Billyman,
I'm sorry to say that the Sport 500 doesn't perform as advertised. Why? It is too heavy and is therefore not very stable at all. I know because I tried to get several flying even the collective pitch model and could never get any to hover very well, without a lot of work. Since you don't have that much invested in the heli and it's not assembled yet, maybe you should try to return the kit.

For the price of the Sport 500, you could buy a Raptor or the beginner model the Century Hawk II for around $200.00. They are both very stable helis and can be setup for advanced aerobactics when/if you get past the hovering stage.

I teach people to fly RC helis with a very safe and efficient hands-on method and will even let anyone hover my own heli (Raptor 30) for free, just so they can get a taste of the hobby/sport. Usually, most of the people I teach can learn to hover within an hour or two (same day), without even coming close to breaking anything.

Take care,
Clarence C. Ragland
http://www.kites.org/rc_instructors