Author Guidelines

The ‘Article’ section of the Flite Test website has become a popular resource for many people as they explore this great hobby. Every week we look forward to providing high quality, educational, and inspiring content to our online community.

However, due to the extremely high volume of article submissions, we have to become more selective in the articles we approve. We only approve the best 3-5 articles per day.

We want you to have the best chance possible at getting selected, so we've provided some guidelines for putting together a great article.

Remember, a great article MUST educate and inspire through quality information and entertainment.

Writing the article:

Each article has to have an Intro, Body and an Ending. If any of these are missing, your article is incomplete.

1. Intro

• In just a few words, what is the project about and what are you trying to accomplish?
• Insert a beauty shot of your subject: the final creation / flying location, etc.
• If this is your first article, talk a bit about yourself.
• Talk a bit about the equipment, materials, or location, and list any potential challenges that you can foresee.

2. Body

• List your steps chronologically, give interesting details, and provide pictures or videos for illustration.
• Proof read your writing! Make sure to ask yourself these questions:
•    Did I include all the important steps?
•    Is the order logical?
•    Are all the materials listed?
•    Do all the links and videos work?
•    Is everything spelled correctly?

3. Ending

• List your takeaways from the project and draw a brief conclusion.

Major DO NOTS (please read carefully):

• Please do not just post a video or a picture without written content. Write your thoughts and summarize what you’d like to share. This will help people find what they are looking for when they use the search function.
• Your article should NOT be constructed as a question or suggestion. These are better suited for our forum. The Flite Test ‘Forum’ is the perfect place to post questions and/or suggestions.
• Projects should be COMPLETE. Ongoing projects and unfinished designs can be posted in our forum.
• Do not use unusual text formatting. Use the templates available in the top-left corner of the editor to format your text – Standard for regular text, heading for titles… and so on.

Taking Pictures:

Nothing helps attract more viewers and support for your message than sharp, properly framed and exposed pictures. In most cases, you won’t be able to take them again easily, so remember to:

• Take your photos with plenty of light, preferably using a tripod or stand.
• Always make sure that your lens is clean.
• Properly adjust your camera's white-balance and exposure settings.
• Make sure your subject is in focus; After each scene, review your pictures on your device and zoom in to make sure they are sharp.
• Avoid busy backgrounds if possible.
• Take not one, but two or three photos of the same scene. Having options when composing your article will almost guarantee a more professional end-result.

Shooting Videos:

• Keep your videos concise, and avoid excessive zooming or shaking.
• Avoid shooting against bright lights or in very low light.
• Diversify – shoot from various angles; combine close-ups with wide angles.
• Only find music that produces a suitable mood and follows your imagery.
• Music is a very powerful tool, so please remember to be sensible with your choices - people are much less likely to tolerate unpleasant music than poor video.
• If you can’t find a music piece that distinctly enhances your imagery, you can always submit a video without music.
• If you have voice overs, make sure your music is not so loud that it drowns it out.

If you are recording an interview or a conversation:

• Bring the microphone close to the speaker.
• Ask the participants to speak clearly.
• Avoid loud background noises.

When shooting with a smartphone:

• Always shoot in landscape mode – keep the device horizontal.
• Do not speak straight into your device

Once your article is ready, use the preview button to ensure it is properly formatted. If everything looks good, submit for approval. This can take a few days and sometimes more, so we appreciate your patience. If your article is related to an event and needs an expedited review, just let us know.

If your article needs corrections, it will be sent back to you; simply make the required adjustments and re-submit for approval. This may reset your time for approval, so make sure to carefully review it before submission.

Good luck, and thank you for being a part of our community!