Whew I'm back in action now! So, in response to your post goodbeer...
ORIGINAL: goodbeer
1. Should I switch back to the flat bottom Balsa blades?
2. Should I switch to the aerobatic Balsa blades?
3. Should I switch back to the standard battery?
4. If I use the standard battery, should I go back to the 9T or will the 8T be good enough?
5. I bought a LiPo charger with the ping pongs, how long would the pack take to charge typically with the charge set to 500mA?
6. Any tips for flying this thing? Is hovering in your living room harder than just forward flight?
7. Any way to change the transmitter stick control rate for small motions near center? I'm guessing not...
1. I would recommend sticking with symmetrical blades when you have the LiPo, as they will increase rotor speed which means more stability
2. The balsa blades are OK, and while they'll slightly increase your rotor head speeds I would stick with the CF blades, because they're thinner which means less resistance, and much more rigid and durable so you get better holding poewr
3. Don't switch back to the stock battery. LiPo's are much better than the stock battery IMO. Just make sure you don't overdischarge it!
4. If you use the standard battery you have to go back to a 10T motor. LiPo's will dish out 11.1 volts of power, the stock batt only dishes out 9.6 volts. That drop in voltage means significantly lower RPM's, so if you don't have the 10T motor your rotor speed will be so low you won't be able to do much with the heli. That being said, DO NOT use a 10T motor with a LiPo! The stress on the motor and the rotor blade rpm's will be so high that the motor will burn out quickly or you could possibly damage your whole rotor head assembly!
5. If you have the 900mah battery, about an hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours I'd say. The 1320 mah LiPo would take you forever, you'd probably have to charge several times because the charger would cut off after two hours. Just charge at .85C to 1C the capacity so you don't have to wait forever.
6. Hovering is the hardest thing to do, because any small change in the forces acting on the helicopter means you have to compensate for it. Forward flight is easier because the heli straightens out and slices through the air so it's more stable. But learn to hover first or you will be in biiiig trouble. No hovering in the living room until you can do it outside, unless your living room has about a 15' x 15' area with nothing in the way. Still, I wouldn't recommend it.
7. You cannot change the transmitter's exponential settings. For that you need to get an aftermarket radio.
Hope that helps.
DarkWombat