Keep at it Joe. I've had my Axe for about 5 months (although I haven't taken it outdoors for about a month - too cold or too windy []) and I haven't mastered a hover yet. However, I have hovered it in the G3.5 sim, but it isn't easy, and I haven't been able to hold the hover steady for very long. It does indeed take practice. I am able to do much better with some of the other helis in G3.5, and I can actually fly around with some. I recently purchased a new T-Rex heli that I have heard are much more stable than the Axe, but they are also much more advanced and better built. I can fly the T-Rex pretty good in G3.5 too, but I still crash it plenty if I try anything too advanced. But even those mishaps will help me learn to fly the real thing. The Axe is a great starter, and it's a rugged little heli, but it is kinda squirrely. Good luck and have fun.