Lance. I've tried sword and shield too, and i get further until he pulls out that cheating move of his and just starts rendering all effort null and void.

Perfect.

Equip the Auto-Block Charm: it'll take care of most of the sudden spins and charges.

When he first sees you, he'll often charge. In that case, use Counter-Thrust for an easy opening hit. If he starts flying instead, use your Charge to get under him, then use the Upper-Thrust.

He'll often turn to face you directly: Sidestep to his left, turn a little to your right, stay close, and use one Mid-Thrust (to get close) and then one Upper-Thrust to his head/wing, then Sidestep to your left and block. That way, you'll block any counter-attack. Don't get greedy: if you attack three times, you'll usually be vulnerable to a counter. If he starts dancing or panting, though, keep attacking. But ALWAYS end your combo with a Sidestep! (It resets your cooldown, so you can immediately attack/block as needed).

When he flies up, turn and immediately Charge. 99% of the time, you'll avoid his attack if he spits, and you'll be in prime position to attack if he lands. One nice thing about Charge: you're unaffected by wind currents. Just cancel/thrust out before you run past him.

If he's ever coming at you, and you're not set up to Counter-Thrust, use Advancing Guard: it uses less stamina, and it extends your protected area to everything but your very back. You'll probably lose out on the chance to counter, though it's worth it.

Once again, always keep your eyes open for that "clack clack" sound. He might be about to dance, but he's more likely about to light you on fire. Stop what you're doing and start walking in a small circle. Don't bother putting your lance away.

If he summons a Great Jaggi, put your lance away and get the bird between you and the Jaggi. They will fight each other instead of you.

If he summons a Rathia, you can either keep the bird between the two of you and hope Rathia hits the bird for you, or you can be prudent and run. Rathia will butcher you: do not, under any circumstances, try to engage.

Finally, there will be some happy times when you're under it and it's not attacking. Use Upper Thrust as much as you can: not only do you get free hits, but you'll routinely knock it out of the skies and get three more free  shots.

To recap: don't attack more than twice unless you know it's vulnerable, and always Sidestep to its left afterwards (keep the guard button down too!). Aim for the head/chest. Be patient: until you memorize its moves, it's best to play it conservatively. Advance Guard if you lose track of it or are not in a good position to block. And NEVER stay around when it bangs its flints together!

On the last point, i've found that if you stand right next to him just under the wing, he can't do anything about that flint attack, since he can't turn in the course of the attack, and if his hop is too short he just ends up beside you again, and his second/third hop will be equally pointless.

Really i have little problem with he himself, aside from the damned healing, it's the monster swarms that set me off balance, and then his attacks really start to bite in while i'm distracted.

edit: By the way, does anyone know any place where I can get the full skill details for each armor piece? I'd like to plan out what sort of armor I'll mainly use, but the MH wiki doesn't have the info.

So for the sake of example, if your chest armor has -1 Fire, Fire based attacks do more?