slamscaper

Hi guys. I'm brand new to this hobby. Ibought a few cheapo heli's from my local mall, but Idecided I wanted something better so Ibought a Blade mCX2. I'm pretty impressed with the control this heli offers and it's really fun to mess around with. That said, there are some things I'm concerned about.

First off, the build quality doesn't seem to be all that exceptional. I already broke one of the balls off the swashplate when I was adjusting it for the advanced setting. I noticed you can buy a machined aluminum swashplate for around $18 USD, so maybe I'll go that route. Overall, Ijust expected this heli to be a little more durable.

That said, my main question is regarding the battery life. Ibought the RTFversion because I don't own any other transmitters. This version came with a 150 mAh battery, which is strange because the box claimed a 120 mAh battery was included (I"m not complaining though!). Anyway, I noticed that I completely lose control of the heli once the battery dies. The throttle will stick and the heli will make random movements without any input from the transmitter. This scares me, because I'm afraid I'm going to crash hard when the battery dies and there's nothing I can do to stop it (besides quitting well before the battery dies). Is it normal for these heli's to become uncontrollable when the battery gets low or dies? The other $30 heli's Ihave will just gracefully lose altitude when their battery dies, so I'm not used to this.

Appreciate any info on this.

k4 pacific

No need to buy a aluminum swashplate, just purchase a new plastic one, ELFH2416 and get yourself a spare stabilizer flybar, EFLH2219B. You can find them both on Ebay at reasonable prices. The 150 MaH lipo should give you approximately 6-7 minutes of flight time. Get youself a cheap digital kitchen timer. When your heli fell out of the air you reached LVC, low voltage cutoff. If you continue to wait that long, the battery will be ruined. A blue LED in the cabin of the MCX2 should blink when LVC is reached. Set the timer and fly.

slamscaper

Thanks for the suggestions.

I haven't noticed the blue LEDblinking when the battery gets low, but I'll keep an eye on that. The heli doesn't just fall out of the sky when the battery dies though, it just goes crazy (lol). The main thing that worries me is that the throttle sticks, so if the heli falls on its side the the blades will get stuck, which may burn up the motor or PCB. There's nothing I can do to stop the throttle when this occurs, so Ihave to quickly get to the heli and physically unplug the battery.

I suspected that I may have to start timing my sessions to prevent this from happening. I'm just a little disappointed there, because I'd really want to get the most out of the battery. I have a few more batteries on the way, so this will help. If Ican keep at least two of them charged, I'll get a little more flight time.

EDIT* I have an android phone (Samsung Galaxy S2), so Idownloaded a stopwatch app to use. It seems you were right on the money with the flight time. I got 7 min and 45 seconds before the battery died. From now on, I'll just stop at 7 minutes even to prevent the heli from crashing uncontrollably.

canadian_jesus

Istarted with 30$ coaxial heli's too, but, after you figure out how to get them into the air (which is by no means any feat of talent) they get boring. Going with the hobby grade heli's is definately the way to go. My mCPx falls gracefully when it reaches low voltage cutoff. Ihonestly can't tell you exactly what is happening with yours, but it could have something to do with having too much play in the rotor head somewhere., but that's just my 2 cents, don't take it as gospel because i'm also fairly new in this hobby.

slamscaper

The mCX2 is considered "hobby grade", despite the fact that it's a co-axial heli. It also costs a lot more than $30 (it's now priced at $120 for the RTF version). This 4 channel heli is definitely superior to all the 3 channel "toy" helis. Performance wise, it's probably one of the best micro co-axial heli's you can get.

Iliked the mCX2 so much that I recommended it to my nephew, who then promptly bought one. Inoticed that his mCX2 does the same thing when it reaches LVC, so it has to be something with the 5 in 1 unit that this bird is equipped with. Timing your flights is a must if you don't want to crash it uncontrollably.

While I still have fun with the mCX2, I definitely want to graduate to a more capable bird. I thought about going with the MSR x, but now I'm seriously considering leap frogging it and going directly to Walkera's HM MiniCP. The reviews show that the mini CP is a bit more stable than Blade's mCPX, which is better for beginners. It also looks like the mini CP handles 3D better, although the mCPX is great as well.

canadian_jesus

Man, totally go with the single rotor heli's, i love my blade 120SR, which should be the next step from the mCX2, currently, my favourite heli in my collection is my mCPx, it is collective pitch, which is a small learning curve, but its more stable in the air then a mSRx, but movement isa bit more touchy.

DCSouthwind

I have both the CX2 and the mSR X and find the mSR X much easier to fly. A lot more durable as well LOL. I've gone through 3 top rotors already on the CX2 and none of the mSR X and I fly the mSR X a lot more often.

slamscaper

Here's a question for you mSR x owners... Is it even possible to fly this heli well with the stock Tx? Most people say you absolutely need a good Tx to have fun with this bird. If that's the case, then why does HH even bother shipping it with the stock dual rate Tx?

I'm just trying to determine if I should actually spend the money on a DX6i. I considered just getting the DX5e instead as it's a lot cheaper.  

{RCUniverseFan}

slamscaper

I would love to get an mCPX and a DX6i, however I'm trying to save money at the moment. Because of this, I bought the v911 fixed pitch micro heli made by WL toys. This is a clone of Align's Trex 100 that retails for less than half the price.

So far I've flew it four times. I can say that single rotor fixed pitch heli's are a completely different animal compared to co-axial heli's. I was blown away by the head speed. This thing is wicked fast compared to the mCX2, especially in regards to FF.

The v911 is a heck of a deal for the price. It comes with a decent stock transmitter that features an LCD display, two LI-PO batteries, extra main and rotor blades, and a two-port LI-PO charger. All for $50 USD. I can easily find parts online as well.

The only drawback I can see is that the motors are soldered to the main board, which would make replacing them a bit more tedious than a brand name heli. Here's to hoping the motors last a long time. I'm having a lot of fun with this bird, but I have to take it outdoors to really go nuts with it.