I am right there with you Danny. I started flying rc at the age of 15 and I am 41 now. Never in a million years did I ever plan on going to the dark side (helis). But last year I was accidentally introduced to the little cheap 2 channel airhogs helis and now I have the bug and it bit me hard.
You are right though about hovering a heli. It is completely different from an airplane. It is a bit similar to hovering a 3d plane though.
Jeff