I agree that it is much easier to hover once you are out of the rotor wash (approx. 3-4'). It gets much more stable, but once I get above eye height (for me about 4'11") I have trouble keeping the heli flat, and because a heli is so sensitive to horizontal orientation, it can get out of control flying who knows where quickly. (most of my oops have occurred when it got above my head)

How can I better determine the horizontal orientation when it is over my head (I know - practice and eventually it will become second nature!) Maybe move it farther away from me?

Move it a little futher in front of you and stand slightly to the side of it. It is a lot easier to tell if it is level if you are looking at it from the side vs trying to look at it from behind or stareing up at it from the bottom. Just my 2ΒΆ

And work up to it-- with the smaller helis the rotor wash is not a huge influence above about 4 feet if you're away from walls, trees &c. If you try and push it you can get dangerous-- the heli can be slipping down toward you without changing angular location, and it's very hard to see the change in size.