Looking For A New Heli

Sorry for not posting in the past months. Life gets hectic. I'm still flying my MCX2 which is a great starter heli but I'm seriously considering stepping up to a Blade 120SR. From what I've read and seen on youtube it looks like a pretty cool heli.

I want something that I can fly outside but is still easy enough to handle. I'm not ready for 3D flying but I certainly want to move up from coaxial. The price is reasonable for a BNF heli.. I figure I can use the controler from my MCX2.

From the videos I've seen it looks like it can be flown in light breeze which is fine for me. I'm getting kinda of tired of flying indoors. I have heard that people have had problems with the tail motor which if it's true can be replaced for about $12 if it fails.

If you have experience with the Blade 120SR please post your thoughts and comments.

Still Flying

Sorry it's been awhile since I've posted. Nothing new really to report. Still flying the MCX2 on advanced settings which is great. Thinking of going to a Walkera flybarless heli next. Waiting for others to review it. Wish I could find a big open space building in my area to fly. Flying in the garage and living room is very confining.

Blade MCX2 With 150 mAh Battery

Here's a short video on using Eflite 150 mAh batteries with the Blade MCX2. Eflite includes a 120 mAh battery when you buy the heli but I bought 150s for longer flight. Also, I found it a pain in the neck to use both 120s and 150s because you have to trim it out each time you switch between the two.

Outdoor Flight With Blade MCX2

My son and I looked outside yesterday afternoon and saw that the leaves were not moving. We decided to take theMCX2 outdoors for some flight time. I have it on the advanced swashplate setup. When we got out side we noticed an intermittent light breeze that came up from time to time but decided to fly anyway.

My son was on the camera filming the session. We filmed a series of four flights all ending with the same result. As soon as the breeze stiffened slightly it took the heli for a free ride and I had no choice but to go to zero throttle and crash. No damage to the heli… landed on soft, dead grass. The breeze is blowing from left to right in the video frame. It was dying down at times which allowed the heli to move faster towards the direction of the breeze. Here's the video:



The heli had a enough lateral power to fight the wind but forward and backward were both a real struggle. When trying to get back to the area that I took off I had the control full forward and the heli was moving slowly backward. Just not enough power.
Conclusion: There has to be absolutely ZERO wind in order to fly the Blade MCX2 outside… ZERO.

I’m thinking it’s time for us to move up to something we can fly outdoors. Maybe the Blade 120 SR or I really like the new Walkera Flybarless helis that are soon to arrive in the US. It’s obvious that we want something with a 3 axis gyro system. Let the research begin…

Blade MCX2 Advanced Swashplate Setting

I'm becoming confident with my flying abilities so I decided last night to adjust the swashplate settings on my MCX2 to the advanced setting. I was curious to see if I could get faster forward flight on the advanced setting as claimed in some of the threads I've read. Since the manual was not real clear on how to do this I was a little nervous about it. This is all the manual says about it...



We'll after a little research I figured it out. It's easy to do. You just need to have nimble fingers. Theres a video on youtube on how to change it on the 120SR but the MCX2 has a slightly different procedure because of it's size. Here's a video on how to do it...



Now for the results. This adjustment made a big difference in the responsiveness and forward/reverse flight speed. I only flight tested indoors but I could definitely feel the difference. I'm glad I waited because had I done this out of the box the heli might have been too touchy for my inexperience. Slight stick movements and the MCX2 reacts quickly. It's also nice to have faster forward flight... it's not a speed demon but it is better than it was on the normal setting.

After you get comfortable with the MCX2 I recommend making this change.

Another Outdoor Flight With The Blade MCX2

The weather was cool and the wind was nonexistent yesterday evening. I took the opportunity to bring my MCX2 outdoors with 4 fully charged batteries. It's so nice flying outside without walls and ceilings to contend with. I was able to get 30 minutes of flight time.

I am noticing that the forward flight on the MCX2 is a bit sluggish. It has a good spurt of speed for about 5-6 feet but then drops off. If I gain altitude and then forward stick with more power I can move it pretty fast. I guess that's the best you can do with a coaxial blade set up.

Now that I'm pretty confident with the MCX2 I'm going to change the swashplate connectors to the advance setting. I can always change it back if it doesn't feel right. Just want to try it.

I have my eye on the Walkera V200D01 which is a flybarless heli. I've been watching videos on youtube and it looks really cool. Flying out doors last night makes me want to pull the trigger on a larger heli...but.. before I do I want to be sure it will handle light wind.

Blade MCX2 Battery Test - Carbon Fiber Tail

Hey guys... I decided to shoot a video that showed the complete flight time of the Blade MCX2 helicopter. I'm using one of my four 150ma batteries for this flight. The MCX2 is set up with the carbon fiber tail boom (my preference).

I started this flight with a fresh battery and flew until the battery faded. I wanted to record it from start to finish so you could really see how long it will fly. I got about 7 minutes and 40 seconds of flight time... not bad. Towards the end of the video you will see it lose power and crash. It survived just fine as it always does and had a few seconds more of flight time left until the blue LED faded completely.

I love this heli. It fun to fly. Responsive and nimble would be the best way to describe it. If your getting started and want to learn 4 channel control this heli is the right choice. One hint.. it comes with a 120ma battery... get the 150ma batteries though...more flight time.

Check out the video...

My Son's "Uber" Skills With the Syma S107

The Syma S107 has become my son's heli of choice right now. Here's a video of him showing off what he reffers to as his "Uber" skills...

Having Multiple Batteries Is Key

When I first started this blog I was flying the Syma S107 and slightly complaining about the charging time. When I got my Blad MCX2 the batteries charged in half the time but we still had to wait 30 minutes between flights. Well, the latest UPS package to arrive at our house contained an Eflite Celectra 4 Port Charger and 3 more 150MA batteries. How sweet it is having 4 batteries now each giving nearly 7 minutes of flight time. A quick change of batteries and we're flying again. Now we can fly for nearly 30 minutes..and.. once the 1st battery is spent we can pop it in the charger so that it's nearly ready to go by the time the 4th one is spent. If you plan on doing a lot of flying I HIGHLY recommend getting more batteries and the 4 port charger.

The charger works great, charges each battery independently and has auto shut off when it's charged. The power adapter for the single battery charger works with the 4 port. You can also put larger batteries in the 4 port for using it in the field/remotely. All in all a good investment. Check out the video below to see the charger in action.. not too exciting but wanted to show it to you...

Spending Time With Clearview Simulator

We've only flown a few times the pass two days. I've been occupied with my new toy, an Iphone 4G. I have spent time flying the Blade CX and MSR on the Clearview Sim though and I can say for sure that it definately translates into real flying. I feel more confident with turning and manuevers in real life. If your seriously interested in becoming a good pilot investing in a sim makes a lot of sense.

Here's a video of the Blade CX on Clearview...