I'm sure I'm not the only person that has had this problem: landing a foamy (without landing gear) and damage. I've found that landing with a little speed seems to be easier on the airframe, but from time to time it still happens. It either digs in to the grass/dirt and stops hard or the landing is a little harsh and damage occurs. I hate repairing these things because of the added weight and many repairs changes the flight charistics over time, plus there's the ugly factor. I'm not good enough to catch the plane from a hover yet so I'd love to hear other folks' thoughts on minimizing damage.

I can't quite catch it from a hover reliably yet either. But if you can fly it slowly enough this is what I do: I fly the model low and slow close to the ground towards me. Then at the last second (about a yard or so away), I pull up and and kill throttle. It gets to my shoulder level before stalling and i simply grab it out of the air. Not as pretty or cool looking as a hover catch, but it works. Just make sure you have your throttle settings so that the motor completely stops when you pull back on the throttle.

try some skid plates i know that its going to add weght but seams affective.

I buy the optional landing gear. If you have ever been cut by a spinning prop, you won't be trying to catch anymore.