I received a Blade 400 as a Christmas gift from my wife. My previous RC heli experience had been with a Blade CP purchased early Fall of 2006. I flew (well, emptied battery packs) that thing for about two months and kept a small journal of each and every flight (to include times, accomplishments, mishaps, repairs, goals, etc.). I had gotten to the point of hovering out a battery tail-in and side-in and was moving to nose-in before the 4-in-1 decided to go bonkers. So, I boxed it up and put it away. Now, more than a year later, the Blade 400 came in and renewed my interest in RC helis. Out of the box, I was able to comfortably hover (tail-in) as long as I wanted. I videoed this and the subsequent hovers. On my third battery charge I flew the 400 into a loaded trash bag (hovering in my garage with way too much stuff around) and now need to replace a few small items (definitely no big deal).

The reason I started with the bit of background is to illustrate that the Blade 400 is a fun and accessible heli for certain "pilots". I am DEFINITELY a beginner pilot and found that the Blade is a great match for me and should prove an able platform to grow/learn with.

As for my tip, I echo the others encouraging users to make a copy of the factory settings that ship with the DX6i. It is VERY easy to overwrite them when just goofing around with the radio. Before I knew it, my Blade 400 was a elevon-mixed fixed wing flyer! Now, I have both the Blade 400 and a YB-22 programmed correctly.