jjp...thanks for the info,
I couldn't wait long enough for replies on my question.....I just went out and bought one and just finished setting it up to use the Eclipse 7. LET IT BE KNOWN THAT THIS IS NOT DIFICULT FOR ANY NITRO HELI PILOT. Basic set up and the throttle / tail rotor is the only thing mixed in the 4-n-1. I will point out that the sales pitch about RTF out of the box and pre flown from the factory is a little far fetched for my set up taste. My mains were way out of balance and the factory radio had way too much servo throw...causing servo binding.. But w/ the eclipse 7 fine tuning everything is wonderfull.....so far. I'll ad feedback as I compare it to my nitros over the next few days.......as you all ready know, you can't fly nitro in the house so that's the blades first positive (in my boook) over nitros.

I gotta jump in here to the defense of the out-of the box Blade: No it's not set up in a way that makes professional heli pilots cream themselves.....but is is definitely ready to fly. I bought the Blade as my first heli only a month ago and I am very happy with it in all respects. I can now fly it and despite multiple mishaps have had only to replace the main and tail rotors. I have now removed the training gear and am beginning forward flight. As far as excess servo travel/binding this is only a factor when it is sitting on the table and you are playing with it. I can't imagine moving the right stick to the end of it's travel during flight, besides which it is flexible enough that the servos are not damaged by this. Many of the complaints I hear about this heli could be translated like this: !QUOT!This thing cost $200 (which is why I bought it) but I want it to look like it was made in Germany and cost $800!QUOT! No, the blade is not perfect in every respect but I was impressed with it and would recommend it to anyone.

PS imagine what a NASCAR driver would have to say about a factory stock Ford Taurus, and you will get an idea as to how seriously many of the criticisms of this product are to be taken.

PPS mine flew out of the box with no adjustments whatsoever and has flown over 100 li-po packs without any repairs except for crash damage

Too true r/cnerd. When I'm ready for a better performing heli, I'll pay for one. In my opinion it makes a good transitional heli and in the right circumstances, a good 1st.

I have a problem with my Blade. Durring flight the helecopter surges up and down, even when indoors. Is this what happens when the collective pitch sticks? Or is it an electrical problem, like glitching or a bad servo? I did notice that the part where the flybar is has a lot of play and it doesn't slide up and down on the rotor head freely under load. I have over 50 suscessful flights and this problem developed on its own, not as a result of a chrash.

Mine developed the sticky collective after about that same # of flights and I had been noticing the flybar getting more and more slop in relation to the main blades (they would wiggle back and forth ). So I disassembled the head and replaced both the rotor head and the flybar holder "thingy" (can't remember name ). Anyway it's the two pieces that slide together when the pitch is moved. It did the trick. while I had everything apart I lubed every joint with hobby lube. I also switched to 3BB grips but It wasn't the problem. Hope this helps.


P.S. I got a great deal on a used raptor 50, I just can't start it until Christmas,(says the Wife), but I can hardly wait!!

I picked up a Raptor 30 w/ Futaba 9chp radio. Is this radio capable of running my Blade also. I notice people talking about the 9c radio and settings for the blade, is this the radio? I got such a sweet deal that I bought the radio and the heli came with it.

I could be wrong but 2 or 3 days worth of post got removed??????? Anybody know why?

Yeah...Looks like we had nothing to say on those days. What gives?

Ok, I`ve had my Blade a month, I fly the heck out of it every chance I get...It seems to be holding up surprisingly well. Havn`t had the dreaded tail motor failure yet. Only had one mishap and ruined a set of flatbottom blades which promted me to get the aerobatic upgrade kit. How about other Blade owners comment on the durability of there heli`s and how many "Mishaps" it`s been through.
Lets see who has had the most rebuilds!

I would have to agree with rc/nerd concerning my blade cp.I bought my first one about 2 months ago. I had no previous Rc heli or airplane expereince at all. I went threw a few flatbottom blades, and bent the main spindle. I then upgraded to li-po and the aerobatic kit to get longer flight times. after crashing several times I learned how to rebuild the heli and get it going again. I then decided to buy my second blade and was able to fly it right out of the box. By having 2 blades I can fly the other if one is broken done. Or I can swap parts to always keep one ready to fly. I like the fact that the parts are not real expensive, and all in all I have had a lot of fun with these 2 helis. my wife is going to get the blade CX when it comes out and is working on the G3 flight simulator. I did not write down how many times I crashed but it was never real hard to rebuild it or change the parts. I bought a see through parts box and stock a lot of the parts in the compartments eacxh have a p/n label over the top of the storage area. A few times I felt like tossing in the towel but my wife said to me if this was real easy you would get bored with it."THE JOY OF FLYING IS GREATER THEN THE SOUND OF CRASHING"
Randy

In reply to acinsp1:
I can't tell you how much I have crashed. I did look at my inventory and I currently have 6 wrecked sets of sym blades, 1 bad set of carbon blades, 3 main shafts, 2 spindels, 2 flybars, one main motor, 2 tail motors, and 2 tail booms. I should have just bought a new Heli but ya know I look at it if you don't crash you are not challenging yourself. I just got a Futaba 9chp radio and raptor 30 that is ready to fly so I want to program the radio for the Blade. Should be interesting. When the rain and wind quits I will fly again.

4 sets of blades, two main motors, one tail motor, three main shaft + main gear, LG on one side, one tail blade.

Went seperates 7 weeks ago, Eflite 2 in 1, cirrus dual rate gyro, GWS 6ch RX....so I could fly my BCP using my JR 6102 TX with the rest of my heli's. Been using the CF main blades for three weeks and they don't even have a scratch on them after 7 or so crashes. I'm right quick with the throttle cut switch so allot let damage.

Had my BCP since late June/early July. I fly about an hour and a half per week using a TP1320 lipo. fig 8's, stall turns, pirroets....been getting nose in down pretty well in the last week.

Great little heli...

Just curious if anyone has extended the landing gear struts to give more tail rotor clearance? Thought this might help when flying in grass areas.

I`m sure if you found some carbon rods the same diameter that the Blades struts are made from...it would be no problem to add an inch to the stock length.

That’s what I was thinking. My LHS has that CF rod 48� long for under $4. I was just wondering if anyone has tried this.

Where can I find the fix and pictures of the sticking collective....I see links for it in other posts...but none of them work.

Thanks

I crashed mine a few times as well, but I haven't spent more than 80 bucks in parts yet. 2 days ago I had it upside down at the front of the house, then I had a brain fart and tried to pull up moving the throttle forward......[:@] Broke the boom. again for about the 5th time. So I went and got a tonn of parts, main shaft, head boom, blades etc.... I just tried it with a 2200MAH li-po. WHOA... I thought it would be a bit heavy, but it's just fine. Head speed is now seriously up, I'll have to put in the motor from the aerobatic kit, cause I think I'm soon gonna fry the stock motor, but talk about being stable.... With the high head speed, it hovers stable now.
The only problem is the size of the battery, I can't put the canopy on......

OK, no more used stuff! Bought a used Blade CP a couple of weeks ago. Hmmm, thought the person knew what he was doing. Li-po battery stock motor, carbon blades. Ok, spent a few bucks and got the stock battery and stock wooden blades.... And several more times since. Bought the crash kit once thinking that I wouldn't need anything but the blades. Only got one of the landing struts left! Ha! Ha! Have whacked the cat! (Don't worry, the blades were barely turning and not enough to discourage the cat!) Whacked myself on the arm trying to check the blades while running. OK, a couple of big bandages, but nothing discourging. BTW, they don't make Fruit of the Looms like they used to if you know what I mean! Ha! Ha! With the training gear I can run it around in the cul-de-sac almost as fast as the RC touring car I've got. OK, we can even hover it around some. Without tearing stuff up... At times... Ok, we are not complaining about the quality of the heli. Every dirt brake landing I have made has been my fault. Thanks to you guys on this forum I knew exactly what I was getting into when I bought it. I just chalk everything up as the learning process. I knew what to use and how the beast was suppose to be setup. And so far have gotten there. Now it's up to me and practice to get the critter in the air. Hey, still working on that. And having fun doing it. The bottom line on this post.... Thanks to all those that have posted their experiences and info on setups, flying, etc of this little beast. It has been a big help. And to all those that show off their flying ability with their pics, my hat is off to you for your abilities. Maybe in 20 or 30 years..... Ha! Ha!

Again thanks to all....

Autoeject - Low Traffic

Bad flyn weather, order parts- if you need 1 order 2. I have went through a couple sets of blades and a spindle and a tail rotor bearing
and the hard to find tubing. FYI Paint your tail rotor gear (plastic one) CHEVY orange- on green grass and it will stick out when it comes off (some where). I am a Rookie to choppers ( old school) but I think- This Is Great (A smaller FLYING field required).
If i could just Quit sliding off to the left on lift off??


Bob


dignlivn

Try

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_31...y_blade/tm.htm

It worked for me.

Bob




dignlivn

Just thought I would make quick mention of the hard to find fuel tubing in one of the posts. Went to the local hobby store and bought this stuff the dude caled 1/2A tubing. I am guessing it was for the .049's and stuff. Works awesome. Holds beter than the stuff in the box. T/R does not fly off at the slightest little bump. Might have adverse effects on the tail rotor motor but I would rather replace that then damn blades and other components.

I was wondering if anyone has been able to take all of the old dinged flatbottom blades, and repair the dings and, rebalance them and re-use them. I have some that only have the plastic ripped off of them and others with just a few nicks. Does anyone supply a type of wood filler for balsa wood products. It would be nice to salvage them for use when they are needed in a pinch. I notice that some of the blades have small lead strips in them. I just ordered a blade balancer from Horizon Hobby so I will give it a try.
[The Joy of flying is greater then the sound of crashing)

which blade balancer did you order?...the one I have, that looks like the one they`re asking 22 dollars for, doesn`t have screws small enough to go through the blades pivot holes.

The blade balancer that I am getting is RV01001 from revolution and is $22.46. I don't know what screws come with it because there is not enough information describing what comes with this blade balancer. If you have the same unit what metal is it made out of. And can it be drilled and tapped for smaller screws say on another location.
Randy

Mines made out of Plastic...Here`s one I think will work fine for the micro Heli`s;
http://www.fxaeromodels.com/product_...oducts_id=2609