Greg Covey

When I first saw the [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJKV9&P=ML]Interactive Toy Blade Runner Helicopter[/link] at our indoor fly-in last month, I couldn't believe that it was so easy to hover so I decided to buy one at Tower Hobbies for only $68.

Greg Covey

The Lithium charger is integrated into the transmitter but is fed external power from a wall plug-in transformer. This was a nice design concept that does not deplete the 9v transmitter battery.

The transformer output plugs into the transmitter and the cable from the back of the transmitter plugs into the bottom of the heli for charging. An LED indicator tells you when it is fully charged.

Greg Covey

After only a few practice hovers, I decided that I must see what was inside.

I cut away the plastic jacket "heli body" and reduced the weight from 1.8oz to 1.7oz RTF.

The inside design was simply amazing! A single Lithium cell powered the two main motors for the counter-rotating blades as well as the tiny fan motor in the tail for forward/reverse direction. The landing gear was the receiver antenna.

Greg Covey

I had my wife take some photos so you could see how easy and safe the Blade Runner is to fly right in your own living room!

Greg Covey

This design really is a "living room flyer".

Note that I soldered a JST connector onto the Lithium cell terminals so I can use my Apache 2500 charger.

r/c funflyer

mmmmmm that looks cool but i wudnt spol it by taking the cover off it

roq

Taking the cover off it lowers the weight, increases flight time, and reduces stress on the motors (increasing the length of time they last). The inventor of the helicopter actually has discussed this online. Many people have also made some very nice papercraft canopies for it, I made a Bell version with transparency, looks very nice. In any case it flies best and longest with no canopy and the CG adjusted to your preference by moving the battery or adding weight. Bladerunner owners have performed dozens of modifications on this fantastic, affordable little RTF heli, many of which improve performance and appearance. It flies great right out of the box, and even better modified.

roq

r/c funflyer

oh i just think it would spoil it but thats in my case[8D]

roq

Ah, I see what you mean. Of course it is possible to "spoil it" by cutting the cover off or modifying it. But luckily hundreds of people have removed the cover without spoiling it . In fact they've managed to greatly improve it. Of course this was done at their own risk and it does require some minimal level of manual skill, so obviously people shouldn't try it if they are not confident they won't damage it. This is my unspoilt, customized bladerunner for example:



It flies just as well as it did with the rather ugly stock plastic cover. Of course as I noted before, the bladerunner flies better and longer with no canopy, or just the windshield section of the original cover glued to the body, giving it a "bug" appearance. There are many other modifications that improve performance, some of them are almost essential in fact. Reducing the load on the motors by reducing the weight (by removing the cover) and reducing the blade pitch on the rotors is a very useful modification since it not only increases flight time but greatly increases the life of the motors. The motors can burn out rather quickly with the stock cover and blade pitch.

roq

Greg Covey

It was actually the engineer part of me that cut the cover off as I was amazed at its performance and stability. I just had to see what made it work!

Since flying it without a cover, I did notice that the motors were warm after a flight. In my case, I am using it for fun livingroom hover practice in the Winter months.

Has anyone replaced the stock Lithium yet with a known upgrade for longer flights?

How about any improvements in forward or reverse direction thrust?

r/c funflyer

wow,that is so cool.

roq

Regarding the motors. My first motors burnt out pretty fast with the cover on. The motors can be replaced but they are hard to get ahold of. If you reduce the blade pitch on both rotors so the rotors spin faster this should reduce the heat. I think it's ok if they are just warm. mine were too hot to touch after short flights.

See my e-mail for other info about the bladerunner..

Roq

Greg Covey

Roq,

Thanks for the links and feel free to post them here as well.

I discovered that if I remove the heatshrink on the tail boom end and cut away the tail blade ring that I have much improved forward and reverse authority. I can fly circuits around my living room now and get away from hazzards like furnace heat air flow.

I will look at the links to see what folks are replacing the Lithium cell with. Since I seem to have plenty of thrust, a slightly heavier cell with more duration should work fine.

roq

Great .

For all those interested in the bladerunner and modifications for it, here are some links to some very long threads on rcgroups containing a wealth of info about it (including posts by the guy who invented it):

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=279923

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=294497

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=318262

and here is a document that contains a lot of information collected from those threads:

http://theclassroom.50megs.com/Blad...Information.doc
OR
http://theclassroom.50megs.com/Blad...Information.pdf

Greg Covey

It appears that my last modification was known as the "cat killer" mod. although I doubt if you could even hurt a mouse with that low level of power.

I'll try the Kokam 340mAh cell next to see how much the duration is increased. My motors only seem to get warm with the chassis removed.

Greg Covey

I replaced the stock Lithium cell with a Kokam 340mAh cell. The Kokam cell was a bit larger but should provide 2 to 3 times the flight duration.

Greg Covey

I tested my Blade Runner with the Kokam 340 cell and discovered that the extra 0.1oz in weight forced me to move the cell aft by about 1/4". My all-up weight is now equal to my initial stock weight with the original jacket on but my duration has doubled!

I did notice that after 3-4 minutes of flying that the motors were much warmer than before so I let it sit for about 60 seconds. I could then fly for another 3-4 minutes without recharging. So far, this technique has worked for 5 cycles. I am now playing games like taking off the floor and landing on the kitchen table or a smaller platform like my transmitter case...much fun!

I am receiving a new Kokam cell to test out on my Blade Runner. It is another 340mAh cell that has a more narrow form factor. It is not a 20C cell and is also lighter than the other 340mAh cell for flight packs. This cell is used on the Lithium upgrade for the FMA Skysprite and it may provide the best of both worlds (double duration without extra weight) for my Blade Runner.

Gordy62

Hi,

I'm new to R/C heli's, but was big into R/C aerobatic planes many years back (now getting back into flying with electrics).

Just for kicks I got a BladeRunner. It great fun; hard to beat for the bucks! I'm getting flight times of around 5-6 minutes by allowing it to rest for about 30 seconds after the rotors start to initially slow down a little.

My question: How does the capacity and weight of a 340 mAh Li-Po cell compare with the cell furnished with the BladeRunner? Was kind of run times should I expect? Also, if the run times are much greater, do the motors tend to overheat?

Thanks for any help/advice.

Happy hovering!

Gordy

Greg Covey

Hi Gordy,

The Kokam 340mAh cell is about 0.3oz compared to the stock 0.2oz cell. The flight time is about double and it does heat up the motors due to the extra weight and longer flights. It is best to let it rest like you are already doing.

Keep in mind that the high current capability (20C) of the Kokam 340mAh cell really provides a much higher capacity when drawing low currents on the Blade Runner. This is why mAh ratings don't always add up. For example, the stock cell may be rated at 300mAh at a lower current drain.

A different Kokam 340mAh cell is available from FMA Direct as a Lithium upgrade to their RTF Skysprite. I will be testing this cell out soon to see if the lighter weight provides a motor cooling benefit over the 20C Kokam 340mAh cell.

Remember that this magnificent design is created from compromise in many areas. When we disturb one compromise, another area may suffer.

Greg Covey

Here is a video of my Blade Runner from last weekend.

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/rcu2/AeroFlakes2_13_05a.wmv]AeroFlakes 02/13/2005 Blade Runner[/link] (3.2meg)

Maxtor

I want one!
UK Sucks a*se on pricing, Tower Hobbies in US - $67.99 - from a hobbystore in UK it's equivalent to $151 !
I seem to buy all of my 'toys' from US or HongKong now - far cheaper even after adding postage.

Gordy62

Hi Greg,

Thanks again for your helpful info. I got a 2-cell 340mAh Li-Po from Bishop Power Products since they didn't have a 1-cell in stock. I'll send the other cell to my older son up in Nebraska for his BladeRuner as soon as I get mine installed and verify the results.

Right now I'm in the middle of completing a Scorpio Raven (new, from the Hobby Lobby folks). I'm enjoying the experience of working with a foamy; it's sure different from the old balsa and Monokote routine of yesteryear. One has to be really careful, doing everything on a soft worksurface to keep from dinging things; Scorpio recommends a thin sheet of foam rubber (can't get away from that foam!). I use terrycloth towels, which also work well.

I checked the Scorpio website for the Raven, which was translatd from Italian. I got a kick out of the translation for the Raven's "Molded foam fuselage." Translated, it came out as "Preformed concrete slab." Just hope the brushless motor can get my concrete slab airborne!

Tony, from Bishop Power Products has also been of help. I bought a 2600mAh PolyQuest Li-Po for the Raven. Only problem is, the darn thing is too long to fit properly on the battery hatch without interfering with the latching mechanism. He shows a 2600mAh PolyQuest Li-Po on his website that has perfect dimensions for the Raven, and I sent him an e-mail this morning. Just hope he has it in stock.

I'll let you know how the Kokam 340mAh cell works out in the BladeRuner as soon as I get a chance to test it.

Best regards,
Gordy

micro-flight226

I just got my blade runner and i love it. I have done only a few mode and it flys so much beter

lastdayonearth

have just had my blade runner for about a week now and curiosity got the better of me as I too wanted to see its insides!!
I've had a slight problem with it having the tendancy to yaw to the left and have tried different ways to resolve this but its not too much of a problem.

I havent managed to get a reply from the guys at interactivetoy.com yet but dont supose any of you guys know what it'll cost to ship a replacement set of blades over here to the uk?

dont suppose anyones tried fitting a mini cam to one of these yet

i have just got one of these off ebay

I may be able to lighten it by chopping off the connector plug as i will not need this anyway

Greg Covey

I haven't seen any replacement parts for the Blade Runner...even over here in the US.

When my upper blades got a bit taddered from hitting walls and lending it to newbies, I supported the broken areas with clear cellophane tape.

If you heli veers to one side, it may be a balance issue. Try adding a small foam piece to the opposite side and keep adding more until it hovers straight.