RC_Heli

It looks like the perfect Heli to fly in my office or garage so I decided to buy one from tower hobbies. It was sort of a impulse buy that ended up being over $350 and now I'm just hoping it was worth it. From some of the videos I have watched on YouTube and Heli-Max's website the Heli doesn't look very stable, it looks twitchy and unpredictable. RC Universe has review of the Coaxial version but not the Collective Pitch model, infact I couldn't realy find much information on it at all. I'm just looking for some input or feedback from other RC Heli pilots on this little Heli, maybe a link to a good review - that would be helpful. Actually any additional information or tutorials on the CP model would be great!

With the purchase of the RTF Novus CP Nano I also bought the main motor brushless upgrade, tail motor brushless upgrade, complete CNC rotor head, 3 additional LiPo packs, and just about every replacement part.

Let me know what you think... [sm=thumbs_up.gif]

koolkrabber47

My Feedback: (6)

[quote]ORIGINAL: RC_Heli

It looks like the perfect Heli to fly in my office or garage so I decided to buy one from tower hobbies. It was sort of a impulse buy that ended up being over $350 and now I'm just hoping it was worth it. From some of the videos I have watched on YouTube and Heli-Max's website the Heli doesn't look very stable, it looks twitchy and unpredictable. RC Universe has review of the Coaxial version but not the Collective Pitch model, infact I couldn't realy find much information on it at all. I'm just looking for some input or feedback from other RC Heli pilots on this little Heli, maybe a link to a good review - that would be helpful. Actually any additional information or tutorials on the CP model would be great!

With the purchase of the RTF Novus CP Nano I also bought the main motor brushless upgrade, tail motor brushless upgrade, complete CNC rotor head, 3 additional LiPo packs, and just about every replacement part.

Let me know what you think... [sm=thumbs_up.gif]

good morning RC_Heli........i see it's been a couple of day's since you posted and you've had no response.......be patient,it takes a little time for somebody to spot your post and then this thread will take off and hopefully you will have all of your questions and concerns answered......in the meanwhile, i would like to say, that the Heli-Max Novus CP Nano RTF is an excellent product and depending on your skill level, it should be the perfect size "bird" for a spin around the office or garage.......let me add, your right on the money when you say it look's twitchy and unpredictable, as these are the general characteristics of a (CP) Collective Pitch Heli.......the CP is an excellent model but, the coaxial would've been a better choice for indoors or as a first heli......coaxial is more stable because it has "trainer" characteristics built right in, straight from the factory......i learned on the Heli-Max Axe EZ RTF coaxial and picked it up in 2 months, then sold it and bought the Heli-Max Axe 400 3d CP RTF and that's what i'm flying now........the Axe EZ was a walk in the park, this Axe 400 3D CP is very twitchy and unpredictable, not to mention tons and tons of power.......don't get me wrong, you can still learn on a CP but, if you have a crash, it is way more expensive.......example: my Axe EZ replacement rotor blades cost less than $3.00 and the Axe 400 3D CP rotor blades cost me $15.00......that's @ $12.00 difference per set, not a lot of money until you crash 4 or 5 times( $12.00 x 5 = $60.00).......i think the reason your having a hard time finding information or videos for this model is because it is relatively new to the market and it has not had a lot of exposure yet......right now your kinda on your own, you can't go wrong with Heli-Max, their parts support is phenominal and upgrades are usually close behind.......as for myself, i kept my Axe EZ entirely stock and same thing goes for my Axe 400......no "bling,bling" for now, i am saving that money for my next "big bird"......i don't plan on sticking with these little electrics any longer than it takes to learn them and get super comfortable with them, before i move up to .50-size nitro or preferably .91-size nitro......i'm not really interested in hard-core 3d flying, just some comfortable sunday sport flying and bring her home in one piece......i am gonna keep my Axe 400 around for those smaller ball-fields,when me and the wifey are on the road and i'm going to buy the new Heli-Max Novus CX Nano for indoor fun, when the wife isn't home........i'm not sure if you've flown heli's before, if not, try flying that CP the way it came right out of the box......those upgrade motors are fine but, if you change the rotor head, you will most likely change the dynamics of your helicopter.......the swash plate will no longer be level, the pitch on your rotors will change and will not be in agreement with the settings on your radio and probably a couple of other things that don't come to mind right now.......my Axe 400 RTF flew fine right out of the box and i've been flying it that way, since the day i bought it.......when it arrived, i just wanted to get it in the air and have some fun to kinda justify the expense......i didn't want to complicate the experience with a ton of adjustments.......that would come later on........i've only crashed my Axe 400 once and when i finally did, i had enough flying under my belt and a good enough understanding of the general characteristics of my bird to challenge myself with the repairs.......mind you, i still had to take it apart 3 times to fix it right, the first 2 times it didn't move quite right, it was kinda stiff and looking at the schematics drawing i finally got it right and i've been flying it ever since with no more crashes in the last 5 months......you can still use the upgrades but, i think the stock motors will do just fine for learning and use the brushless motors for after your done running into things and you start into aerobatics.......sorry for the long response, hope some of this helps.......hopefully some more flyers will chime in and help you progress in this wonderful hobby.......i know, i've been flying planes for 25+ years and plan on spending just as long "learning" these whirly-bird's......the Novus CP is an excellent choice.......try looking in RC Universe, under helicopters, then scroll down to electric heli's and you'll see a list for the different brands, look for Heli-Max brand and click on it and then just look for your particular model........hope this help's........keep in touch and don't forget to post pictures and videos........good luck with the "learning curve"........i know, i've had a lot of "frustrating fun"........(KOOLKRABBER47)........ p.s......check out the GREEN HELI, that should be mine and your goal???.......Ha! Ha! Ha!.......

dustin7837

My Feedback: (1)

It's pretty "twitchy" and I don't think you'll ever get a hands off hover with it. But, it is very responsive and seems durable enough.I've crashed mine a few times(from a height of less than 5 ft.), and all I've done is slightly bend the landing gear and dent the blades.

earlwb

My best friend bought one and was totally frustrated and disappointed with it. He was a beginner heli flyer and just didn't realize it was harder to fly than he expected. I had been working up to fly the one I got too. But I started with beginner heli's a couple of coaxial models a Blade CX and a Blade Tandem, and then I moved up to a couple of the beginner single rotor fixed pitch heli's, a Blade MSR and a Nine Eagles Solo pro.
So then I got a Novus FP the fixed pitch version. man was that sucker sensitive and somewhat twitchy. I think I crashed it like 300 times. But eventually I started getting the hang of it and the flights got longer and longer. I can now hover reasonably well and get it to go where I want it to also. but it was hard at first.

Being a higher performance heli, it requires some constant tiny stick movements to keep it hovering, it is not a hands off kind of affair like the other beginner heli's have. I am just getting comfortable doing that now. But the little guy hung in there and the only part I broke was the battery holder, and that was not from crashing, just trying too hard and forcing thr battery in or out too roughly.

Like I mentioned already, I have a Novus CP too and I'll probably be trying it out later. I just haven't gotten up the gumption to gve it a whirl yet. being a little larger, I am not sure it will be as rugged on crashing like the smaller FP version is. I still haven't been bored with the little FP yet and I haven't gotten quite totally comfortable with it yet. But I am doing better.

I would suggest having a fairly large indoor area to practice in at first, untl you start to get the hang of it at first. They little suckers can take off on you in a split second.

here is a short video clip of a earlier session where I was just getting the hang of controlling the little Novus FP heli.
http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/g...muchbetter.flv

I think if it more like a advanced low wing airplane with no dihedral in the wings. The plane will be stable but it requires you to feed in subtle stick movements all the time. The plane will stay on its last control input. Like when you give it right aileron to turn right and then let off the stick, the plane will stay in the right bank turn, until you feed in some left aileron to straighten it back out. A trainer airplane is usually a high wing type with a fair amount of dihedral in the wings, so that when you let off the sticks the plane tends to self right itself and fly level.

koolkrabber47

My Feedback: (6)

[quote]ORIGINAL: earlwb

My best friend bought one and was totally frustrated and disappointed with it. He was a beginner heli flyer and just didn't realize it was harder to fly than he expected. I had been working up to fly the one I got too. But I started with beginner heli's a couple of coaxial models a Blade CX and a Blade Tandem, and then I moved up to a couple of the beginner single rotor fixed pitch heli's, a Blade MSR and a Nine Eagles Solo pro.
So then I got a Novus FP the fixed pitch version. man was that sucker sensitive and somewhat twitchy. I think I crashed it like 300 times. But eventually I started getting the hang of it and the flights got longer and longer. I can now hover reasonably well and get it to go where I want it to also. but it was hard at first.

Being a higher performance heli, it requires some constant tiny stick movements to keep it hovering, it is not a hands off kind of affair like the other beginner heli's have. I am just getting comfortable doing that now. But the little guy hung in there and the only part I broke was the battery holder, and that was not from crashing, just trying too hard and forcing thr battery in or out too roughly.

Like I mentioned already, I have a Novus CP too and I'll probably be trying it out later. I just haven't gotten up the gumption to gve it a whirl yet. being a little larger, I am not sure it will be as rugged on crashing like the smaller FP version is. I still haven't been bored with the little FP yet and I haven't gotten quite totally comfortable with it yet. But I am doing better.

I would suggest having a fairly large indoor area to practice in at first, untl you start to get the hang of it at first. They little suckers can take off on you in a split second.

here is a short video clip of a earlier session where I was just getting the hang of controlling the little Novus FP heli.
http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/g...muchbetter.flv

I think if it more like a advanced low wing airplane with no dihedral in the wings. The plane will be stable but it requires you to feed in subtle stick movements all the time. The plane will stay on its last control input. Like when you give it right aileron to turn right and then let off the stick, the plane will stay in the right bank turn, until you feed in some left aileron to straighten it back out. A trainer airplane is usually a high wing type with a fair amount of dihedral in the wings, so that when you let off the sticks the plane tends to self right itself and fly level.


[/quote

Excellent video, Earl.......A little dark but, excellent just the same.......also, excellent advice your giving here on this thread.....that is a perfect analogy you give by comparing the CP Model to an Advanced, maybe Low-Wing Airplane and the CX to a High-Wing Trainer Type Plane......i started with the Heli-Max Axe EZ Co-Axial (CX) Dual-Rotor.......what a piece of cake that was to fly......i learned it in two months and got rid of it, never did use the RealFlight 3.5 Simulator that came with it......the Axe EZ was sooooo smooth and it corrected itself right away as long as you kept the headspeed up and flew it around 15-20 feet high in case of a mistake.......people don't know about helicopters and don't even read up before they by them......i read up on them, here on WattFlyer.......i paid attention to what people were buying, what they were experiencing and what troubles they were having, then bought mine accordingly.......i've been flying the Heli-Max Axe 400 since october and i love it too......it's all stock and flies like a dream........i bought RTF with Futaba 2.4 ghz. Computer Radio, so i think that helped, too.....the radio came already programmed, right from the factory and flew straight right out of the box......i've only had one crash and that was my fault.....they tell you to not fly in the wind and i didn't listen......it's written all over the manual, even on the outside of the box and i heard it here on WattFlyer, "don't fly in the wind".......i did it anyways.....it was brand new, i waited what seemed like forever for it to arrive and i was dying to fly it.....i just had to......BAD IDEA......only 5"-6" off the ground and the wind caught it, off it went to the right, quick as piss.......in what seemed like nano seconds, the landing gear got caught in the grass and turned it on it's side......here come the fun part, the blade strikes......it was no fun paying for repairs but, watching the brute power of those rotor blades beating into the grass was CRAZY.....it hit once or twice and then flew about 30 feet in the air and came crashing down and started thrashing like a wounded duck on the lawn......i froze up at first, watching the carnage as it sit there beating itself silly.......as long as nobody got hurt, that's the important thing.....the heli has long been fixed, about $35.00 dollars for parts......funny thing, only thing worse than a crash, is not being there to watch???......i got to watch, front row seat, so to speak......i'm sharing this with you and anybody else that might be reading this thread, so you might be ready for any and all emergencies, that might arise when out enjoying your Whirl-Birds......be very careful.....HeliCopters "DO" bite.......Ha! Ha! Ha!........Sorry for the long response,Earl.......Nice meeting you, here on WattFlyer and thanx for posting and sharing your video.......(KOOLKRABBER47).........

earlwb

Thanks, unfortunately, they turned some of the lights off after the hobby shop closes for the evening. Not all the lights just some.
I keep meaning to get a better video, but I haven't done it yet.

koolkrabber47

My Feedback: (6)

You did fine,Earl......You did fine......i'm familiar with that lil' machine and trust me when i tell you, it's quite a handful......your quite the Wizard when it comes to tameing it.....i saw it dissappear for a second out of the screen, it that fast!!!,,,,,,wonderful of you to post your video.......thanx again......(KOOLKRABBER47).......

earlwb

Here is a short video of me during hovering practice with the Helimax Novus CP. A number of people have stated they are nearly unflyable. So that made it a challenge. I think I am starting to get the hang of it, and I am getting where I am ahead of the thing as it flys.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEeCUR1JjkM[/youtube]

koolkrabber47

My Feedback: (6)

WOW, What an improvment when you have lights and you can see your Whirly-Bird.......Yeah, those little boogers are quite a handful but, unflyable?, i think not! you proved them wrong,Earl........what a fast progress, i can't wait, in a month or two you will be doing inverted.......RC, like anyother hobby is a challenge but, that's what makes it fun......if it were to easy, it would get boring really quick......you'll be ready to move up to the next size in no time......i started with the Heli-Max Axe EZ co-ax and i moved up to the Heli-Max Axe 400 CP, 9 months ago.......my next bird will be .50-.90, i'm thinking nitro and i'm leaning towards the .90.......Rave ENV or something in that class.....i'm not into 3d, just simple sport flying, some loops, rolls, backwards flight and maybe, maybe an inverted now and then.......keep checking back,Earl and let us know how you are progressing.......by the looks of your video, i think your gonna fly a .90 before me.......no big deal if you do, i'll just tell everybody you were my inspiration with your Micro CP...........thanx again for posting, Earl and Welcome to WattFlyer.......(KOOLKRABBER47).......

earlwb

Thanks I am working at it. I got in lots of flying time this last couple of weeks. I even took out my Blade SR and was hovering it fairly well too.
All that practice with the Novus FP and CP is paying off with the other helis. One guy stated that if you can fly the FP and or CP then everything else would be easy.

Sometimes someone from the hobby shop turns out some of the lights early on us, after the hobby shop closes.
At this huge hobby shop, they have taken over a warehouse building. They use most of the open floor space for a moistened dirt track for off road racing, and a carpet track for carpet racing. There is also a rock obstacle course and a pine car derby track. They even have a slot car track on a large table on one side as well. Anyway at 7:00 PM weekdays the hobby shop store closes, but they keep the warehouse open for a hour or two longer.
This is Mike's Hobby Shop in Carrolton Texas. Arguably the biggest LHS in the state or region.
http://www.mikeshobbyshop.com/
Sometimes we all fly indoor planes there too. But you have to watch out for all the support poles though.

koolkrabber47

My Feedback: (6)

good morning,Earl and thanx for posting.......Man, Grapevine must be a pretty good size town to support a facility of that size???.....Your very lucky......I live in a beautiful little town, right on the beach, with the best Salmon, Sturgeon, Halibut, Albacore tuna and Bottom-fish Fishing in the world but, we have no hobby shop......The closest hobby shop is 2+ hours away......i get most of my RC stuff(90%) from the internet......By now, you can probably figure out i'm very envious, Earl.......i would especially love to have the indoor RC enviroment you have there......Mike's is a great place and you guy's are very fortunate to have a hobby shop that isn't out to just make money but, is actually out to promote this great hobby.......Glad to hear your hovering your Blade SR,too......When you get ready to bash that SR, i heard they'll do just about anything you want them to do.......The Blade Line is like the Heli-Max Line that i'm flying, great machines and excellent parts support.......So glad to hear your having so much fun......I have been temporarilly grounded for the last week and a half, too much wind and light rain,too......I have a couple of new planes i finished up and i'm dying to fly......it's supposed to clear up this weekend and i hope to get out both day's........BTW, i really enjoyed the video, your coming right along with that Micro......i'm gonna have to get me one, i really like the looks of them.......Well, Earl......i gotta run.....i gotta go wash the car, it's the Wifey's day off and you know how that goes???.....I will pretty much hold door's open all day, while she goes shopping......But, what are we gonna do, can't live with out them???......again, thanx for sharing your videos and thus your progress, Earl........Hope to hear from you soon.......(KOOLKRABBER47).........