Spinning Blades RC Helicopter Blog

Looking For A New Heli

2011-08-03T06:29:00.001-07:00

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

2010-10-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-16T04:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-13T05:49:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-09T05:58:00.000-07:00

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...

Blade MCX2 First Outdoor Flight

2010-09-07T05:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening it was completely still in the back yard. Absolutely no wind. We decided to fly the MCX2 outdoors. It was great! Not having to worry about hitting walls or other house bound articles. Just free flight.

I let it go about 40 feet away from me. It handled great. The only issue I have with this heli right now is when you try to do tight when it's moving forward a decent clip it tends to spin out and lose altitude. I guess this is a result of the two blades chopping the air and causing instability. We've learned to take the turns a bit wider.

My son was flying the S107 outside as well. It handled great. Again, we had zero wind.

Next time we'll video it.

Lesson.. flying outdoors is definately better. ;)

Thoughts On Clearview RC Flight Simulator

2010-09-04T21:22:00.000-07:00

Using Clearview Flight Simulator has definitely improved my helicopter flying skills. It's only be a day and I feel more confident flying my Blade MCX2 especially in tight places. My only grip about the software is that it freezes up from time to time and you have to kill it from task manager and restart the software. It's Java based which I don't think is the best platform. Hopefully they will make improvements in future releases.

It runs well most of the time and like I said it has helped my confidence and actual flying skills.

I have to say that the MCX2 is so much fun to fly. Yesterday I must have flown it at least 12 times. I can't wait to get the extra batteries.

Clearview Flight Simulator And The Blade MSR

2010-09-03T14:06:00.000-07:00

Another package arrived today from UPS.. The Esky USB Transmitter with FMS Flight Simulator software ($20). Well the FMS software is complete crap so we bought Clearview's simulator for $40 after checking out the free trial.

Clearview has heli, planes, jets and even cars. The cool thing about Clearview is people can build their own virtual models for it.

After checking out all the helis on Clearview we figured out that none of them had a 3 axis gyro. There is a Blade CX Coaxial which is fun to fly but we wanted to begin training on a real RC heli. A google search produced a Blade MSR in both a scale and larger version. The larger version seems like the 120 SR and that's the one were now using.

Here is a video of me flying the Blade MSR (Large)on Clear view... Very cool.

We're running this software on a Windows 7, ICore5, 6 GB ram Dell Studio 17. I tried it on my desktop which is an old Dell Dimesion with 1GB and it chewed up all the RAM. I would say 2GB minimum to run Clearview.

The Esky USB Transmitter and Clearview are a good combination. Getting hours of training is now pretty easy to do. Although my son likes to take breaks from flight school to crash and burn some jets! It's all good.

More On The Blade MCX2

2010-09-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

Having a lot of fun with it. Not sure the Syma S107 will be as fun any more after flying this. My kids are flying the S107, including my 11 YO daughter. Flying 4 channel is so much more interesting. Definitely what we want to be doing to prepare to fly larger helis.

We tried flying the MCX2 outside tonight after the sun went down. Still traces of a light breeze. This heli can't handle it at all. Had the throttle pegged and it was going backwards. It would have to be dead calm to be able to fly this heli outside. Looking forward to that opportunity.

One thing I don't like about the MCX2 is I have to bind it to the transmitter before every flight. Maybe there's a way around that. I hope so... it's pain in the neck. But that's my only complaint.

The 150mAh1 battery gets about 6 minutes of solid power flight time on a full charge. After that the power starts to fade and you have to be careful. They charge in like 30 minutes which is not bad. We'll have 4 of them soon so we can fly for 25 minutes solid and by the time the last one discharges.. the first one will be ready to go.

Something I don't like is that the 150mAh1 stick out a bit from the holder on the heli and the connecter is almost stretched to connect to it. I hope the connector can handle the wear and tear of battery changes. We shall see.

BTW.. my son is getting very good with the S107. We'll probably shoot a video of him show his "uber skills" as he puts it.

First Flight Blade MCX2

2010-09-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

As you would guess I couldn't wait. I had to try it and let me tell you it's pretty cool. Took a bit to get use to 4 channel flying but it's sooo much better. Quick observations... this heli is VERY responsive even in the out of the box setting. Also, the 150 batteries work fine but I had to trim it out again from when I was using the 120's. I promptly ordered 3 more 150's and a 4 battery charger... also spare blades and a skid just in case. I'll report more after a few flights but this thing is very cool.

Blade MCX2 Arrived Today... Still In Box

2010-09-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

The Blade MCX2 is still in the box. My son and I agreed that we were going to master the Syma S107 before we played with the MCX2 but I don't think I can wait.

Flights with the S107 are getting better. My son has spent more time with it and is admittedly better than me.. and he likes to rub it in a bit too. I'm now able to fly in figure 8s without stopping because I feel out of control. the room size is definately becoming an issue though. I feel like if we had more more we could really let loose. Have to figure something out.

5th Flight.. Things I've Learned About the S107

2010-08-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

During my last flight I learned something about the controls. If you push the right stick up and to the right the S107 does a slight bank turn to the right and visa versa if you push it up and to the left. It's much cooler turning this way than the hover, left or right turns I've been doing. I also learned I need a bigger room to fly in. What can I say... I'm learning! See picture below for explanation.

Syma S107 Day 2 - Landing Practice

2010-08-31T07:08:00.000-07:00

The object of this exercise was to take off from a small elevated area, fly around, then return to that same area. I also tried to keep the heli in the camera frame which was difficult. I think I need to work on making smaller movements with the stick. As you will see in the video my flying has abrupt changes in altitude. I also need to get more comfortable with orientation changes. Not bad for about the 4th flight I guess. Check out these videos:

Landing Practice Take 1:

Landing Practice Take 2:

The Syma S107 Is So Simple Even A Kid Can Fly It

2010-08-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

I was out this evening and my son (13) texted me asking if he could try the Syma S107. I texted back a few tips and asked him to read the manual. He plugged it in, charged it up and flew it on his own. His first flight he simply hovered and got use to the controls.

He came up with a training exercise where the moved the heli in a square pattern.. up, left, down, right. Then he would turn the bird and do it from a different orientation. After this he felt really comforable flying. I have to tell you I was proud of him for thinking of this idea and I'm going to try it.

When I arrived home he had it charged up again and was eager to show me his "uber skills". He controled it like he'd been doing it for weeks.. with a big smile on his face. We passed the transmitter back and forth sharing the precious flight time. I think I know what he's getting for his upcoming birthday.

It's past midnight.. waiting for one more charge to complete so I can fly before I go to bet. I'm hooked.

I Just Bought The Blade MCX2

2010-08-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

After I ordered the Syma S107 I was reading and learning.. I learned that 4 channel helis are the standard for most beginner and intermediate birds. I started thinking that we really should learn how to fly using a 4 channel heli so I started to research.

I found the Blade MCX2 and liked what I saw. Coaxial, gyro, 4 channel with a pretty powerful motor. I bought one from Horizon Hobby and hopefully it will be here by Friday. I also but the Carbon Fiber Tail Boom because it looks like you can really get into some cool manuvers with it. Anyway, I bought the Ready To Fly version (RTF) and the total was about $150... bought an extra battery too. It comes with a 120mAh1 battery but I also got a 150mAh1 battery. This will increase flying time ;)

Go on youtube and check out the videos... Can't wait for this to arrive.. In the meatime.. I'll be flying the S107.

Syma S107 Second Flight

2010-08-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

It took about an hour for the heli to charge up for my second flight. Kinda sucks it takes that long but you get what you pay for.

I figured out why it was yawing to the right.. because I was using the carpeted floor to take off. Once I put the S107 on a hard surface it was fine. I was able to hover, turn, move forward and back without a problem. Only crashed once.

Also about to adjust the roation by using the know on the transmitter. You'll read about that if you buy one.. it's easy to do.

NOTE: If you remove the throttle spring on the transmitter be sure to shut the throttle down as soon as the heli crashes.. you don't want to risk burning out the motor.

As the battery drains you can definitely feel a loss of power when your flying. I think for about the first 5 minutes it was great... then I tried to avoid something but ascending and it didn't respond well. Might want to use a timer and just stop after 5 minutes.. or stop when I feel the power loss.

The S107 is really responsive. I didn't expect it to fly this well. My second flight was much controled. I think after 10 or so flights I should really have a feel for it.

Check this video of my first impressions..

One things for sure... I really enjoyed flying it. Didn't want it to end. It is really great. Can't wait for my son to get home so he can try it out. Really glad I bought this bird.

Damn This Thing (Syma S107) Takes A Long Time To Charge

2010-08-30T12:52:00.001-07:00

45 minutes and counting.... like watching the pot waiting for it to boil. Maybe I can disconnect the led lights on the heli to reduce battery drain. I want to fly!!!!

My Syma S107 Is Here.. Set Up and First Flight

2010-08-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

OK.. I have to admit. I have been waiting for this heli to arrive UPS for the last few days. I feel like a kid at Christmas time. Well I got it today and it's pretty cool.

Why did I buy this one? Main reason is it is a coaxial heli which makes it easy to fly and it has a gyro which makes it even easier to fly. I wanted to have something to learn how to stay oriented when heli changes directions. This is the first thing to get use to with RC flying.

When you start out the nose of the bird is away from you, the tail is closest to you. That is the same orientation as the transmitter. When the heli flies and turns, this orientation changes of course and you have to get the feel of controlling it as it flies back and forth in front of you. I thought this heli would be good for learning that.. and it was only $30 so you can't argue with the price. I bought mine at xheli.com but you can find them at a number of sites. Check out this video:

I opened it up and it's really nice. It's not a cheap toy. The frame is metal and it seems well engineered. While it was charging (about 40 minutes to charge). I was playing with the transmitter and saw that the throttle (left control) was spring loaded. Since most of the higher end transmitters have springless throttles I decided to remove the spring. Here is a website I found that shows you how to remove the spring on the Syma S107 transmitter's throttle stick. Warning, removing the spring probably voids your return policy so do so at your own risk. I did it and it worked great.

Once the S107 charged up I ventured into my game room which has plenty of flying space for my first flight. I thought I could just throttle up and it would move straight up but it seemed to have a bit of a yaw to the right. Perhaps I can adjust it. I tried turning the bird off, setting on a level spot and turning on again. I figured that the gyro software has to orient itself. It still have the same yaw. But, after about 3 mins I was able to get it hovering. Then back down to land. A few light crashes but I was getting the hang of it. I gained some confidence and started to turn left and right... pretty cool. By the time I started to get the hang of flying around a bit.. the battery ran out. I guess it was about 5-6 minutes which is what they advertise.

Back to the USB to charge it up for the next flight. I'm waiting for it to finish as I write this post. Hopefully my next flight will be a bit easier. The main thing is to use small movements and think about what you want to do before you move the sticks. I'm also going to see if there's anything on the web about adjusting that yaw. We'll see.

My first impressions... this thing is pretty cool!!!

First Post

2010-08-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

Hey there. I started this blog to log my experiences as I learn more about RC Helicopter hobby. Perhaps this will help others who are interested in this hobby but don't know where to start. My teenaged old son and I will be learning about this hobby with the goal of becoming confident pilots.

I have been intersted in RC since I was a kid. I owned an RC boat a few years ago which was fun. I always wanted to get into helis but when I last looked at it gas powered was the standard. I guess in the last few years there have been great developments in electric motor and gyro software which has helped this hobby grow.

I have spent the last week researching how to get started. After looking at dozens of videos on Youtube I purchased a Syma S107 as my starting bird for $30 from xheli.com. It arrived today.. I'll post about that seperately. I also purchased ESky's Simulator which should be arriving soon for $20. I may also purchase the Clearview Simulator available online for $40.. the demo looks cool. These three purchases should be good to get us going.