RCU Forums - Please help with hovering

Here's one more suggestion. I started flying about 18 months ago, and have put in a lot of stick time on a simulator and glows of various sizes. Without question, for me the key to developing the skill for hovering came through many hours on foamy/brushless motor planes (I have relied on planes from Fancy Foam, but I imagine most of the other brands are just as good). The foamies are incredibly responsive, convenient (i.e. you can fly in your backyard - and as your ability improves, the amount of space you need decreases even more), and cheap! After about 50-60 flights of 10 minutes each, I was able to consistently hover for long periods and close to the ground - now the challenge is to to do reverse torque rolls, keep the plane is one spot and walk around it, etc.. Although there are clear differences between hovering a foamie and a glow or gas plane, most notably the responsiveness of the engine compared to the brushless motors, the basic maneuvers are identical, and I have found hovering my u-can-do 60 rather straight-forward (although I keep it away from the tarmac!).

Like other piloting skills, hovering requires going from "conscious" reactions to what you observe in the plane to automatic, unconscious, reflex responses. The brain is actually doing some rewiring to make this happen. This can only be achieved by many hours of practice over some minimal time period - probably at least a couple of months. I'd be interested to know what the shortest period of time has been for someone to go from no R/C experience to reliable hovering. I suspect the record would be a young teenager (= maximum brain plasticity) with access to a good simulator and foamie (= maximum time to play!).