[pugs]

Yep, keep floor of bucket almost level to bottom of cut. Only take depth of cut deep enough to fill the bucket in just over half a pull with the stick. Usually not the best to try and reach as far as possible and then dig, better to be around 3/4 reach max.

There was a video on youtube a long time ago, can't find it now, but the guy explained it pretty well as he was doing it. One thing I learned from that was when dumping try and only uncurl the bucket to the same position it need to be in when you get back to the cut, once there quickly bump the stick out and the material should fall out. Then when back to the cut the bucket is already at or close to the right spot to start digging and you didn't waste any time moving it full out plus had full power for slewing around. Granted the small models don't work exactly like the 1:1 but you should get the idea.

There's too many vids on youtube of guys in rental excavators trying to dig by pulling the bucket through the cut with the teeth pointed almost straight down, can't get much accomplished that way.

Don't know if it is possible to do with the RC models as can't operate enough controls at once, but in the 1:1 a good operator instead of just spinning the tracks to make a tight turn will use the bucket to lift machine slightly and pivot tracks all in one fluid motion.