RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Rnicholson,

That's a tuff one to answer, not only the Falcon or the CP Pro, but any heli you see on the market has there own pro's and con's.
Currently, I have 5 helis, Blade CP, Blade CP Pro, Falcon 3D, Raptor G2 and a T-Rex. My two favorites are the Blade CP Pro and the T-Rex. But to answer your question, the Falcon is a much better heli for the price than the CP Pro. It's almost the same size as the T-Rex.
The Falcon has the brushless motor and ESC, the power is awesome and a very stable stable heli. On the other hand, the CP Pro, is much easier to repair when you crash and parts are widely available and less expensive.

I use my Blade CP as my experimental heli, always adjusting the pitch and servo linkage, and gyro for the perfect hover.

There have been some issues with Hobby Lobby being able to provide shipment of the Falcon or parts. Some have been waiting for almost 2 months. I had a motor and an ESC go bad on me. I called Hobby Lobby and explained my problem, they were more than willing to replace both the motor and the ESC at no charge. However, they are still on back order and have been for 6 weeks. Hobby Lobby is a good company, been around forever and stand behind there products. The however is, they are supplied Art-Tech and shipment of helis and parts are out of there control. Things for the Falcon should look okay by the end of November.

It all depends on where you are at with this hobby and what your long range goals are, OH, and how big your wallet is.:D

I'm sure this didn't answer all you need to know, but it's a starting point. Just do a lot of research and ask the guys at the LHS or the local flying club.

Dave / Choppersrule

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Hey choppersrule, have you experimented with putting the antanae in different places? I hate the look of the antanae tube, and I dont like the antanae wrapped around the landing gear. I have experimented with taping the antanae in a tiny bundle and throwing it in the front of the canopy with the battery keeping it from falling out. Are there any other ways that you know of? Whad do you do with the T-REX's antanae?
Thanks, Alex

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Alex K,
On the Blade helis I have, I run have them in the tube, I quess the looks don't bother me. On the T-Rex, I have the DX6 Tx and Rx, there are two antennas coming out of the Rx, each about 4 inches long. Spectrum DX6 uses a different technology. When you put the canopy on the T-Rex, you can't see the antenna at all.

Not many options, but you do want to keep the antenna on the opposite side of the motor wires, they can cause a lot of interference.
Some of the guys use a ferrite ring on the motor leads to reduce this noise, there only of few bucks and work quit well.

Any way that you shorten the antenna, like wrapping it around the skids, wrapping around the antenna tube or like yourself, wrapping in a tiny bundle, you will loose range anywhere from 15 to 50 percent. Even installing a Dean micro antenna will decrease range.

The tiny bundle technique you use is probably the worst way to hide the antenna.

Below are a few links,one for data specs. on antenna length, one for the deans micro antenna, and one for the DX6 TX/RX

deans antenna: http://www.robotcombat.com/marketplace_rc.html

Dialog on antenna length: http://rc-cam.com/ant_exp.htm

Dx6 TX/RX: http://www.modelflight.com.au/rc_mod...ektrum_dx6.htm

Dave / Choppersrule

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Thanks, and one more thing. How far is the Blade CP's normal range? About half a mile?

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

.
250 feet!
The -radio- should be typical of such radios, and capable of controlling an airplane you can -see-, at 1000 to 1500 feet.

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Alex K,
Turn on Tx with antenna all the way down, plug in battery to heli. Start walking away working the the sticks, obviouly not taking off, should have good response at about 30 paces. Kinda rule of thumb.
Dave / Choppersrule

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Wow, thats short. It must be kind of a cheap radio huh.?

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

No, no, the 30 paces is a range check with the antenna down to make sure that everything is working properly. With antenna extended you should get 1,000 feet or so. That's over 3 football fields in length. The however is, at 1,000 feet you couldn't hardly see the heli, let alone know which way it's going.

Dave / Choppersrule

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Oh, lol. Little misunderstanding. Ya, I think at the max ive taken mine about 60 feet out. Ya, Im gonna give Horizon a call to let them know that Im going to send my Blade in Tommorrow, I cannot figure out why the heck the poor thing is vibrating like it is. Ive checked everything, and replaced stuff but I cant just figure it out.

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Alex K,

Sorry about the vibration problem, if your sending it back to Horizon, you'll have some down time. Then what will you do?:D

Got an idea, just order two or three more helis, for backup.[8D]

Dave / Choppersrule

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Ya, I cant take it anymore. Ill probably order that Rapor G2 in sometime this week. So does it take Horizon a while to do stuff like that? Oh, I wont have that much downtime , Ive got a bunch of planes that have been a little neglected.

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Alex K,

Get those planes dusted off, and have a ball. As far as Horizon getting things done in a timely fashion, they are pretty good about it.
But don't forget the turn around time, just in shipping to Horizon and back to you. Gut feeling, two weeks.

Best with Horizon,

Dave / Choppersrule

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Checked my invetory, Ive got about half a gallon of old nitro left. I think that'll do for about a week.

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Sounds coool for a bit, then what?:D Don't forget to order another heli.[sm=72_72.gif]

Just got back, was hovering the CP and the T-Rex in the basement, keeps me from getting itchy fingers.

Let us know how things work out with Horizon,

Dave / Choppersrule

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Okay, will do. Hey, you have a sim right?

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

I got one with the Falcon 3D, but never got it to work. It's got this funky cord that plugs, one end to the TX and the other end to the sound card on the PC. What's up with that?? I've tried, but never got it going, saw some advise on the Falcons Posts, but didn't help.

I got one, but can't use it. Hmmmm. I probably shouldn't get it to work either, I spend plenty of time with all my helis and on the forum, that sometimes I let projects go around the house, then all of a sudden I'm overwhelmed with stuff to do around the house.

Later guy,

Dave / Choppersrule

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

You should get one.;), I bought the RealFlight G3 and its really nice. Ya, I called Horizon a couple times and tried to figure out what the is wrong with my heli. After I explained everything I had done and what was wrong, He asked me for my zip code and name. I started getting excited and I was ready for him to say, "well, because you're such a good customer, we'll just send you out a new one", but all that happened was he sighed and recommended replacing the spindle. (I guess a couple thousand dollars isnt good enough to be considered a good customer [:@]) so, Im going to do just that, replace the spindle, and if that doesnt work... They'll receive an angry phone call demanding that they will replace their wonderful customer's heli. And if that dont work, Im just gonna have to talk to tha manager.


Im obviously not in the greatest mood [:@]

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

The sim is on the back burner for awhile. I've got plans to upgrade my Raptor G2 this winter with some good electronis. I like the heli, but it needs a good Tx, Rx, and servos to start with. Also, gonna plug in a brushless motor and ESC. Just something I want to do.

I can't believe that Horizion is treating you like that, stand by your guns, if your not satisfied, keep going up the coporate ladder.
I worked at the telephone industry for 29 years, and customers would do exactly that, go up the ladder. If it got to a presidential complaint, heads would roll and the customer always won the war. Try and find out who the big guys are and drop there names to whom ever you talk to.

Best of luck on this endevor,

Dave / Choppersrule

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Alex,
Here's a starting point for the ladder: http://www.horizonhobby.com/Horizon/HorizonHistory.aspx

Dave / Choppersrule

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Angry phone calls get hung up on.
Calm down, and be reasonable.

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

So are the Raptor G2's electronics really pretty bad? Weak servos, slow response, independable rx?

On the Horizon deal, Im going to keep it very calm, but Im going to find out first if the new spindle helps.

And one more thing, have you ever sent anything in to Horizon? I asked if I could when I was talking to the tech support guy, and he said no, they dont do that.

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Tall Paul,
Very good advise.

Alex,

When you do call, be cool, calm and collective. Before you call, thing about what you want to say and why.

Dave / Choppersrule

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Alex,

Before you go sending it back look at: www.bladecprepair.com

There are a number of things to give you a vibration, blade tracking, Bent shaft, blades not balanced, etc.

In this hobby you need to be as much mechanic as pilot or you will have a lot of frustration with any Heli.

Yesterday a gust of wind blew my Heli and I hit the pole supporting my bird feeder. I picked up the pieces, told my son to move the bird feeder :) and fixed the Heli. It was a $20.00 repair that through a little ingenuity and modification of the broken pieces was taken down to $5.00 repair. It would have been $0.00 but a Mixer arm got lost in the lawn so I had to buy a new set of them.

On the bright side I picked up a new receiver for my T-Rex as it was marked down by $10.00 so I'm actually ahead.

Have Fun!


Make that a $25.00 repair down to a $5.00 one, I bend the main shaft so often I don't even think about it, I just bend it back.

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Ya, Ive checked all the above that you've mentioned and have been a member of bladecprepair for quite a while. I am now trying a new spindle to see if that works.

This all happened because I was working on my loops, and did one a little low to the ground. I finished the loop but I still got its famous "bog down". It smacked the ground and stayed there, didnt break a blade or anything, it even stayed upright.

RE: E-FLITE BLADE CP PRO
 

Alex,
I had a bad vibration problem way back, I moved one of the fly bar weights in about 1/8 of an inch, been working well ever since.
Just give it a try, move one in, if it gets worse put it back and then move the opposite weight in.

Let us know what you find, I love to know what is causing the vibration.

Dave / Choppersrule