Heli_Harry

I currently have the Blade CX and am looking to upgrade to the Blade Pro

I was planning to buy a Blade CP Pro, an extra battery or two, and a Polycharge4 Li-Po charger.


What other items should I look into to go along with it?

The Dual tail motors look worthwhile.

How about the Super Skids and the G90 HH Gyro?

Thank you

Harry

Psikelly

Superskids are a worthwhile investment for sure. Have you flown a collective pitch heli before or are you new to it?? The reason I ask is because if youre new to CP helis then you should save your money for repairs. Cuz youre gonna have crashes for sure. I would recommend learning to fly it stock and when you start getting pretty good on it THEN upgrade if you want to.
You may find out its just not what you want to fly and it would suck if you spent a lot of money on upgrades and then had to sell cuz you dont like it and lose all that money. Just my oppinion of course.

theradioflyer

I'm not sure what to recommend as upgrades. I've got the original Blade and have basically upgraded it to a pro, except for the great new 3 in 1. I've heard that the dual tail motors is a good upgrade. Here's a link to an awesome hobby shop with great pricing and I believe they are still offering free shipping with the Blade Pro. www.Hobby-Sports.com You might want to get a pair of the plastic blades, too. They are balanced great and can take a beating. They are flat bottom so they're great for getting use to the Blade before going all out. I put the carbon blades on mine and love it, but they're are symetrical. I guess I'd recomend getting both, you can never have enough blades when you're getting use to the heli I just checked Hobby-Sports and they are offering new symetrical plastic blades, and they do have free ground shipping!

dustin7837

My Feedback: (1)

I got a blade CP pro about a week ago and haven't regretted it a bit. I researched these a long time before getting it though. You may want a spare lipo, because the stock on only runs about 13-15 mins. The charger that it comes wtih is 12v only(unless you buy an AC adapter for it), but it is a lipo cell balancer which is good.
I got a 1320mAh thunder power battery and it runs about 25 mins

You will find that the CP is infinately more responsive than the CX (or so it seems to me), so, like psikelly says, do plan to go through a few sets of main and rear blades, although the rear blade usually pops off if you hit something. maybe a set of blade grips and a tail boom or two.

Some of the cooler upgrades are the super landing gear, dual tail motors, CF tail boom, aluminum swashplate/head, Replaceing the tail pin with a CF fin.

pitch

boy you ain't kidding on the crash thing, be afraid to see how much money in blades i have gone through...yes Psi i am looking into those plastic blades[&o]

zackesch

who makes plastic blades for the cp?

futura

If you could tell me what it is you find you don't like about the way it flies.....

....there are enough available upgrades to change the whole machine. NONE are needed to make it fly...

Well ballanced and with some patience learning its a great heli for the price.

....so...are you interested in spending money or flying....pleanty to spend your cash on

Heli_Harry

Well so far I'm planning on getting:

The Blade CP Pro

The Polycharge4 Li-Po charger (charges 4 Li-Po batteries at the same time)

Extra Batteries, Any suggestions???

Plastic Rotor Blades (My local store does not carry these so I will have to order them)

Training Gear

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I figured I'd add the cool parts later, for now I'm looking more into the parts that will make flying this a little easier (gyro) or less worrisome (dual tail roters).

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Is the G90 HH Gyro really worth it or is it a waste of $$$

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How often do the tail rotors burn out? Do they just go all at once or do they gradually die?

This is why I'm considering the Dual tail motors.

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Thank you

AJ DRAGON

Hi

Psikelly hit the nail on the head with his statement. Learn to fly the Blade cp Pro first before you even consider getting upgrades. All you need right now is a couple of spare battery packs and spare parts. Anything else is a waste of money and time at this point in time. I made the mistake of buying all of those upgrades before I learned how to fly and now six months later I am giving up on the Blade CP, and am going to sell it with all the upgrades I never got to use.

futura

The polycharger and a couple Thunderpower 1320's is a great purchase. 25+ minutes of flying per battery

the extra blades are a good idea....I like the carbon fiber Eflite's....you should try at least on set of them sometime.

The G90 is a good HH gyro and you'll have the backing of Eflite if you have problems with it or setup.

Training gear for sure...

The heavy duty landing gear is another good upgrade that helps keep things in one piece as you learn. The extra weight will calm the heli some and they are practically unbreakable.

some tail motors die all at once but most of the time they just get weaker and weaker over two or three battery discharges. the dual tail motors adds more weight to an already tail heavy design. It can be a chunk of change but if your going to be keeping the BCP and not moving up to a bigger heli any time soon than I would go brushless on the tail with direct drive....cc phoenix 10 and that G90 gyro. After that you'll not have to worry about the tail. If your using the BCPP simply to learn than simply buy 3 or 4 stock tail motors and change them out every 15 to 20 hours.....don't wait till they go bad.

And for later.........

When you get better at flying and want to do some airobatics....lighten the heli up by removing the heavy duty LG...replace it with stock. Get lighter batteries....lower mah

Once you decide your staying in the RC heli hobby....getting a good computer radio TX & RX is probably the best upgrade bang for the buck. It gives you complete control of your setup (throttle/pitch curves, servo throw and rates).

best of luck and happy flying

Psikelly

www.jcshobbies.com have plastic blades. Theyre the guys that make them.

IMO the G90 is awesome but I really think you should learn to fly this heli without it. I think everyone needs to learn to control the tail themselves. It helps build reflexes needed to fly the CP.It helps you concentrate harder(much needed). After a week or so a lot of people decide the CP just isnt their THING.You might think its the most awesome machine in the world right now, but in a week that could change. And nothing sucks worse than investing say $500 in something then having to sell it for $250 because nobody wants to drop that much cash at one time for a micro heli.

Dont get me wrong, Im not trying to discourage you from learning to fly the CP or scare you away from helis. Quite the opposite. We all just want to make sure that you dont get discouraged after dropping a lot of money and then wonder why all these upgrades arent flying the heli for you with no hands required.

Honestly I think the only NEEDED upgrades for a new heli pilot are the Superskids,cuz youre gonna break stock skids for sure.
And plastic blades.at 20 bucks a pair for balsa they break FAST. Plasticblades cost me $27 and Ive beaten the crap out of them and theyre still in great shape. A few dings but Ive probly saved 300-400 bucks in balsa blades. Yah it took a while for me to learn lol

futura

I agree with psikelly 100%....

You asked about upgrades....but....the best upgrade is improving your flying abilities so anything you can do to keep the heli flying is the best approach. learning not to crash (recovering from unexpected orientations) is key. learning to fly the tail is a very important step in the learning process.

the things I listed make the heli tougher and thus increases flying time by reducing down time....but, there is no addons that will make this heli indestructable....if you crash, expect something to break. I'm not talking hard landings...the heavy LG will take those in stride. Keeping the heli stock so you can simply replace parts with OEM bits is best as you learn.

Keeping the BCPP stock cheap is important because it lets you fly it like you stole it. If you put allot of money into upgrades and such, some pilots get apprehinsive about trying new moves.

The good radio is certainly a nice to have....but not needed to learn.

Heli_Harry

Well the nice part is I have a little extra cash to blow on this now as I pulled 31 Hrs of Overtime last week.

Fun Fun [8D]

Psikelly

Well if youre just lookin to spend some cash and upgrade your heli for the pure fun of it like I do then heres some ideas.

Superskids and plastic blades. This is stuff that will help you without a doubt.

FUN upgrades: Dual tail mod, dual tail motor mount is sold at Helidirect.com Then you need 2 stock tail motors to complete it.

BellHiller head makes response quicker and touchier. I wouldnt recommend this 1 till you can hover fairly good but its only a $25 upgrade.

Personally I love the response and power of a brushless motor. Visit Horizonhobby.com and check out the hopups category for the Pro. They list everything you need to go brushless. It will cost you ABOUT $130.

The HH gyro is pretty amazing especially when used in combo with the dual tail mod. It would actually help quite a lot to learn nose in hovering because youre not having to concentrate on using both sticks. $100 for this upgrade.

Finally the aluminum swashplate is pretty shiny and looks good. A beginner wouldnt really notice the diff. between the aluminum or a stock 1 but after some flying its pretty noticable. Quicker cyclic response,keeps things a little tighter,less slop.

Between helidirect and horizon hobby theyll have everything you need to bling it out. I would NOT recommend the CNC aftermarket head because its still not perfected. I know it looks shiny and amazing on a heli but I wouldnt buy it for my own. Id wait till Horizon releases theirs if they get their butts moving

theradioflyer

It's been said before but I put in another cheer for Thunder Power. My Blade is very agile and 15 or less min flights with 910's and heavier but still well behaved with the 1320's.

98rt_canadian

I just ordered a BCP Pro, and was wondering a few things.

1) What would be the maximum mAH battery rating for the stock motor, and for the brushless?

2) Exactly what size screwdrivers, allen keys and nut drivers do I need for maintenance?

3) What spare parts (besides blades, motors, landing gear) should I order that you find need replacing more?

Psikelly

A 1320 MAH battery is about the max but not because of the run time really. Its just that when you go to bigger capacity youre also increasing the weight.

As for tools I think you should get the right allen keys with it.Theres really not a lot of screws on it anyway.I think it also comes with a small screwdriver.

As for replacement parts the first thing to buy is plastic blades. Thats my oppinion. In Ottawa I pay $20 per set of balsa flat blades. ! hard hit and theyre toothpicks. Plastic blades cost me 27 bucks and Ive had them for a month and theyre still in awesome shape.

Landing gear is a good call , it doesnt break a lot but when it does and you dont have the part it sux.
As for motors you really only need a spare tail motor. The main motors last quite a while.

futura

with the plasti blades or CF blades, you'll break ball links...either on the blade grips or the arms....get some extra head parts. I personally keep arms, center hub (comes with spendle....I keep three sets last count) blade grips, and plenty of(5 last count...in the packages) main shaft/main gears.....

also.....get some CF rod to replace tail booms. with the plasti blades or CF blades your gonna snap a couple when you land hard nose to tail....

Psikelly

Seriously, I bent 1 pitch adjust linkage BEFORE I used plastic blades. Since Ive had them on the only things Ive bent are main shafts and booms from boom strikes. Still bad enough though but cheaper than replacing 20 dollar balsa blades. But Ive honestly never broken a ball link or any linkages. I think thats mainly luck. No skill involved I dont mind saying lol
Id like to know the weight diff between balsa,CF and plastic blades. If theres no huge diff Id rather stay with plastic for the awesome durability.

drphoto

Psi. The plastiblades I have weigh 17.4g, the 3 sets of balsa average 10.1g. That's per blade.

I basically concur with what people here have said. Learn to fly it stock first. Then, IMHO, if you're still hooked and want a hotrod, look for a more capable ship like a Falcon or Rex or something. Throwing a lot of money at machined parts and changing the whole drivetrain, just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. But again, that's just my opinion.

That being said, I am running SLG, plastiblades, Lipos and dual tail rotors on mine.
For durability. Of course the upgrade skids just looks cool too.

Psikelly

Yah I love the superskids. They look cool and they actually absorb a little shock from not so soft landings. The cool factor is my fav though lol

mnrcaerobat

My Feedback: (197)

Has anyone upgraded to the gws tail motor? Is that any better that e-flites?

How does the dual tail rotor work? Anyone have a picture?

helitc

where can u get heavyduty landing gear or superskids?

dustin7837

My Feedback: (1)

The first day I put on the plastiblades, I came down really hard on the landing gear and broke the gear and it toppled over while the blades were turning and I broke both blade grips []
Thats with the blades on fairly loose.
But, the grips were cheaper to replace than a new set of balsa blades[sm=thumbs_up.gif]

drphoto

Dustin,

I suppose it's a 'pick your poison' thing. Tougher blades will transmit that energy to something else. So you might end up bending control links or main shafts or else. I'm a pretty strict Radds newb and don't get too crazy. So avoiding the nicked up balsa blade tips has paid off for me. Plus I like how the added weight of the plastic blades slows things down. For me that's the real benefit.

It seems like there's 2 schools of thought going around. Some people seem to like quick response, so you can get instant feedback to your inputs. And others like me, want it all slowed down a bit. Personal choice I think. Plastic blades weigh about 7g. more per blade than balsa and will slow your cyclic response.

I haven't actually flown the Blade w/ the super landing gear, but have with my father's Honeybee FP. There, I think, the added weight, and probably more important, lower center of gravity, helps the new pilot.

The upgrade landing gear that I have is available from Helidirect, the SuperSkids, can be had from superskids.com. I dunno which is better, I'm sure they both have their fans. I went w/ HD because it was a little cheaper and they have direct, secure credit card billing.