Blade Cp or HeliMax axe?

[AirJet Aviation]

Any help would be great! I have a Blade CP that I banged up pretty good due to being a MORON and not taking it slow. My question is, it seems like the blade cp is built pretty crappy compared to the axe cp. Would I be better off spending 120.00 to fix my Blade cp or buy a new AXE cp? Any insight to this question would be very helpful as I really want to start enjoying this hobby and be as safe as I can. Also, any insight on which heli is better would be very helpful. Thank you.

Broken Blade CP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:(:mad::(:mad:

AirJet

[ARFJoe]

Wow! Sorry to hear about your heli.
$120 in repairs is pretty expensive. I would invest in a sim before I tried to get back in the air.
Real Flight G3.5 has a Axe CP model heli you can practive with.

[AirJet Aviation]

Thank you for the Email. Do you have a Blade CP? Well, by the time I buy a new bell-hiller head and new skids- new swash- Flat blades-bearings- tail boom and I will need to buy a Li-PO battery and charger. I need to go LI-PO cause here in Denver at 5500 ft the stock battery has no performance, so I am guessing I will spend about 150.00. I have looked at the axe cp and it seems to be built much better, all you have to do is look at the 6MM main shaft and how it is constructed with it's uni-body design. Plus the axe cp has a bigger NiMI stock battery. What do you think? I already have a sim and i think I am getting better everyday, I really want to start flying the real thing soon. Best regards!

Larry

[Ray K.]

AirJet-

I suppose that it depends on what your intentions are. I'm in the unique position that I own an ACP, and my roommate has a BCPP, so I've flown both. I find the BCPP to be a little more difficult to fly, and it seems that it doesn't survive crashes quite as well as the ACP. However, the BCPP has better parts support, and those parts are cheaper. The aftermarket is WAY better for the BCPP, and it's a more capable machine in terms of aerobatics. I don't care too much for the fuselage layout, and it's not as easy to work on as an ACP. The ACP is definitely a beefier helicopter, but you may run into the problem that I did- you'll get bored with it after only a couple months because it's not as agile as the BCPP. And doing a LiPo upgrade on the ACP is almost a requirement... the stock battery pack doesn't offer very good duration or power.

So if I were you, I'd stick with the BCPP and spend lots of time on the sim. If you were in the position that you didn't already have the Blade, I'd recommend the Axe. In terms of being a good first helicopter, it's really hard to say which is the better of the two. So just stick to your guns, and practice practice practice!

-Ray

[AirJet Aviation]

Hey Ray,

Thank you for the reply and all your COOL! post's! Well, I am rebuilding my CP and have bought an AXE on ebay. I probably should of just waited till I earned my wings a saved for a TREX but I think it will be kinda cool having a CP and a AXE to compare. Ray, you can spend a fortune upgrading these little birds as you know. How is FrankinAxe doin? This is a great hobby for me to get into as I am a Aircraft mechanic and I like to tinker. I am saving money to build a real home built Heli called an Exec 162F Check it out at rotorway.com. Do you know if you can put a heading gyro on a stock CP? I know you can on the CPP.

Larry
airjet@ricochet.com

[Ray K.]

Uh oh.... 2 helicopters now! It's over, brother. You've been assimilated. I totally feel you on the sentiment that this is a great hobby for guys like us... I'm an automotive test lab tech (which means that I'm a mechanic that likes to tinker), and I've been fascinated by anything that flies since I was very young. RC helicopters are just about the perfect hobby for me, too. Good stuff!

As far as your BCP, I can't really see why a HH gyro mod shouldn't be possible. I don't know a whole lot about what the differences are between the straight BCP and the Pro version, but I'm inclined to think that the electronics package is identical between the two. I'll talk to Adam (my roommate) about it, as he's the resident Blade expert. I'll let you know for sure when I find out. And you're also right about the small fortune thing... I don't even want to know what I've sunk into the FrankenAxe at this point! Speaking of the FrankenAxe...

It's flying very well, thank you! I'll go into more detail about it under the "separations" thread, but I tried out that new tail prop and encountered a strange situation. I also installed the MH swash and it's AWESOME! I got the TRex finished up today, and just have some little stuff left to do on the radio setup... I have to admit that I'm a little scared to fly it. I've triple-checked everything, and all systems are go. I just need to swallow hard and fly it now....

Later!

-Ray

p.s.- If you have any questions about your ACP when it arrives, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be happy to help you out!

[AirJet Aviation]

Thanks Ray, Well I am going to order a MH swash for the AXE and the CP. From what you said the metal swash from HeliM sucks!!!! i like the silver anyway. I guess there is some weired wiring that you have to do with the 4-1 unit to add HH. Thank you for asking your roomate for me. Hey did you look at the home built Heli I want to build? WWW.rotorway.com (http://www.rotorway.com)

Larry
(2) CP'S now
(1) AXE CP
NEWBIE to RC

[jeffk]

I dunno that I'd cal lit "weird wiring". It's actually pretty straightforward and simple to add a HH gyro to the AXE. Pretty much all you have to do is get a GY240 or similar, and a small ESC for the tail motor. Follow the instructions here: http://manuals.hobbico.com/hmx/hmxe04-gyro-manual.pdf
And you're good to go. The whole thing took me about a half-hour.

[AirJet Aviation]

Hey! Thank you for the replay. I am actually talking about a blade cp with the 4-1 controller. i know on the AXE cp it is simple. Great Forum.

Larry

[Ray K.]

Larry-

I talked to Adam, and he said that the HH gyro upgrade on his Blade was pretty simple. He also said that as far as he knows, the electronics are identical between the two models. So I guess you're all systems go, man! I haven't had a chance to check out the home-build job your doing, but I will soon.

Take care!

-Ray

[AirJet Aviation]

Ray,

I think what I have to do is seperate the receiver part of the 4-1 controller.
www.rotorway.com (http://www.rotorway.com)

Larry

[AirJet Aviation]

Cool!! Well I haven't started the home build kit yet, I am working my @#$ off saving the money for it. Glad to hear you got your SA in the air AWSOME!! i can't wait to get to that point. Hey have you seen the home made floats for Micro Heli's?

Larry

[tailStrike]

I've been looking for good helis in that price range to recommend for a friend, and I think the RTF HB king V2 for $150 is a good bet. I'm not a fan of motored tails.

[Ray K.]

Larry-

That Rotorway Exec looks freakin' awesome! I have no doubt that it's probably kind of expensive, but you gotta pay to play, right? How many people do you know that own their very own full-size helicopter?!?! I don't know any. Very cool! I'd fly to work every day... park on the roof... screw traffic!

I'm pretty stoked about the SA... what a great helicopter! I think of it as the "cheaper to maintain" SE. As far as I can tell, my SA is simply a de-blinged SE. I'm certainly going to have fun converting it into an SE, though. It would certainly be cheaper to just buy an SE in the first place, but I'm gonna save money in the long run in repair costs.... it's just a matter of time before I crash it. And if the TRex goes anything like the FrankenAxe project, I'll have enough spare parts and whatnot left over that I'll have an SA AND an SE when I'm done... not a bad deal! I know I'm getting ahead of myself here, but I'm already reseaching which model nitro .50 I'd like for my next heli... Mmmmm... Pantera.... But the Nitro Pro TRex 600 has suddenly become a very attractive option, considering how impressed I've been with the SA.

tailStrike-

My roommate, Adam, has a HB KV2. He's been trying like Hell to get it flying... he's been having some radio setup issues. Other than that, it looks like a pretty cool little chopper, and I think that your friend would do well with one. That said, he's been eyeballing my SA and is thinking of getting one also. With a pricetag almost double that of the KV2, I still think that it would be better to simply skip the HoneyBee and get the TRex. Just my opinion, though.

Later!

-Ray

[tailStrike]

Yeah, I would recommend a rex or MT, but having two new little ones, he's not able to frivolously dump a bunch of dough into the hobby like me. I'm just trying to talk him out of the walkera's. He's looking at them because some come with brushless. I have a 400DH that I would be willing to donate to see him stick with the hobby :).

[AirJet Aviation]

It brings a tear to my eye thinking about all the fun you Trex people are having! Well, the home build real Heli from www.rotorway.com (http://www.rotorway.com)
costs around 68,000, they offer a 4 pay program that allows you to buy sections at a time, so when your done building the first part you buy the next part. The first section is around 12,000, which includes your fuselage, i.e. tail boom, cabin, and I believe rotorsection. ALOT OF RIVITING! I am thinking about a 2nd on the house, YIKES!!! I have some cool pictures of these heli's, I will post them if someone will tell me how to attach pictures. Once again thank you all for your help in my new hobby. My AXE will be here next week, so I am sure I will have questions after I crash:smokin:

Larry
NEWBIE
(2) blade CP'S
(1) AXE on the way
Rotor Pilots Rock!!!!!