heres the "official" blade 400 thread. i didn't see one but if there is let me know and i will take it down. i don't have one yet but will be getting one in April! cant wait.

Josh,

Well, I don't see an "official Blade 400 thead" either, so why not?

There are alot of them dealing with issues and what not, but not an official one.

Congrats on your choice and upcoming new heli...you will enjoy it alot, I am sure...and there's plenty of advice and help, should you need it when the time comes...

April is a nice time to get a new heli too....the weather will finally be breaking..and the days longer...man, I can't wait either!!

Good luck with the new heli when you get it, and the new thread...

Got any questions yet on it?

Bring them on!

Glenn

The weather out here in Southern California is like spring with lots of semi warm sun shine with cold night, during the day it is perfect for CX2 flying with little to no breeze at all.

systemlord,

Must be nice!

I'm going to get a break tomorrow, so they say, a little over 50 degrees...whoopee!! It'll feel like summer time to me...lol

Hey, how did that company for the titanium tubing work out for you?

Glenn

Josh,

Almost forgot, I think you made a good choice on the B400 over the Belt CP....I'm sure the Belt CP is an OK helicopter, and the price is definitely right, but I just think that you'll get alot more for your money if you spend a bit more on the B400...

The radio alone is the main reason I would go with the B400..it's a radio you can grow with...I use it on my Trex 500 now....but when I bought the B400, I never gave that a thought, I was like "why would I ever need 10 different models programmed into the radio"?

Well, I now have nine models in my DX6i!! So, you can see that the radio itself is good reason in itself. Not to mention parts availability, excellent customer support, and a huge knowledge base right here in this forum too...

Congrats again on the soon to be yours B400!

Glenn

I'm sitting right next to the 60" titanium tubing right now, tomorrow I'm taking it to a friends mill machine to cut and put the flat spots onto the shafts for the head set screw and the spur gears set screw. You wouldn't believe how much easier it is to flex a 60" titanium wire compared to when its short at stock length at 130.5 mm or 5.137" inches! That leaves me with eleven titanium CX2 shafts, remember titanium even when bent by hand has better memory.

Metals with low memory are the ones that stay bent like cheap stainless steel, where if you bend titanium even further it will bend right back to its original shape. Titanium has to go through a hardening process much like hardened steel does which is why titanium snaps like a twig when bent to the extremes! I'll give everyone a heads up when there done, I'm going to find the breaking point for both stainless steel and then titanium. We want to test it before we sell them because if it doesn't hold up like we want they are not going to find homes with CX2 owners.

thanks. i was kind of curious on how 3d works. the rotors are pushing air down so when you go inverted, shouldn't it make you go into the ground?

Josh,

When you add negative pitch inverted it acts like positive pitch upright. Then when you add positive pitch inverted it acts like negative pitch upright. You just have to set up the heli to have negative and positive pitch.

Nick

sounds confusing.

Josh,

When you are flying upright, the air movement is downward, keeping the heli in the air...the reason there is downward airflow is because the blades are in a positive pitch position, pushing air down towards the ground...

Then, when you want to fly inverted, you set the helicopter up to have negative pitch, which if applied in the upright position, will push the helicopter downwards...pushing the air upwards in the process...

So, when the heli is upside down, the negative pitch acts just like positive pitch when the heli is upright...just the opposite effect...

The blade 400 comes out of the box 3D ready, so it would have negative pitch if you switched the idle up switch, or F. mode, or stunt, as Eflite calls it...but for normal, upright flight, you would want very little, if any negative pitch, but a little is good for flying in the wind...

Hope this helps...

Glenn

how do you switch between the two in the air?

Josh,

On the DX6i, in the upper left hand corner, there is a switch, on the radio it is labelled F. Mode. Most people call it idle up...

And you are correct, you really only want to switch it once you are in the air, not on the ground or at take off...

And, you never want to hit it unless you have confidence built up with it...the noob will have a tendancy to chop the throttle in an emergency, and this will drive the heli straight into the ground because of the negative pitch...so it should not be used until you are fully ready for the negative pitch.

It will also increase the headspeed (the speed at which the rotors turn) so the heli will become super responsive, and be a handful for the beginner...and a bit intimidating as well...[X(]

So, the F.Mode/stunt mode/idle up (whichever you chose) is something that you don't really need at the beginning, just concentrate on nice, normal hovering and flight...

Glenn

thanks!

Josh,

Anytime...glad I could help..

Glenn

By the sound of everything, the Blade 400 sound like a great heli. My kids and I are in the process of getting into the hobby, started in nitro trucks, and we like the CX3. I want something more for outside and think the Blade 400 is a good choice. Once taxes are in, it's mine.

BTW. is there a difference between a Blade 400 when they first came out, to a Blade 400 made last month? I might get a used one from the classifieds here.

no difference. how is the cx3? i heard it isnt as good as the cx2?