Ughhhhhhh.......kill 'em all!!!![>:][>:][>:]

Crash ~

Just picked up some "OFF" with deet in it... Hopefully that will help ! It's so annoying those darn bugs... Yeah it seems loud, but a lot of it is the camera is sensitive to noise and picks up things very good...Lol.. And also it's an inrunner brushless motor that's geared, so I'am betting that adds to it also.

Either way it does the job better now that I put in the CC esc. Just on the forum here again today, (E-Flite) another guy's E-Flite 25a esc burned up and caught on fire...Lol.. I couldn't even tell ya how many times I've came across E-Flites esc's catching fire or cutting out due to overheating. Sorry Jay, I know ya like em, but man it's crazy ! Luckily Horizon has good customer service and even replaced one guy's plane and all, from it also catching fire a few weeks back.

With the Blade 400 this is beginning to be a repetitive problem since I've been snoopin' on the forum. A lot of guy's are just replacing there esc asap along with the servos and a few other things. This is what prompted me to wait on the B-400 and to go with the Mini-Titan E325 SE instead, here in time... By the time ya start replacing stuff, you might have well just got a TREX...LMAO... I give em credit for trying though.........

Have ya maidened the new NAVY heli ?! Windier than heck here today....And getting hot again. 104 degrees for today they say....Thank goodness I replaced that esc !

Take care,


~ Jeff

Haven't flew anything today. I'm repairing the MX-400 and yesterday I caught EXI-450 standard model on sale for $69.....I bought it ($85 to my door). It's low wind today, but it's HOT for me, and the sun is REAL bright.

E-Flite... I learned my lesson (LMAO). The B400 would be a good bird AFTER you dump the E-Flite electronics, but then what would be the point? HBKII would be a better start off. The MX-400....out of the box, you couldn't fly it. Had to replace the tail rotor assembly with a T-Rex unit, and a CNC head was mandantory, and a bunch of other little stuff. After that...equal to the HBKII except a true 400 size.

Jeff, that's not that big of a weight penalty. I'm glad it's working better for you. I have had no problems with My E-flite ESC's. I'd have to wonder if the pilots of the one catching fire peg the throttle for the whole flight.

Hey Mike, is that a Great Planes 60 size Extra 300S? I love that flag design[8D] I have the 40 hanging from my ceiling. I had well over 50 or so flights and then had a very close call so I hung it up. It's one of my favorites, flew like a pattern ship.

Those spiders are nasty looking, I'd scream like a little girl and run the other way[X(]

I just about smashed the XPD-8 today. I was showing off for some friends and doing high speed low passes over a weedy filed. Somehow one of the weeds leaped up and grabbed the left wing and tipped to knife edge. I rolled it back and climbed[X(] My buddies let out some good hoots after I did that. I had to make a few circles to get my heart rate lowered.

God Bless All!

Jay

Hey guys, no maiden today, too windy. I did fly my balky AT-6. I put the factory recommended prop on it and it flew quite nicely. I did run the power numbers on the SSX. Full throttle draw was 9a. I have no worries. Which brings me to another question. Don't you guys use watt's up meters? Then I realized that on a heli everything is pretty well set.

Tim

Maiden almost ends in crash. Lost the rudder...have no idea as to why yet. No damage other than I still have no rudder control.

Crash ~

Put that thing away before ya have it sent to the Navy boneyard !! Lol... Hmmmm..... Well, I know you'll figure it out whatever it is...Probally just a big spider lodged in somewhere and jamming up your controls or something.... I love the visibility of the heli outside BTW....

Jay ~

Yeah it's weird about the esc's from E-Flite....Most that I've come across are beginners and learning and only hovering. Like the gent on the E-Flite forum here who just posted today for example. Probally just a bad batch or something ? It seems common talking with others and there experiences. Consider yourself blessed.... I love your plane hanging from the ceiling ! Since your pushing 18-19 years experience, I can't imagine how many crafts are lying all over the place ! What do ya spread em out all over the place to confuse the ol' lady on how many your holding out on ?! Good save with the XPD-8 ! Sounds fun....

I'am thinking of pre-flighting the Trex and getting it back into the air. Gotta get back on track. The planks were a good distraction for a month or so, but my heart rests in the heli's and always will. I hope I still remember how to fly the darn thing...Lol..

Take care guys,

~ Jeff

Ray 'ere again......
Well I tried to remove the motor from the 400.
I was in the process of trying to iron out my startup "chirp" so I slacked off the four screws holding the motor mount to disengage the motor from the main gear. Applied volts and.....startup "chirp".....bloody motor....!!!....magnet probably out of place.
Anyway, I removed three of the screws but the fourth allowed me two turns before binding solid. Gotta find a way to remove it
Really don't like the layout of the machine with that "all-covering" body.
Went by the LHS earlier this pm and he has a Gauii (?) hanging for sale.....talk about a tiny aluminum bird....lovely piece of engineering.
Must away.....friends arriving.....
Ray

Ray ~

Yeah those Gaui 200's are sick ! From the factory they recommend running a 3,000 rpm headspeed...most will take it up to 3,700 rpm and what a zippy little sucker. I was looking into them a month or so ago very heavy. The Gaui 550 for me, would be a better choice for the future, so I backed off from any purchase.

Check this guy out with one of those Gaui 200's. He's in his cramped garage doing everything with it. Some claim they will outrun a Rex ?! [8D] Crazy stuff.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urUaa38AlKQ

Have a good one,

~ Jeff

Rudder failure caused by a brand new Telebee ATV gyro being fried......[:@]

Vic, great save. That sucks that the Gyro crapped out on you. I hope they make it right by you. I wonder what happened to it.

Jeff, I do a have a lot of stuff. I'm blessed that I usually get tired of them without crashing and I go buy the next best thing. Don't get me wrong, I've stuffed a lot of planes, too They end up hanging or dissembled and stacked. I have a few at my Dad's house as well, even the original Carl Goldberg Eaglet 50 that taught me how to fly. I'm like Dave, I don't ever throw anything away. I hope someday to have a big enough place to display everything.
Good to get back to the T-Rex, I should do the same. I should be more comfortable after all of the practice with the HBKII.

I glad you found the problem Ray. It stinks that the screw won't come out though.

Tim, I've never used the watt meter, I just go with recommended set-up on everything. I should get one though. Any pictures of the Texan, I'd love to see it.

God Bless BOB's!

Jay

Sorry to hear about that Crash....Go figure...Brand new among that ! Can you get it replaced, since ya just got it ? I'am thinking hopefully so.

Like my motto says, every negative situaton is a positive one.......... In this case of yours, your negative would be a failed gyro..........Your positive outcome from it would be your heli is safe now, cause ya can't fly her ! Good find on that one. Didn't take ya long on that discovery as usual....

~ Jeff

Blade 400 Review:

After progressing from a CX2, to the CP, to the CP Pro, to the HBK II I am now flying a Blade 400. I wanted a step up in size and this is what started my quest to choose a 400 class heli. I looked at a variety of brands but choose the Blade 400 for 2 reasons: DX6i Radio was included and the LHS carries parts. I have a Futaba 6XAS computer radio and it only allowed 3 point throttle & pitch curves. So if I bought say a T-REX 450SA I would still need to pickup a good computer radio. Hence the Blade 400 fit the bill perfectly for me. I liked the HBK II very much but never felt I could get the tail to stay in control. I did put the Xtreme 43T pulley and belt on it and it did improve greatly yet I still kept wanting a larger heli with better tail authority.
I picked it up a week ago from my LHS for $399. Along with the heli I also bought the AC power adapter for the Lipo charger. After getting it home I opened the package and did a thorough inspection of it while I put the battery on charge. Everything was in place and all looked fine right out of the box. I saw nothing I wanted to change for the maiden flight. The battery was peaked after an hour so out to the driveway I go. This is where I find my first dislike with it: the canopy is difficult to put on once the battery is installed (thank goodness for the throttle hold feature on the DX6i). After 9 battery packs I still have trouble securing the canopy. Oh well, minor complaint I suppose. After checking the servo movements I began to spool it up and had to step back away from it, I was literally SCARED of the head speed and size of those blades! Big change from the HBK II. After gaining my composure, I continued to spool it up and get it light on the skids. Ok, all seems well enough so time for lift off. A little more throttle and lift off occurred at just over half stick. No surprises here for a change! 2 clicks of “back� elevator and 1 click of right and she is in a stable hover. Blade and paddle tracking was spot on. I was surprised with how crisp and responsive yet how light all the inputs felt and just tickled with how smooth transitions were. I was grinning from ear to ear! Now the big test, how well does the tail hold. I brought it into a stable hover and nailed the throttle…………she held great! Just what I was hoping for. Brought it back down to about a 1 foot hover height and decided to go into idle up to see how it was setup. This is where I learn my second dislike-the landing gear is very flimsy. Upon hitting the idle up switch, the heli dropped kind of fast (but square) and cracked the right from landing gear. I shut it right down and prevented any further damage. I nearly fell over though with the incredible head speed it had when in idle up. I am still not used to it!
All in all I’m very impressed thus far. I have since gone into FFF and am pleased with how smooth and stable it is. I do have some dislikes and some concerns though. I have read of the servos being weak and of the ESC issues. Only time will tell on those issues for me. I am not into 3D flight yet so I’m thinking servos should hold for awhile for me. I mentioned the landing gear being weak, I have a set of Super Skids on the way to take care of that problem. {Incidentally, for those of you with the HBK II the E-Flite servo gears (EFLRDS751 Gear Set for DS75 and DS75H0) are an EXACT match for the stock HBK II servo gears. I know this as fact since I used a set of them in one of my HBK II servos. Michael from US Hobby Supply clued me into this so I take no credit for it.} I will watch my ESC for heat problems but thus far have had no issues. My other issue actually is with the DX6i. I have small hands and have found this transmitter to be a bit awkward for me to hold comfortably. I have major fears of hitting the idle up switch accidentally and not being able to recover quick enough. I am going to try wearing a neck strap tomorrow to see if that helps. I can tell that if I was a “thumb� flyer that it would not be an issue. I learned with the “pinch grip� and old habits are hard to break. I am slowly working my way to going just thumbs but don’t feel comfortable in most situations this way just yet.

So there you have it, I’ll keep you guys posted as I progress. I made a video tonite. Just have to figure out how to get it on youtube (450Meg). Do they take .avi format?

Jim

Glad you got her back safely crash. Good Save!

Would have been a LOT worse at 12 to 20ft up. I just started into a hover, and it starts clockwise rotation...then nose in...I set it down and it tipped a little scuffing the blades.

Excellent review.....good luck with 'er. Just replace the stock skids with 400 superskids or Align T-Rex 450 skids. I noticed the EXI-450 skids look a little WEAK (LOL).

Great review Jim[8D] It's nice to see the thread getting back on track It sounds like a very successful endeavor. I was very impressed with how stable the Blade 400 is, very much like my T-RexSA. My friend has gone through multiple servos and gear sets. I would suggest Hitech or Futaba servos when replacement is necessary. The Futaba 3114 is NOT the same size and NOT a direct replacement. They are smaller and the mounting holes do not line up. I was able to fudge mine into the HBKII but I wouldn't recommend doing that
Be careful with the neck strap. I was inspecting the Blade and I rested the TX on the ground with the strap still around my neck. The strap found it's way on to the throttle stick and moved it forward causing a sudden spool up. Scared the crud out of me[X(]

Also if you have Windows Movie Maker you can import your video, drag it to the time line, edit if you'd like, and save to your computer. It will automatically compress the video and turn it to a file that can be upload to a place like YouTube. It's confusing at first but a lot of fun to do when you get used to it.

God Bless!

Jay

Mixed blessings weekend:
Got the MX-400 (OH58A) back together with the new parts and it's flying rather well. I got the EXI-450 (TH-57) completed, it looks fantastic, nearly destroyed it with a bad gyro, but I DIDN'T. Flew my son's Lama v4 out in the yard today also....I really need to work on that for him and re-set the mechanical trims. I'm really bummed out about the gyro, but I submitted a ticket to heli-direct. The gyro has had very few flights, it shouldn't have just "quit" working.
I also bought yet another EXI-450 that was on "sale" and have a cash savings of $29 from the regular price (that I paid last time)...that's pretty decient. A mixed bag of luck for sure this weekend. Soooooo....my good flying heli is STILL the MX-400, it's been a good heli.

Jim ~

Great review ! You don't know how many times I had that B-400 in my hands at the LHS in the past month...Lol.. It was one of them head scratchers for me. I would pace the LHS debating. Every craft has it's flaws, so I wouldn't expect perfection from it, and some day I just might get one. I know the power to weight ratio is excellent on them...

I'am not sure on the AVI format for You-Tube... I'am just using a cheapo $280.00 digital camera from Wal-Mart that shoots my videos, and then I use Kodak Easyshare software (Free download) and it takes the pictures and movies from my cam to my computer, and then to You-Tube. I think the limit is 1000mb, not totally sure though. The AVI format I would think they would accept, but what do I know... I'll have to scope it out next time I'am downloading there in case you don't find a solution.

I would love to see a video of your B-400 though !

Take care guy,


~ Jeff

Got the video uploaded last night. It's done on my $100 digital camera but I think it looks OK none the less. The altitude changes you see every so often are a result of my hands on the DX6i. I just can't get comfortable gripping it yet. This video is done in my driveway. The driveway is only 20 feet wide by 40 feet long. It's taught me lots of control I'm standing just to the right of the camera position.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ca3b3A2oU8

The quick landing is because my 3 year old started walking out from the garage. My landings are much better than that (usually!)

Jim ~

You do VERY well ! There's no way I can nose in like that for that long....I can achieve some forward flight with some speed once in awhile and flying only in a small circuit and close by somewhat. Going high in the sky totally disorientates me for now. I guess I've never tried, but I know I'am not ready for that...

I was going to take the Trex up today, but the wind started picking up, and the last time I touched a heli was probally 7 weeks ago. The planks distracted me a bit. I think I may be a little rusty not sure. There is still something with the B-400's that catch my attention. I think I would love one, just for the fact to learn on and fly it. The Trex I'am to afraid of wrecking and thus hinders and slows my progress from flying. Parts are also available everywhere which I love cause My Trex parts are also limited at my LHS here in Cali and Washington State. The Logo your dreaming if ya want parts. There about as scarce as a three legged rat. I've also seen the B-400 fly intense in stock form, and it is impressive.

Have ya taken it to a bigger open area yet ? I bet you have what it takes to open er' up a little and grace the skies.... Thanks for sharing your video, and keep up the good work. Glad to see you back also, I remember reading all your back posts from last year when I read the thread.

Take care Mr. Wnuk, and good day to ya,


~ Jeff

Great video Jim and nice flying. Looks like you ready for inverted hovering!

God Bless,

Jay

Jeff- The Blade 400 seems to be very capable in stock form. More capable then I am right now I have had in in FFF and that's where I've been most impressed with the responsiveness and tail hold abilities it has. When flying myHBK it always felt "sluggish" to my inputs, not so with the Blade. I'd imagine youT-rex would feel that much better than the Blade! I know what you mean about fear. For so long I had a "mental block" about going nose in. Finally one day I said if I wreck it I'll just rebuild it and went for it. I started out doing it very low to the ground so I could set it down quickly if need be. It took about 3 packs to get feeling comfortable doing it and it's easier then you would think once you get past the mental block. 3 minutes into my first hover with the Blade I had it nose in and it just felt right. You still need to be on your toes but it feels great to do it!

Jay- thanks for the kind words. I'm still learning and hope to do more vids as I progress. I've tried inverted on the sim, I still need LOTS more practice before trying it outdoors!. This week I hope to get to the field and practice stall turns more. I'm thinking by the end of Sept I'll be ready to try my first loop!

I LOVE THIS THREAD

I just replaced the elevator servo on the HBKII last night with the Fut 3114. Direct hit! Thank-you Vic and Dave for the advise. I think Dave even said it was probably the elevator servo, hit the nail on the head. I just did a 5 minute hover and so FF and the RMP's and head speeds are back! I'd hit the idle up and the RMP's would actually increase as they should! It still boggles my mind that a bad servo would cause that kind of problem[&:]

Thank-You so much for your great advise!

God Bless All!

Jay