How can an aircraft hover almost vertically? (Source: https://fat.gfycat.com/)
The aircraft in this GIF (although being an RC plane) seems to be flying vertically, just meters above the ground. How is this possible? How is it possible to control it in this scenario? Would this be possible with a real aircraft?
The aircraft in the video is a remote-controlled (rc) airplane. Why it can &quot;hover&quot; is simply:
The thrust generated by a big fan / rc-jet-engine is much higher than the weight of the plane.
If the force generated by the turbine is the same as the downward-force of weight of the airplane, it hovers.
By very carefully adjusting the thrust and placing the aircraft in this &quot;nose-up&quot; position, a skilled rc-pilot can hover the plane until the battery runs out or fuel gets low.

As example:
An aircraft that weights 10,000 kg's produces a downforce:
$$F=m\cdot g=10,000 \cdot  9.81  = 98,100N $$
To make this aircraft hover, you have to create a upward force of at least $98,100 N$. If you manage to do that and you can align the generated thrust / downforce perfectly on the Y-Axis, the aircraft will hover:
$F_{down} - F_{up} = 0N$, the two forces will cancel each other out and you don't have any movement in the Y-Axis.
However, if you have engines that create more thrust than the downforce, the following will happen:
$F_{down} - F_{up} \geq 0N$, that means the aircraft will climb vertically (On the Y-Axis).
The same principle applies to other &quot;real&quot; aircraft, like the Sea-Harrier:

It uses the engine to create a force facing upwards. Because the force is greater than the downward-force created by the aircrafts weight, the Harrier can land / takeoff vertically.
The hovering airctaft is controlled by a trust-vectoring fan / turbine. Controlling the plane with the &quot;normal&quot; surfaces is not possible, because the airflow over the controll-surfaces on the wing is to slow. Therefore, only planes with trust-vectoring capabilities COULD hover like the rc-plane in your question.