Was a Newbie a year ago...after 20 flights on the Xtra Easy II....purchased the Funtana .40 and was hovering on my second flight.
That being said ....hovering on deck and recovering with no loss of altitude are totally different stories. If you want to learn how to hover/recover on the deck....there is no better simulator than AFP using a Giles 202....period.

Now I am doing rolling harriers on the deck....ahem ...which is why I am gluing my Funtana back together as we speak.