Blade CX Tweaks & Improvements

[BladeCXMan]

Hey Guys, I'm re-posting this after I found that my .tif images wouldn't open:
Just thought I'd send in some pix of a few little tweaks I've done to my CX recently that's made it into a totally different animal as far as how it flies.
I'm replacing out most of the plastic with aluminum and this has greatly improved it's stability and performance. Particularly the aluminum swashplate. The swiss-cheesing treatment to the 4-in-1 case does really inprove stability and reduce unwanted heading drifts. I'm still reluctant about going to the metal blade holders, I've got too many standard replacement blades and hate to start buying the new type blades which are more expensive and rot available at my local hobby shop.

[Rick Rotorhead]

Hmmmmm, I wish I could get a Blade CX in UK - it looks so much better than the Lama.

[Caver451]

If anyone is curious, I did the CNC lower head and CNC swashplate upgrades from Microheli, but I decided to weigh them first:

1.42g CNC Lower Head
3.17g CNC Swashplate

0.91g Original Plastic Lower Head
2.91g Original Plastic Swashplate

The CNC parts add about 0.77g to the overall weight of the helicopter, which compared to the total weight of the helicopter, is nothing. I notice no negative performance traits with the CNC parts. In fact, it flies a little better because those original plastic swashplates are just horrible.

-Caver

[dr5liter]

Why the holes in the 4 n 1?

[BladeCXMan]

Why the holes in the 4 n 1?

Cooler electronics are happier electronics. By keeping these components cooler, there's less drift of trims and settings. Hopefully the life of the components themselves are extended as well.

[tacman]

where would you want to make some holes in the 401? any blown up photos.
i am new so im limited in knowing what modifacations i should make. how about some holes in the canopy? i have a bcx heli and i have not done anything except putting on some motor heat sinks. with me being green, should i just learn to fly it first before i might do some damage playing around?

[hertz2walk]

Hey tacman,
I just found this forum today-I'm a newbie with a bcx and cp pro. Here's a good look at several mods and fixes for the bcx, including the 4-in-1 venting. It almost eliminates the pirouette that develops later in the battery discharge.Enjoy!
http://www.dacaur.com/bladecxhelp.html#gyro

[tacman]

thanks hertz2walk.............
already seen this link and it's a great on for sure, but i still can't tell where to drill the holes........

[Daveski77]

does anyone know where to get that tail for the cx in dacaurs photos,and does it perfom well over the plastic one?

[BladeCXMan]

The tail you see can be purchased from www.bladecxpro.com for $28.

To Tacman. I really don't think the placement of the holes in the 4-in-1 housing is a big issue. I simply drilled mine randomly in areas that I could. I just tried not to structurally weaken the case. Apparently some folks are doing away with the plastic housing entirely. I was a little leary of this personally. I felt that perhaps the case provided a little protection for the delicate electronics in the case of a total wipe-out crash.

[Squirrlybird]

in the case of a total wipe-out crash


So what kind of flying are you doing with your cx :shock:

[BladeCXMan]

Oh, just the usual outdoor, backyard variety. I have a very sensitive wind indicator mounted outside and if it indicates ANY wind activity whatsoever, the CX stays grounded. I've learned this the hard way. Also I've learned to fly relatively low. Trying to "take 'er way up" usually ends in disaster one way or the other. You usually get into an upper air current that the Blade can't overcome even at full forward stick and you either end up in the next county or a tall tree or just panic and let it drop like a rock to get it back to earth! This option usually ends up pretty costly and time consuming.

[Daveski77]

Thanks for all the info on the balde cx made most of the upgrades and it really does make a difference, i can acually hover it now :D

[carlo_the_wonder_frog]

I found a really good upgrade. www.bladecxpro.com , look for the longer outter and inner shafts, with the shortened flybar. I swear by this setup, made my CX flyable in the wind and also makes it much much faster due to being able to give way more pitch without worrying about blade strikes. I have also upgraded the swash, the lower blade carrier and the upper flybar mount to aluminum, flies very well. Using a Futaba 7chp for the TX.

[Daveski77]

anyone know where to get the bcx alum parts?cant seem to find any in stock anywhere,seems like everyone has them on back order,any suggestions?

[BladeCXMan]

Try http://www.eboyztoyz.com/index.php?op=search&sval=bcx. These guys are great and usually if something is backordered, it won't be for long. They usually get stuff back in quickly and their service and prices are the best around!

[Daveski77]

thanks blademan.looked there too but all on back order

[BladeCXMan]

They have some of the blue anodized components in stock currently. It depends upon which ones you're needing.

[Daveski77]

have the ones in stock already ,,needing the swashplate,rotorhead

[Xwing Pilot]

FYI:

I have a BCX with the Thanh Tran light kit which adds a very small amount of weight over stock, but not much: the circuit board is about the size of a dime (and maybe 1/4" thick) and the LEDs and wiring are very small and cut to fit the fuselage).

On my BCX, I tried installing the following MicroHeli CNC aluminum parts:

- upper and lower blade grips (which hold MicroHeli blades)
- upper head w/inner shaft
- lower head

These parts are very high quality and look great! BUT, they are apparently way too heavy for the BCX and/or the MicroHeli blades do not perform as well as stock.

My BCX required near-full throttle to climb to ceiling height, and would only have enough battery power to stay there 30-60 seconds. Then, it would slowly drop down...irregardless of adding throttle to full throttle. Then, with the help of ground effect, it would bob back up a few feet, back down, etc. I could usually keep it hovering 1-3 feet off the ground for 2-3 minutes before wearing down the battery, fighting a toilet bowl effect the whole time. Different batteries yielded the same outcome.

When I switched everything back to stock plastic, my BCX flies great: climbs to ceiling height easily, can be trimmed to hands-off hover, and can fly all around for 8-12 minutes on a battery.

I noted the following:

1.) It seems that the CNC parts may simply be too heavy for this little bird.

2.) The MicroHeli blades are lighter, thinner, and more flexible than the stock BCX blades. This may have equated to less lift.

3.) The upper CNC blade grips for the upper blades were sloppy. There is a small set of metal washers included with the grips that caused TOO tight of a fit: I could not assemble the grips on the head! Closely re-reading the instructions, I found some small print saying that these washers were not needed on the BCX, but *were* needed if installing the kit on a Llama (these CNC parts are for either bird). Leaving the washers out as instructed left slop between the grip and the head. I believe that this may have contributed to control problems and the toilet bowl effect. The lower CNC grips fit perfectly with zero slop, but the uppers were a problem in my opinion.

4.) I called and emailed MicroHeli several times to ask for assistance, particularly with the poor-fitting upper grips. Phone calls would not go through. Emails were never returned. Online "contact" forms from the MicroHeli website were not returned.

Based on my experience, I would leave the BCX rotor system stock.

I *also* try installing ONLY the Eflite CNC upper head/inner shaft upgrade, with the rest stock. This created a very durable setup vs. the plastic upper head that breaks sometimes when you crash (where the flybar sits). However, the weight was noticeable. The BCX felt like it wanted to tip over during takeoff with the aluminum head up on the top of the assembly. It also seemed "top heavy" in flight: when going from forward flight to hover, it would dramatically pitch back first (this is normal even with stock plastic parts, but was exaggerated with the CNC upper head). I went back to the stock plastic upper head, which breaks easily but works better in my opinion.

It is interesting to note that Eflite is offering a variety of CNC parts for the BCX2. Since it appears to use the same motors as the BCX, either the 4-n-1 improvements or the smaller/lighter servos must allow it to carry the slightly extra weight better.

The BCX is sure a fun little bird. I'll bet the BCX2 will be even better. :)

[carlo_the_wonder_frog]

I have all the CNC upgrades and mine flies faster than a stock BCX by far. Stock motors/3in1. Super responsive and can fly in a little bit of wind. The only time I have low power is when I put one of the older batteries in, otherwise its got plenty of power for a good 10 minutes of flying. Might just be a sagging battery you have there.

[Xwing Pilot]

Wow...good for you Carlo! :)

I've tried 3 batteries with the exact same results.

Stock=flies perfect

CNC=barely flies

[No_Gassers_Here]

here's mine P.O.S. but I love it kills the night away

[dukewing]

I've had my CX since early October. Flew it the first time 2 hours after getting home, my buddy made me do it :twisted: In half a basement no less! Since then, I/we have flown almost every day, learning, breaking, learning and fixing.

It now has the CNC upper assy and the rest is stock. After watching some video of setting up the CP, I finally got a handle on what exactly makes this thing fly. I aligned my upper blades, adjusted the tracking on my lower blades and did the whole adj of the 4in1 all over again.

I just ran out 2 battery packs in a 4' X 4' area of the office without touching down after lift off. I am just blown away at what a little tweeking can do to this thing. My buddy came home this afternoon with the BCP :lolol I just finished reading his entire manual and he wants me to fly it first :arggg:

I've got some decent confidence, but not THAT much!

[Jermo]

It almost eliminates the pirouette that develops later in the battery discharge.Enjoy!
http://www.dacaur.com/bladecxhelp.html#gyro

the pir is caused by heat coming off the motor control chip getting to the gyro and causing it to drift.
Jermo