by a pull-through to level, which is literally the back half of a power loop with the entry phase removed. Master the exit skill in isolation, and the power loop becomes "add an entry to something I already know," not "learn two new skills at once" (UAVMODEL Insights, 2026).

This is the order used in FlightDivision's FPV Freestyle Trick Progression pillar, and the full power loop breakdown is written assuming Split-S comes first, because the throttle-through-inversion skill it teaches transfers directly.

The Case for Rolls-Then-Flips-Then-Power-Loops

A separate, also common beginner path skips Split-S as a named first trick and instead sequences rolls, then flips, then power loops, with two hours of simulator practice per trick before attempting it on a real quad (search consensus across multiple current beginner guides, 2026). This path optimizes for something different: broad comfort with orientation changes in general, rather than the fastest route to one specific signature trick.

Within this path, there's a further split on which flip to start with. A back flip is often recommended over a front flip because you can see where you're going as it happens: pull pitch back, hold through 360 degrees, center. Front flips, by contrast, are singled out as a common early mistake, more likely to shred props and confidence at the same time, because the pilot loses visual reference at the worst moment (search consensus, 2026).

Where beginners actually get hurt by trick order

The failure mode isn't picking rolls-first versus Split-S-first, both are defensible. It's rushing past readiness gates regardless of which order you pick: attempting the next trick before the current one is genuinely consistent, or skipping simulator time entirely to get to real-quad tricks faster. The order matters less than respecting the gate at each step.

Throttle Control Is the Real Prerequisite, Not Trick Choice

Whichever order you choose, every source agrees on one underlying point: throttle control is the actual skill being trained, not any individual trick. Rolls, flips, power loops, and splits all start and end with correct throttle. Get the throttle wrong and the trick either looks jerky or ends in a crash, regardless of which maneuver you attempted (search consensus, 2026). A useful drill that transfers to every trick: find your hover point, typically 35-45% throttle on a 5-inch, 6S build, then practice moving from full throttle back to hover without overshooting, repeated 50 times per session.

This is also why the specific first trick matters less than it might seem. Whichever one you pick, you're training the same underlying stick-to-throttle relationship that every later trick depends on.

A Checklist for Choosing Your Order

Rather than picking a side in the abstract, match the order to what you're actually optimizing for:

  • Want one signature trick as fast as possible? Go Split-S then power loop. The mechanical overlap between the two means your practice time compounds instead of starting fresh with each new trick.
  • Want to feel comfortable with inversion in general before committing to any one trick? Rolls, then flips, then power loops gives you broader exposure to orientation changes before you specialize.
  • Flying on a whoop rather than a 5-inch quad? Order matters less here, since crash cost is low enough that you can reasonably try both approaches back to back and see which clicks. See why tiny whoops are a legitimate place to do this.
  • Already comfortable with one flip or roll from unstructured practice? There's no need to reset to zero. Build forward from whatever you can already do cleanly rather than restarting a prescribed sequence from scratch.

What Doesn't Change Regardless of Order

However you sequence the individual tricks, three things hold constant across every credible guide: put in your simulator hours first (20-30 hours minimum before real-hardware attempts), respect a rep-count readiness gate before advancing to the next trick rather than a vague feeling of readiness, and learn every new trick at altitude over soft ground before bringing it closer to the ground. These aren't order-dependent, they're the actual safety and skill-transfer scaffolding that makes any order work.

The disagreement in the community is real, but it's a disagreement about optimization, not about fundamentals. Two pilots following opposite trick orders, both respecting the sim-hours and rep-count discipline, will likely end up at similar skill levels on a similar timeline. Two pilots following the same order, one respecting readiness gates and one rushing them, will not.

So Which Order Should You Actually Use?

If your goal is a specific, recognizable signature trick as fast as possible, Split-S then power loop is the more efficient path, because the skill transfer between the two is direct and immediate. If your goal is broad comfort with inversion and orientation before committing to any one signature move, rolls-then-flips-then-power-loops is a reasonable, well-supported alternative. Both paths converge on the same place eventually: once individual tricks are clean, the next skill is linking them into flow, where the transition between tricks starts to matter more than the tricks themselves.

Whichever order you choose, don't skip the platform question. Tiny whoops can run the entire trick vocabulary, rolls, flips, power loops, spins, at a fraction of the crash cost of a 5-inch quad, which makes them a legitimate place to work through either progression.

Frequently Asked Questions

Split-S has the stronger mechanical case, since it's literally the exit half of a power loop and builds a skill that transfers directly. A roll-first approach is also common and valid; it optimizes for broad comfort with inversion rather than the fastest path to one specific trick.

Flips build comfort with full orientation changes and are often considered gentler on confidence than a power loop's combined entry and exit. Back flips specifically are recommended over front flips because the pilot keeps a visual reference on the way through the maneuver.

No. Every source agrees throttle control is the real underlying skill; rolls, flips, power loops, and splits all depend on it equally. Trick order affects how quickly you reach a specific signature move, but throttle discipline is what determines whether any of them actually work.

Sources

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