Well, I got my Heli-Max AXE CP a little over two weeks ago. It took me all of two hours to get it out of the box, install the rotors and charge the batteries. I decided my front sidewalk would be a fine place to practice flying my heli. 30 seconds into the first flight the heli drifted over the curb and towards the street. It then dipped to the left and banked into the curb. Two days later the replacement main rotor grips arrived in the mail. I decided this time to take my heli to where I work, a huge aircraft hangar. I had about 3 minutes of fly time when the nose went up and the tail went down. Tail landings are a bad thing right?? After replacing the tail boom, tail motor mount and bearings, I think I'm getting the hang of it. I've gone twent five minutes of flying time without breaking my heli.
After the second crash I watched the training video. It recommended a 6 for circle to practive hovering in. Well, I've been working at keeping it inside a 15 x 15 slab of concrete. Once I master that, I'll look at the 6 foot circle.

I love this hobby.

Ted