ORIGINAL: Beachcomber
I've been wondering the same thing about gyro for 3D planes. Haven't found a good answer yet, but can tell you that it seems to be a secret club. Nobody will admit to using gyro, because folks will make fun of them. But in secret, who knows how many gyros are hiding under the canopy.
Just saw an ad from hobby lobby taking advance orders on a new foam jet that comes standard with gyro for rudder, for use in 3D hovering. So there, the cat is out of the bag.
Go to one of the big F.G. HuckFest's. The folks that attend are really good people and most will be happy to let you look inside their plane. I have flown at 3 different 3D events this year and not a single person was using a gyro for any reason at any of the events.
As recently as a couple of months ago, a gentleman challenged me to show him that my AeroWorks Extra 260 didn't have a gyro in it. He was truly convinced there was NO WAY a plane could be hovered and harrier flown without one. He had been flying for more than 30 years and was "sure" it couldn't be done. After poking around in my plane for quite a long time he finally admitted to the fact that there was NO GYRO in it. I've been flying RC for 40 years and I know how he felt, I felt the same way just 5 years ago. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I didn't think I would ever be able to hover.