It took me about 2 weeks of 30-45 mins per evening to even get off the 
ground in a stable manner :-)  I can now make it go pretty much where I want 
within +/- 30cm in each axis so long as it's facing away from me.  Sometimes 
I try to turn it slightly but then I can't control it and either crash or 
bring it quickly back in line.

> Counter-rotating is more stable in the air. The one thing that annoys me 
> about mine, though is the precession it seems to exhibit when hovering. 
> But, it does seem easy to fly, and it is very stable. I've not had a 
> chance to fly a collective pitch bird, though. So I can't say whether it's 
> easier or not.
>
> Thing is, if you're disoriented when the helicopter is facing certain 
> directions, counter-rotating rotors won't do you any good :)

I have a cheap little 3-channel Chinook one that someone got me for 
Christmas, I can fly that fine because it's so stable and can't move 
anywhere fast.  With my 4-channel one you need to be continually working the 
controls to keep it steady, and I just can't do that when it's not pointing 
directly away from me.  Maybe I should reduce the sensitivity of the 
controls, that might make it easier, I haven't played with it for a while 
now.

> The one I have also has a gyro built into it's control board, so as far as 
> yaw goes, it's rock-solid.

Apparently mine does too, but it tends to drift over a 15 minute session 
just out of reach of the trim on the transmitter.  Turning the helicopter 
off and back on again seems to reset it correctly though.

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