You could offshore for 1000 and not come close, they you could go cattle chasing for a couple of months and be better
Thanks for the observation Blender but these days it is by chance that one is better.
Very very seldom do we see newbies being held in the curcuit and go no further until they
will f'n well hold a hover, or hold one skid on a drum while the check pilot clambers out in a most ungainly manner, acts the clown and pretends to fall base over apex, tripping over the loose skid at the same time, or and then inadvertantly fall into the side of the machine, grab the skid and shake it vigourously, jump back into the seat with a thump, demand the pupe to hover with the HF aerial at a constant distance to a tree top as the machine is hovered laterally at a constant turn rate around it or the tail rotor same same, etc, etc, etc.
Some of the check pilots think they are training same as of the days of auld - THINK they are, but most go no further than the science of pretending to be the mentalist to teach the beating of a cows brain power, in itself a challenge for most. I.E. One does not have to think like a cow, but one has to think smarter than a cow.
Until we see more of that old style training then I'll go with the professionals of your ilk as the more precise operators.
One thing for sure some of the videos around of these same cowboy drivers adequately demonstrate to our acute embarrassment, that some of them cannot hold an attituide for any time at all. They'd never cut it as a gymnast, that's for sure.
The real answer for the question regarding snoopy, is yes it is very easy and only with a few hours of training. Planning is the key, In his case being aware of distances to the crowd barriers etc is demonstrated as being well attended to in his plan.
cheers tet