Of course you need practice. A lot of it. The key thing is to keep your calm and not do any drastic/erratic stick moves even when your instinct tells you to (over-correcting). When you're hooked up and see you're getting too close or too far away from the boom, DON'T yank the stick just -gently- move throttle back and forth, doing slight speed correction..and at first it'll seem as if there's no difference, you're still moving away or getting too close..but just wait and keep your calm..there will be a slight delay when correcting speed..and you'll notice it. Just be concentrated and don't panic. Even if you crash into the tanker..not a big deal..keep the same attitude and practice..and you'll get the hang of it.