Where to from the CX2?
 

Greetings all. I am fairly new to Heli's in general but I am getting fairly comfortable with my CX2. Would it be best to go to the CP+ next or is the CP Pro OK. OR does anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks.

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

I started with a cx and wanted more out of it very soon after getting the hover down good. Inside real nice to play with but outside, NOT. After much a-do, I finally went to the Blade 400 mostly because of price and a radio I can live with for some time. I have since flown the cp pro and belt cp. The belt was better in my opinion but neither one was as stable as the B400. IMO I say go with the 400 class or even a trex if you can afford it but I think you can’t beat the B400 for the money.

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

I started flying 5 months ago started with the cx2 then the hbk2 then the blade400 2 belt cp,and a trex 600, I must say I did not fly my b400 much maybe 10 flights and then sold it ,I took my belt and added a telebee gyro a rx for my dx6i and I just love them to me the belt cp is a great heli for 189.00 the tx sucks but I flew it for 2 months with the stock tx and stock rate gyro and it work but i must say the dx6i is a much better radio.Heres 2 vids one of the belt belt rite out of the box the onther is the belt cp with a couple of ugreads .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0JIo-qKL1s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXhL1wjQujc

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

Thank you both for the quick response! I will definitely have to re-think my plan about advancing. I really appreciate the videos and I was truely impressed by the windy day flying! Thank you both again!

A bad day flying is better than a good day doing anything else;)

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

IMHO, you have several choices.

Some go from the CX2 to a single-rotor, fixed pitch Heli, such as the Falcon 40 or Walkera #4.

Myself, I made the investment at the beginning and bought a TREX SE V2. If you have the cash, go for this Heli. You will not be disappointed! ;)

If you are on more of a budget and / or do not have a good radio already, you can go for the Blade 400; keeping in mind that you will most likely be shelling out a little over $100 very soon after purchase for new servos.

There are also many TREX clones out there that can be had for less money than the TREX: CopterX, HDX450, etc...

The little CX2 was the bird that transformed me from a casual flyer to a Heli addict! Now that the season is upon us, I am out at the field flying my TREX almost every day! :D

So, my advice is to set your budget, do some research and make up your own mind. One other factor to consider is the availability of parts. Check all of the hobby shops in your area (if any) and see if they stock parts for a certain brand of Heli over another. Yes, the Internet is great and all parts can be ordered online, but it is NICE to have a LHS nearby that supports your brand.

HTH

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

Yep another vote for the Blade 400, I have a trex and from talking to lhs the 400 is the nicest 2nd copter out, and fairly easy to repair/cost-wise.

Remember in term of what to get:

1st look for Parts Availability, nothing like getting home, wrecking, and finding out you can't fix it. Get expensive stuff online, get day to day parts from lhs.
2nd look for maintenance costs what will it cost you to fix it, ask here we'll tell you which parts break and how much they cost.
3rd look for initial startup costs, these include the heli itself and then the upgrades you need to make it flyable (blade 400 needs servos/belt cp needs good radio/etc...


Other things to think about:

1. Don't cheap out you will regret it
2. For every hundred dollars you spend on heli spend that many hours leveling and 90ing servos.
3. Spend lots of quality time with number 2
4. Have fun.


DY

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

Personally i have taken the fixed pitch 2nd step and do not regret it at all. You can get one shipped for around $100 RTF. The are not the capble birds the 450 class CP helis are but they have some other advantages for a rookie single rotor flier. They are very durable. I can crash mine and most of the time you can straighten out the blades and go again. This is not the case with a 450 CP heli. you crash it you have repair time and bills. I have heard many new 450 fliers talk about 2 hours to rebuild and setup a head. The parts for the FP helis are also very cheap. You can rebuild the entire head for under $15 and in under 30 minutes. I think that this is a huge advantage over a CP for a newbie. Flying single rotor is so much different than coax helis. I had a CX2 for many months before I bought my FP. I could hover it nose in 12 inches from my face and all in all do just about anything with it that a coax will do. When I got my FP it took me 6 packs and probably 30+ crashes from tipping over/loosing control to get it into a stable hover of any kind. Just that alone would pay for the heli in repair bills to a CP heli. I think it's a wise step to help make the learning curve a little less brutal on the pocketbook.

That being said I have heard of many people learing single rotor on a 450 CP heli and not regretting that either. They are fairly stable and if you go that route you will have a heli that you won't outgrow for a while. I will be buying a bigger CP heli in the future but right now I am having a blast learning orentation and FFF on the Falcon 40 FP. It's a good little trainer. As far as the CP or CPP go I don't think that you will find anyone here that would reccomend either one of those to a beginner. The are 300 class and not too stable. I have never flown either but I have read that they are tough little dudes to tame. If you are wanting to go with a collective pitch certainly buy a 400 class or higher.

I think that it all comes down to personal prefrence and/or budget. Hey if you've got the funds go with a Trex. I would've!:D If you've a mind to save money and train with a durable inexpensive to fix heli a FP is a great step.

Good luck and have fun whatever you choose.

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

make some training gear and get the b400

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

Once more, to you all, Thank you!! As for parts availability, I live in a fairly small town and there is only one hobby shop. They carry an excellent supply of Eflite equipment and I know they carry Hobby Lobby. I think they will have ESky. I know for sure I can get B400 and I'll get new servoes when / if I do. I am also considering an Esky Belt CP. I am scratching 300 class from my list of possibilities. Another big thank you for verifying this for me:) One last question... it seems that is might be a good idea to get a fixed pitch heli in the meantime while I decide on the B400 or the Belt CP. It seems this is a good idea. Is this the case? All I have flown so far is my little Blade CX2.

This is one fantastic site with folks like you all on it taking time to help a rookie out! Thanks again (and again, and again, and again....:))

A Bad day flying is better than a good day doing anything else.

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

Ah yess..... and I will DEFINITELY make some b400 training gear! Thanks!

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

I'm like UTM, I went Blade CX2, then Fixed Pitch with a Walkera #4/Falcon F40/Honey Bee FP from there I jumped to a Honey Bee KingII and now I'm off to a CopterX450SEV2. To follow up with what Bry said local parts support is huge. If you have a local hobby shop that carries the Honey Bee Fixed Pitch that would be my vote. I'm a huge fan of learning single rotor with a fixed pitch machine, strictly for the reason that they are a tough sturdy machine and can take a real beating. Cheap and easy to repair, easy to setup and most of the time when you ditch, straighten out the blades and lift off. Your not going to be able to do that with a CP machine. Once you have become comfortable with the fixed pitch the jump to a collective pitch is painless.
Whatever you decide your addiction gets worse with every helicopter!

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

I too started out on the Blade CX. After about a month or so of flying it, I wanted a new heli. At the time, I opted for the Heli-Max AXE CP, thinking that it would be a good "step up" bird because it was a bit larger and more traditional in construction than the Blade CP/CP Pro. I never really got the hang of it to well, and spent more in upgrades than the heli was worth (all aluminum head, carbon tail boom, JCS plastic trainer blades, Spektrum DX7 radio). After a year's hiatus from flying (deployment), and about 6+ months during that year with RealFlight G3.5 sim, I went to pick it back up again only to find 3 stripped servos. I thought that I would just continue upgrading with a brushless motor, E-Flite G90 gyro, and better servos. The clerk at the LHS made a point to me that I knew, but wasn't thinking about. That point is that for what I had spent on the AXE CP, I could've had a nice 400-450 class heli. That's when I decided to take the plunge and get the Blade 400. That is THE BEST heli purchase I have made. I went from hovering for about 30 seconds on the AXE CP to hovering a full battery pack on the 400, ON THE FIRST PACK. I too, have also experimented with the FPs (Venom Night Ranger II, which is a rebadged Walkera #4 if I'm not mistaken) and the Blade CP. The Venom was easier to fly than the CP's, but not as stable as the Blade 400. I would say that the AXE CP is more stable than the Blade CP, but I would not recommend either as a step up from the CX/CX2. Your best bet IMHO, is to get a sim and a 400+ class heli, if that's in your budget. You were talking about getting an FP heli "in the meantime", I would say save your money on the FP and spend it on the sim for that, plus a sim can take you farther in the hobby and you'll never outgrow it. Even pro pilots still use a sim for practice. Not that FPs are bad, they serve their purpose, and like UTM said, they are cheap and durable. Hope this helps.

Happy flying.

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

Thank you Stump3r and Mydartswinger! What ya'll said about parts support is dead on. (LOL!!! I've learned that with my little CX2) AND I will remember, thanks to everyon'e help. So far, the Blade 400 is out in the lead for that reason. My Hobby shop guy might not like it but, hey, I don't think he's going to turn down the money:) One last question on the B400 if I may. Is the move to the DX6i radio new and, if so, do I still need to upgrade the servos? Thanks again all!! I hope I can return this favor one day!

Copper pilots don't fly... they beat the air into submission!

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

Where is Wolfpackin when we need him. A Blade 400 is a great machine to take your next step. It's going to be a bit intimidating setting it up the first few times you ditch it, but it's all part of the learning curve. I would say a servo upgrade is a must. I'm a fan of Hitec HS65MG's, they will take a real beating and come out smiling. To save a little money you could run the HS65's with the Karbonite gears. They are not as tough as the metal gears however you can buy replacement gear sets for them super cheap. They are a nice alternative. I believe Wolf runs them on his. The DX6I is a great tx and the true beauty of that tx, it will move with you as you add more helicopters to your fleet.

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

I will throw a spanner in the works and say look into the Thunder Tiger Mini Titan !!!
My previous Heli was also a Blade CX2. I looked at the Blade 400 for a while, but it just didnt seem quite what I was looking for.

I opted for the Mini Titan. This Heli is alot more on a par with the TRex 450 SE, infact TRex owners who own both say they fly the Mini Titan more!
Price wise, its very similar to the Blade 400, in an ARTF (Almost Ready To Fly) package, with just the Tail to build, plus a few small bits to finish off.

It hovers rock solid, and there is already a complete set of Hop-Ups/upgrades out there available! Full 3D is capable out of the box too.
Note Thunder Tiger's previous Heli's include the famed Raptor series, and the MT also looks very similar! Looks STUNNING!

Go with your heart at the end of the day, I did, and I am SO pleased I opted for this sweet Heli !

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

You'll find once you get the radio that the heli's get way cheaper.

I have CX/CP/Trex 450SA and I just bought another 450SA yesterday. All in all it will cost me about $450 to put it together once I have the radio/Rx.

That's a pretty good deal to have a full spare with gy401/hs56hb/S9650/AR6100/ARF Electronics in combo.(esc/motor/etc)

As they say 1 up 1 down.

The blade 400 is a prety good deal also though. I just decided that I could build my trex for about the same since I have the radio.

I've looked and the 400 is actually a little cheaper to repair than Trex/CP/others. Other than maybe replacing the gyro with a 401 it seems to be worth the money and may eventually be added to my fleet. The gyro is about $125 and you might replace the servos's or have some spares which cost about $20/ea. I recommend the HS56HB as they are cheaper, MG's if you can afford em.


DY

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

Many thanks for the superb info!! Now, for the hard part... I get to decide!!:) What a great board to go to when you need help!

A bird in the hand is RCUniverse when you have a question and need some good info!

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

Agreed the Trex board sucks which is why I spend more time here.

Nothing like oneupmanship. I wish they'd stick to the details and fixes like we do here.

Let us know if you need anything.

(Got Spindles???)


DY

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

Sorry I'm late.

The DX6i was released around the same time (shortly afterwards) as the B400 RTF package and has always been included as part of the kit.
If that's what you are asking.

You don't really need to upgrade the servos, I had about 100 flights with mine before I went to the HS65HB's.
But IMO it's the best upgrade to do when you're ready.
The problem with the stock servos is that they don't center well and are weak.
The gears strip in almost every type of crash and some have reported that they had them strip in flight, not a good thing.
I noticed a huge improvement in the way the heli flys after going to the HS65's, but you don't have to switch them right out of the box before you take the first flight.

If you do decide to stay with the stockers make sure you check all of them after every crash and hard landing.

Good luck

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

I agree Wolf keep your factory servos until you have to change or go arf and buy the HS 56 or 65 HBs. the gyro and tail servo are a good upgrade even before you need them, and just keep the factory as spares, though you won't want to go back. I suggest you use the GY401 and S9650 series (50, 54, 57s) I have a 50.

I really am pushing local peeps to buy a good radio and then go ARF on blade 400's. They cost about $100-200 more but they last longer and better flying. If you go ebay you may even come out about even. You need the decent radio anyways and the DX7 has the 5 point curves versus the 3 point.

DY

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

The DX6i has a 5 point curve.[sm=confused.gif]

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

Oh ok thanks for letting me know did not know that!!!!

Awesome.

DY

You sure it's not 3 point pitch?

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

(scribbles furiously in notebook) Whew!! Alot of info in those last posts!! Thank you both!

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

DY,

I'm sure.
Both throttle and pitch curves have positions labeled L,2,3,4,H.
My normal curves in the DX6i are:
T=0-50-80-90-100
P=40-45-50-75-100
The only programmable TX I own is the DX6i, so I can't be confusing it with another.
That's about as sure as I get on these things.;)

Maybe you're thinking of the DX6 but I'm not sure if that has 3 or 5 point curves because I don't have one.;);)

RE: Where to from the CX2?
 

I agree that the gyro/tail servo is the next good upgrade.
Some would say that it's the most important thing to do but IMHO if you spend enough time on the stock gyro/servo setup, or maybe do a lessor upgrade to a Futaba S3154 or even the Spektrum DSP75 with the G110 (stock gyro), you can get it to hold well enough to learn on.
I did it with no single rotor experience.

And right now my tail is holding really well for normal flying around, with the stock equipment. Sometimes depending on the day, temp, or how the gyro is feeling I do need to add some trim though.
I'm planning on sticking with the G110 and at some point will probably try the S3154 with it. Down the road if I start doing aggressive aerobatics or 3D then maybe I'll go for the GY401 or Logictech 2100T, but that road appears to be very long and hard to travel down .

Wierdone,
Got your notebook out?