OK, I've got the axe tuned in now and I will re-emphasize, Flying without the training gear is the cake. I think once you get past the jitters and basic control of the sticks you should take them off. Granted it won't make you a pilot but for myself, I would have had less scrapes with the pavement had I done this earlier in the game.
Anyway, I am at a fun part in this hobby/sport. I can hover almost hands free and direct the heli any direction I want it to go. I am still not flying over head height but that was not my goal anyway here. Maybe when I can fly blindfolded I will take this thing up high. I believe that at an altitude there will be more room for error and flying control. Like someone said, head height is scarry, I think I just need to get over that hump. I added a horizontal stab, but I don't know if that helped any, but it looks cool and hides the dent in my tail boom. I think it also protects against future tail boom strikes (to some extent) if mounted in the correct postion, testing is still underway.
To anyone still trying to hover, keep trying, you do eventually get it, and thanks to the guys here I didn't give up. It is more exciting to have to run inside to recharge the li-po and wait for the next flight than to have to go online , order parts and wait for the next flight.
Now I can see how it is possible to fly this thing indoors at a steady hover (not quite ready for that yet) but it won't be long, I can taste it!!!
Thanks again guys for all the support here

a side note: does everyone fly without the canopy in place? I leave it off because it takes too much time to put the thing on. Has anyone made and improvements to make it easier?