Night Blades

[j_kookboy]

http://www.centuryheli.com/products/mtblades/index_rotor.html?currentid=191

http://www.centuryheli.com/products/mtblades/images/RT_night.jpg

Has anyone tried these ?

610 / 57mm aeroflat's . Nice wide cord.

The days are getting shorter and thinking of adding on nightblades.

Recommendations ?

[Anubis328]

I've got my T-Rex 450 Rigged up, but haven't tried anything on the 600.

As far as night flying goes in general... It's a lot of fun. Just make sure you have the machine lit up enough to keep orientation.

My blades have red on the tips, and blue and green on the top and bottom... that way if you flip it, the inner ring will change colors.

I also have cold light strings on it (blue on the canopy, and orange on the tail). The two colors not only give it shape, but make it easy to see which way it's facing.

I just purchased glow tail blades with the UV light. The blades aren't very visible, and there are better options for the larger helis, but they work okay for the 450.

Finally, I just put on a LED "spot light" from Dimension Engineering, that can be turned on and off using a switch on the radio. Not necessary, but it works very well and makes landing easier. (The blades actually throw enough light for me to land).

I'm leaving my T-Rex 600 alone, because I can fly that until the sun sets, and the 450 after it's gone.

One last note... There is still a time of day after the sun has set, but before it's really dark, and the heli is VERY hard to see at that point with or without lights. It seems that the heli's lights aren't bright enough to create enough contrast to be seen easily. You'll notice it gets easier to fly as it gets darker.

[j_kookboy]

This one is not for fun and I won't be flipping it by any means.

This is mainly for AP use in heavily wooded area and high cliff/mountain areas where the added visibilty will go a long way for me and the camera person.

I haven't seen anyone using the 'Aeroflat' blades. They look much wider and have a different airfoil compared to the normal cut/tipped Rotortech's.

Wondering how these aeroflat's are for pulling weight/AP use.

[AZ ChopperCam]

I like the "auto-on" feature when they start spinning. So much more handy than the MS Composit method of using jumpers as switches.

I have MS night blades on my L600 pano rig (710mm) and 550's on my stretched L10.

They help alot when shooting in low light (dawn/dusk). Combined with an AP2000i they make the machines a pleasure to fly in the dark.

DJ

[j_kookboy]

I'm also looking to replace my 600mm Funkey blades as they are starting to show some slight cracking at the roots. They've been through a lot. :)

Given the choice, which would be more suitable for AP work ?

Rotortech Aeroflats @ 57mm wide chord and weigh 125grams

Regular Rotortechs @ 55mm chord 123 grams

Vblades @ 55mm chord and weigh 135grams

A set of custom Vblades @ 60mm chord and weigh 174grams

*The custom set of Vblades are very wide and heavy. Is heavier/wider really better or will it load the system too much ?