Bought the Blade last friday, never flew a heil before, took my time and right now i'm up to the point where i can hover for as long as the battery lasts... I will say you have to be on the ball ALL the time, as its not like flying a jet, always making constant adjustments especially with the rudder and pitch.

I too upgraded to the CF blades ($30) and using stock motor and so far not a problem, although i'm probably going to go back to the Stock blades and i like them more.

Not bad for $200 enjoyable fun and some what easy, i can see why Eflite do not recommend this heil for been your 1st, even though its my 1st i understand the principles of how heilcopters fly, since i'm around the real ones quite a bit and have flown a few over the years... I find this had help me alot and have still have it in one piece without not crashing it yet.

I will most likely do some upgrades over the weeks and move on from hovering to flying in a circle> to landing.