Learn on a simulator first. Get the best sim you can afford, and learn every bit of hovering you can from it. With every crash on the sim, it pays for itself. Get the free FMS if you have to, and it's good to show you the very basics of hovering. It's not very realistic, but it will give you that ever-important hand to eye coordination. I used the sim for what seemed like hundreds of hours before starting with the real deal. I have not even had a hard landing yet, and I started with a Hummingbird fixed pitch. Moved on to a coax heli, then the 400MX Pro, and now am putting together a Kyosho Caliber 5 nitro. I still use my sim every chance I get, and it keeps you from getting rusty when the weather turns sour and you can't fly outside.

Jesse