So my GF bought me a Blade CP Pro for my bday. This is my first helicopter. I was torn between the Blade CX, Lama 3 and various others. I know this helicopter is hard as hell to fly, I am anticipating that. I want to make a USB cable so I can use a flight sim and practice, without worrying about repairs. I plan on practicing flying the heli in my apartment so I'll need some instructions on that.

I am good with electronics and soldering wires isn't a big deal, just need to find my iron. Does anyone have any instructions on how to make a cable or link to a website that explains it?

Thanks.

You'd be better off purchasing something like this. I don't doubt your wiring skills.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ESky-Flight-Heli...QQcmdZViewItem

I don't know about USB.....but I have belt a parllel cable using the following DIY

http://www.heliguy.com/nexus/fmsinterface.html

I was looking at that, but is that sim stuff any good for the Blade series?

For the Blade CP since it uses CCPM the only cable that will work that I know of is
http://www.milehighwings.com/usb_cables.htm

What sim software would you recommend with that cable? FSM seems fairly limited, so I don't want to use a piece of software that won't correctly emulate the way the Blade CPP flies.

Thanks.

http://www.preflightsim.com/pforderPFBE.htm That looks to be a great piece of software that the cable supports. If anyone has any opinions about it, please reply.

physics are pretty decent, graphics arent good, sound is non existant. It does the job to help you learn, but its just not like th real thing. On preflight, your heli seems to have unlimited power and is very easy to do acrobatics with.
But to learn the basics, and to get an idea of how to do some acrobatics, its good bang for your buck.

oh, and th cable it comes with plugs into your eflite transmiter and then into your microphone port on your computer... A little weird, but it seems to work.

I just want to learn the basics. I have RealFlight G3 but without a legit controller, it's really hard to use. I have my Xbox 360 controller hooked up to it but it's reversed and I have to hold it upside-down. Also, the camera angles suck in that software, but if I have to buy it to prevent myself from paying for repairs, I will.

Your girlfriend bought you a great heli, but a VERY advanced one. I may be the heretic here, but after 14+ yrs in fixed wing R/C and now intro helis, I know how hard it is to go to advanced machines too quickly. Each machine adds another level of complexity. Those levels are good when you have mastered the lesser levels and the machine is the limiting factor. That way you can tell what the difference is with all of the advanced parts, like your symmetrical blades and Bell-Hiller mixing. At the very least as you try to learn in your apartment, go through the Radd's School of Rotary Flight lessons very thoroughly. Send time with each step and get EACH one down completely. BTW, I used the Radd's in my 8'x8' dining area , moving the table out each night! Have fun! Let us all know how you do. Andy

Thanks Doc, will do. I know it'll be a pain but I'm ready for it.

I would not worry about getting a pro instead of a normal cp. I have been learning on a pro and I have NEVER wished I had a regular CP. as long as you learn to not over correct the BH head will accually make it easier to learn IMO. It has very quick responces and I like that. Enjoy your new model :-)

What's a BH head? I don't know any of the helicopter lingo nor do I know what each part does, yet.

bh = Bell Hiller

What does the Bell Hiller head do?

Edit: Did a bit of research, guess it makes the heli more responsive to lateral movements. Does the CPP come stock with this BH upgrade?

Also, can anyone tell me the difference between 4 channel and 6 channel control? What differentiates the CP from the CP Pro?

Yes the CP Pro comes stock with the BH.

The diffrence from 4 chan and 6 chan is that there is an extra chan to change the pitch of the blades. So the helicopters pitch can be adjusted on the fly instead of being fixed. This is what allows you to go inverted, you can not fly inverted with a 4chan heli. Notice that little idle up switch? Thats what this is for, changes your pitch/throttle curves.

Here is the diffrences from the blade cp and the cp pro:
cpp comes with BH stock
cpp has li-po battery instead of nimh
cpp has symetrical blades instead of flat bottom
cpp has a 9T main motor pinion instead of 10T
cpp has a 3 in 1 and reciver instead of 4 in 1

Having the 3 in 1 makes serveral things easier
1) it is easy to upgrade to a brushless motor
2) you can easily install a better heading lock gyro
3) if one of the peices frys it is cheaper to replace (you should install a couple fuses to help protect your 3 in 1)

Hope that helps....you can search some of those items to get more indepth info

Thanks jent, amazing help you lot are. I haven't received the heli just yet, just been messing around with RealFlight G3 and my Xbox 360 controller. When I get the heli, I'll determine whether or not to pick up Pre-Flight, since it seems to be the cheapest, albeit useful, sim software available, especially since it can emulate the Blade series fairly well.

Thanks again. Anymore input is more than welcome.

I would recomend that you would steal realflight G3 and a dongle emulator from a torrent site.

In answer to later questions do not get a CP but rather get a CP Pro. #1 for the price difference the upgrades you get are worth it. #2 your going to want a gyro, cause they make everything easier to that you can get better quicker.

I already have RealFlight G3 with a Blade CPP model from their website. I also did get the Pro as it was being sold at a very good price with extra blades, power adapter, and training gear.