pete3084

ok. i've looked all over does anybody now where the new bell/hiller head for the blade cp can found.. ? some of the reviews are in now and i think i want to try one..


thanx

a610412

I just bought mine the other day. It's a unique setup on the head.
If you're a beginner, I wouldn't suggest upgrading yet. The reason I say that is because the heli becomes much more sensitive with this upgrade. It's a good thing for experienced pilots, but can be a bad thing for newbies. If you barley touch those controlls, the heli moves very quickly and reacts twice as fast.
Newbies, be aware if you have that upgrade and you drop that nose, your heli will accelerate very quickly. Don't let it get out of control!
I'm not sure where you will be able to pick one up online. I got mine in Salt Lake City.
I have only been able to fly it once with the upgrade. I had to send in my 4-1 as well as my transmitter for repair.

push rodz

My Feedback: (5)

It IS possible for a beginner heli pilot to learn with this type of head and is the "stock" head that comes on the Esky Honey Bee CP2. This is the heli that I learned to fly with and found that it is an incredible set up. And if you have never flown any other type of heli, I really don't know why it would be too difficult to learn with as opposed to the stock set up on the Blade CP. I didn't have any problems learning......... Crashes are going to occur no matter what set up you use and I really doubt if you will crash any more with the Bell/Hiller type head than any other set up. Most of this depends on your heli, the set up and your ability to learn/fly.

Most people are not aware of the fact that the Blade CP is in reality the first version of the Honey Bee. So when you buy a Blade CP, you are in fact buying Esky's old technology from Eflite! What a rip off! I've often wondered why people would buy a heli like the Blade CP, knowing that they were going to have to buy upgrades later (and spend more $$$) when you could buy the Honey Bee CP2 for the same money (or less) with the upgrades already included and ready to fly right out of the box.........go figure.

I'm not sure who would have a complete head in stock however, you can get a complete aluminum head at this link:
[link]http://www.rc-expert.com/product-upgrade.php?pid=108#o-alu-esky-rotorhead[/link]
Just scroll down the page to find it. It will cost you some bucks........so be warned.

Good luck finding your part but when you do, install it and have a blast!

pete3084

well guy's thanks for the replies. turns out my lhs just got a new shipment in..picked one up today..around $25.00. had to get the alum swashplate just because..And yea you are right the mods and broken parts have already surpassed the initial price of the heli..Cant see spending anymore on it though when i'm approaching the price of a t-rex... one good benny about the blade is parts are pretty cheap..so why not use it to learn on?

timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

heliproz has in stock

rwthomas1

I installed the Bell/Hiller upgrade and the alloy swash on my BCP on a whim. It seemed more twitchy and responsive. I am still learning, only a little forward flight and lots of hovering. IMHO, the upgrade is not worth it. I pulled the parts back off, resealed them in the blister packs and returned them to the LHS. For my purposes the "upgrade" didn't do much except spend my money. The BCP is a tough little heli. I have crashed hard many times and often there is no damage or minimal damage. The Bell/Hiller setup had more moving parts, etc. and looked more fragile that the stock parts. RT

push rodz

My Feedback: (5)

Keep in mind that the upgrade is primarily for better 3D performance and it will be more responsive. Once you get to the point that you want to fly more advanced maneuvers as well as inverted maneuvers, etc., you will want the responsiveness that this type of head provides. Starting out, you would still want to keep the weights on the flybar as well as training gear on the bird. Both of these help to stabilize the heli, which is what you really want when starting out.

As with anything new, you must allow yourself time to get accustomed to the way the heli will handle with this head as it just takes time and patience to develope the necessary skills to fly. But it's not impossible with this head. Personally, I think this type of head is an advantage to start with because you are not already used to the slower responsiveness of the stock head that comes on the BCP. Just my oppinion. I had no problem with the Bell/Hiller head when I started and liked the way it responded to input although when first starting out overcompensation is common and quite natural. Just like when flying fixed wings, it takes time to develope you skills. And so naturally, when you overcompensate you get a more immediate response from your stick input......whether you want it or not.

As far as durability, it can survive some major abuse. I have plowed in to my garage door about header high and the heli dropped about 8 feet, slamming on my concrete drive and the only damage was to the main blades and snapped one leg on the skid. The blades were replaced and the skid was repaired. Nothing happened to the head or anything else on the heli. I was back in the air in no time. In my book, that's major abuse.

Dude........you would have really liked the head if you would have given it a chance and played with it a little longer. I promise you - you'll want it back in no time.

michaelx

Hi,
I found this:

from this site:
http://www.helighost.com/viewstory.php?sid=14

It's a little scary, the 4-in-1 of the HN CP2 ?

push rodz

My Feedback: (5)

Dude........since you're gonna quote me and quote the review that you ran across, then quote the whole thing, which is from the same site as you list:

The statement made about the 4-IN-1 unit is not saying that it is a "bad" unit, it simply means that since it has everything (i.e., receiver, esc, mixer and gyro) included in to the "ONE" unit, that if you crash it BAD ENOUGH you may have to replace the WHOLE THING. This is a disadvantage since everything is intergrated in to one unit - JUST LIKE the Blade CP and probably countless others. So while you're trying to shoot down the Honey Bee CP2, you can also shoot at your precious Blade as well 'cause you have a 4-IN-1 unit too! And the real hoot about it all is that it is most likely made by the same freekin company.........

The previous statement that I made, and you quoted, still stands true. You're flying Esky's old technology and buying it from Eflite. To me, if it's old technology then the new must apparently be better because if it ain't broke - don't fix it! I personally don't have anything against the Blade CP and happen to think it is a very good micro heli. But considering the upgrades that you must purchase ADDITIONALLY just to get it up to speed with the stock Honey Bee CP2 seems a little ridiculous considering the retail price tag is about the same. The only advantage that I see of the Blade is that you may find parts a little more readily but even with that, many parts are interchangeable. In allot of cases, the Blade parts are more expensive as well. So, Eflite is getting in to your pockets pretty deep when it's all said and done. If you are happy with it (the Blade), so am I 'cause I own the new technology (the Honey Bee) without having to purchase separate upgrades (at a greater cost).

The only thing scary is people that are misinformed and then try to shoot down a perfectly good product through their ignorance or stupidity<<<<that's still out for the jury to decide........

michaelx

Hi push rodz,
First: sorry I did not quote the whole review, as I just think the link is enough if anyone might like to look at.

Frankly I am looking for a heli to begin with - I was fixed wing pilot - and I see that the HBCP2 price is quite attractive, even much cheaper than the Blade CP. It's $152.99 on hobbyjapan200.com now with lipo and ready for 3D out of the box:
http://www.hobbyjapan2000.com/store/...?prod=ESKY3D6B
kinda too good to be true, or Eflite overpriced their product ?
I come up with there might be some trade offs ?
How would you think ? Need your suggestion.
I would be more than happy to get a HBCP2 with about half the price of the upgraded Blade CP. I'm still doing the research on that.
Thanks

push rodz

My Feedback: (5)

Either heli (HB2 or BCP) would be a good place to start unless you want to spend a bit more for the T-Rex. Since I do not own a Blade (although I have flown one) I cannot speak from an owner's viewpoint. But as you may can tell from my previous posts, I am more inclined to feel that the HB2 is the better choice of the two, if you plan to go on to more advanced maneuvers because the upgrades are already included with the HB2 and the only thing left to purchase is replacement parts.

Some things you may want to take in to consideration too is:

1.) Do you want to go with an electric heli or glow heli? If you are limited on space in which to fly or even time in which to fly........electric is a good way to go. If you have a flying site that would support a larger, nosier glow heli then glow might be your best choice. Both have their own distinct advantages as well as disadvantages. Your situation, desire, personal preference and bank account will be the deciding factors here.

2.) What are the guys in your club flying? If you get the same model that others in your club are flying, you will already have a really good advantage by being able to rely on their experience to help you in setting up yours, etc.

3.) What heli and parts does you LHS (local hobby shop) carry? Being able to purchase replacement parts from a local source is much quicker, and most of the time (but not always) cheaper than buying over the net. Especially when you consider the shipping charges that you will pay when ordering over the web. If you do not mind waiting (usually only a few days) on parts to arrive and can order multiple parts from the same place which cuts down on shipping, then this is not as big an issue.

I order a tremendous amount of gear, parts, etc., over the web and am well pleased with this arrangement. Normally I will buy multiple quantities of the same parts (that I know I will need) to cut down on shipping and having to wait for things to arrive. Plus, my LHS stocks the Blade and replacement parts for it but doesn't for the HB2. So in a sense, I am forced to make purchases over the web. But I don't mind.

4.) How far do you plan to go with helis? If you're looking for something very easy to fly in the house or gym and do not plan to go any farther than that, then the Blade CX would be something that you might consider. These are built for the totally inexperienced and does not take that long to master. They too come complete (with Tx) and ready to fly right out of the box and are really quite fun to play with.

If you are serious about learning to fly helis and ultimately want to do 3D maneuvers, then you will want a full collective pitch heli like the Blade (with the upgrades of course) or Honey Bee CP2. There are others available too, you would just have to read through the threads here on RCU to learn more about them. Both come complete and are RTF out of the box.

More on this at 6 below.......

5.) How much money do you want to spend? Here's a real factor that needs to be considered. If you're on a limited budget and want something already together and ready to fly, then either the BCP or the HB2 is perfect and will not break the bank. Replacement parts are very inexpensive and for the most part available. But, if you have the funds and want to really get serious with micro helis, check in to the T-Rex 450XL or SE. These are a little more substantial helis and are in a different class of micro helis than the Blade or Honey Bee. But they are a bit more expensive too.

6.) How far do you plan to go with helis (continued)? If you know that you will be a "die hard" heli fanatic, then you may want to forget about micro helis altogether and go right in to the ultimate money pit and get a .30 or .50 size glow heli. Of course this will require you to have to buy all of your avionics, Tx (if you do not have one), and heli seperately and will be the most expensive way to go.

I too am a fixed wing pilot and have been for years but I have recently purchased an Audacity Models "Tiger 50" glow heli. If you're not familiar with it you should check it out at [link]http://audacitymodels.com[/link]. It is a pretty incredible machine and is perfect for a beginner. There are others available out there, you would just have to do some searches to find information. Although I'm glad I bought the Honey Bee CP2 to learn with the glow heli is the ultimate adventure. Had I had someone locally to help me more with learning heli flight, I may not have bought the HB2 and just went directly to glow helis as they are much easier to learn on and to fly. But for someone without any outside help, the little electric HB2 was perfect.

To make a long story short, they all have their pros and cons and for each person these will be different to some extent. You will have to make up your own mind which way you want to go and which one to get. That's the hardest part..........but once you make up your mind and get the heli in your hand you will not regret getting in to helis. If electric micro helis is what you decide then you won't go wrong with any that I've mentioned above. If glow helis is your choice, then check out the Tiger 50, or Kyosho Caliber 30 or Caliber 5 or - you may want to check out the Raptor as well. These are all top of the line (for their price range) and you can't go wrong there either.

Good luck with helis! There's tons of help right here on RCU as well as other heli groups out on the web.