I just bought my SR and am new to helis, ...and being a fixed wing pilot for 25 years ..... HA ..only means I know what the sticks do and that's it ! I wont be lifting off the pad for some time now I have been flying the mSR for awhile...not even close to the SR to me.

I cant get the stock battery forward enough to achieve an acceptable CG balance, the cowl ( 25 yrs canopy wont fit then. I do have a few
3S 11.1V 2100mAh Li-Po's which are a little heavier. I wonder if they would be ok to connect. Any advice would be well taken.

thanks
Bill

have the stock battery at a point where the whole aircraft is perfectly balance then take the stock canopy and see where it touches on the battery and take a small razor blade and trim it there or have the people at your local hobby shop deal with it just to make it easier on your part

I considered cutting the canopy but the battery and wiring will take out so much up front its gonna be a big cut. Weights ( last choice) would work but in that case , might as well pack a heavier battery......i have not tried my 3C2100's yet for fit but they may work.

DON'T ! If you do send me your main drive gear because you'll ruin it.
Bill : It balances fine with the stock battery.
Have the wires of the battery toward the back, have 1 and 1/4th inches of the battery overhanging the very forewardmost part of the frame/surface the battery sits on and it's perfect. Even with the canopy off with the stock battery mounted there it flies great. There have been zero reports of bad CG's with the stock pack and lead should be nowhere on your SR.
Our experience in fixed wing is about the same so know this : You absolutely positively need a simulator, or something like MCX then MSR experience concurrent with and/or followed by a simulator and /or experienced heli pilot or there will only be smoking holes and frustration.
The SR is a great heli. Collective pitch helicopters thhough, regardless of the ads, are a whole new ball game compared to flying aircraft, any aircraft.
Take your time and do it right, just like when you teach begineers to fixed wing to do. Doug

Thanks Doug, may be simply not checking the balance correctly.
Oh, and I did try placing the battey with the connectors to the rear. Seems like in any position , the connector cable just barely reaches and is very hard fish it out and back to the battery. I am a bit nervous about installiing the canopy after the battery is connected even with the correct transmitter settings.
If anyone has a good pic with the canopy off and battery connected I would appreciate seeing that.

thanks very much
Bill

The wires to the rear Bill, thats just so they can reach the ESC battery hook-up.
Just pull the batterty wire straight down , maybe a little to the rear, and keep track of it while securing the canopy. My fear was probably yours, it looks like the battrey wire is really close to the big gear.
It's never been a problem though, probably because there's so little vibration. Of course a little velcro or tape could keep it secure though if you'd want to be sure.
I'm new just like you to these things, maybe you were getting bored with planes as I was.
I had to swallow that I was never going to be a Scale Masters threat or an FAI Pattern competitor so it was time for a new challenge, and this is a heck of a lot of fun.
There's a ton of things fixed wing help ith and in a big way, control reversal at nose-in a major one. The bummer though is none of the fixed wing skills help a lick at first .
There's some real sharp cookies on this board who are really helpful, so dig in.
Just remember you don't want to smoke that pretty heli ahead of it's time, so act just like you teach fixed wing new guys and you'll do great.
I had a lot of time learning this SR and getting it to hover before I finally broke a single part (the absurdly backordered main drive gear), so if you follow the the experienced guys advise...surely not yours truly....you'll do great. Doug

p.s.- Learn to love and trust the throttle hold switch, top right rear toggle switch.
With that pulled toward you all works but the motor, regardless of throttle stick position. Along with the throttle stick al the way down you are very safe. Made me nervous at first too !

yep Doug, i have respect for this aircraft for sure. I found out the hard way that electrics that wont start ...may start suddelny when your checking a few things Got chewed up pretty good by my Taylorcraft once..and destroyed the airplane at the same time..... but like you said , the throttle hold switch is key on the heli transmitter and I have been using it on the simulator to make it an automatic reflex move. I found a link ,thanks to one of our members, to Radds School of Helis, and im in no rush to order b/o parts so..I have plenty of patience.
Thanks and as usual , if the forum didnt exist Iwould have bailed out years ago

OK! Well now that I am home and can actually look at the heli , the battery is in place and connects ok just as Doug suggested and its perfect I may not even have to trim the canopy at all but It helped to know it was ok to practice with it off.

"If your not in control...the helicopter is" Radd

The canopy on mine fits like a piece of "xxxx"....I fly mine with the canopy off...any one else having this problem..........

Just make sure the tab on the bottom of the canopy goes under the frame, not tucked in anywhere, just on the outside. A litte vaseline on the rods that go into the rubber o-rings make things easier too. KY has a new one that your SR may enjoy, it's supposed to be, uh,..."tittilating"(sp?)[X(].

Yet another thing I overlooked in the manual! I was tucking the tab in the frame. Its too easy to miss the little details as a newbe heli pilot. Thanks again!

( I did read the instructions about using the new ,..."tittilating"( KY ) but its on B/O

Before I get SR information spread out on the forum too much, how can I "attach" this thread to the already created SR TIPS & TRICKS , ( or can I?)

The moderators lilkely do that stuff bldrums. Glad you're figuring stuff out, it's fun, isn;t it ?
Radd who you quoted has some good stuff to say. I did his routine, lucky me I have an indoor basketball court to practice on and that smooth surface with training gear really helps learn to keep the heli straight.
His program, a good simulator, helpful experienced guys all help a ton. A good thing because this is some real work, never in airplanes did I ever have to move both sticks so little and simultaneously.....whew ![X(]
Big fun though. Doug

I am having the same problem. I am a NEWBIE in the world of helis, have built many planes but have hardly ever flown anything. I CANNOT get the appropriate CG for this Blade SR. No matter what I do. Can anyone help? Weight would be the only solution I would think