I'm done lurking and decided which heli to get.

I ordered an Axe tonight (The wife is going to kill me, come to the estate sale to get it ) - Saw one at our local hobby shop (talked with an "inexperienced 2D flyer" whose trainer/neighbor sent him out to buy one) and was pretty impressed so I ordered one from an Ebay store ($175.00). Now I just have to play with my Havoc for a few more days before a real chopper gets here.

What I'm going to do first thing is shoot all the mechanics with my DV so I have a reference point in case...(when) I break something. I also downloaded the manual and read through it. I've been reading the threads on the Axe and want to make sure I'm getting all the details right with anything that might reach out and bite me. Sorry if these have all been addressed before but I hate blowing up things that fly.

How long will the stock battery last in normal flight (no acrobatics)? Say hovering and normal flight.

A higher AH battery will cause higher motor heat (obvious)? Would a small (I have some 4mm) cooling fan help or would the gyro effect from it be harmful?

What's the duty cycle on these things? When should maintenance be done? The manual I downloaded is slim on that subject. I assume that a lot of tiny moving metal/plastic parts will need lubrication - I use silicone on the Havoc gears and motors (solves a lot of odd problems).

The sudden "jump" thing may be due to interference from electrical, metal or tight motor pinion? - got all that from several threads.

The tail boom is fragile (Wal-Mart knitting needle replacement) - is this under normal flight or from wacking stuff?

Do blades wear out or do they break from wacking stuff? What typical parts wear under normal flight? I'd imagine with the loads even at scale can be pretty severe.


Max