Yup as he said, the newer F-18's have SWITCHING BEC's installed. These are separate from the ESC but connected to it.

So no, don't cut anything.

Re: Blades

Most RTF EDF's need a bit of TLC before flying.

It's a good idea ( when you can get at the fan area ) to run up the motor to about 50% power, hold it there for about 60 seconds, and let it cool.

Then repeat, slowly running it up higher each time.

As the motor speeds up the blades expand because of centrifugal force. When that happens the blades can contact the shroud, and can shatter or crack.

Running it up slowly ( but not to full throttle for longer than a few seconds ) permits you to see scuff marks on the inside of the shroud where the blades contact.

Once you've found these areas, insert a folded piece of sandpaper there between the blade and the shroud and turn the prop over many times by hand to sand off a bit of fan blade, increasing the clearance slightly.

If your fan is easily removable ( not all are ) it also pays to balance the fan in a SENSITIVE magnetic balancer... one of the type that suspends everything in a magnetic field.

Other hints:

Remove and re-install the respective crystals to make sure that they make good contact. Then tape the RX crystal in place.

Perform multiple range checks, and I'd suggest lightly tapping the gear, etc while wiggling the control surfaces, to see if there are any loose internal connections that could foul you up while in flight.

A little extra care helps insure successful flights.