Blade Testing

[skigolfmike]

I've been real happy with the Thunder Power 325 CF blades I picked up in Toledo 4 weeks ago. However, I noticed the Blade 400 CF blades were out, so I thought I'd give them a try.

First of all, they are thinner than the stock woodies and they need shims. I didn't see any in the bag, but it would be nice if they were in there. I found some brass washers that would work and off I went.

First I did a test hover to check tracking and such. I had a funny noise and I found the motor was rubbing against the battery. Fixed that and it still was down on power and I had a vibration. I ended up going through the whole heli, I found a few minor things and gave it another shot. Still had the vibration. I checked blade tracking too.

Well, I put the Thunder Power blades back on. The vibration was gone and the head speed was back up. Not sure why that's the case just yet, but I'm going to give it a look. I did not balance the blade, so I will check that first. The Thunder Power Blades are thinner, which might explain some of the difference too.

Just thought I'd pass this along.

[shutout31]

I too bought the Eflite CFs and was not impressed. I flew them through some easy routine stuff and just didn't like the way they handled, and mine also made a strange sound. Balance wise they were fine. After messing around with them a bit I decided to try some more hardcore stuff and I can attest to one thing... When you hit something real hard witht hem ( read... my sons pickup truck ) they Blow Up real Good!!!!! I've never seen so many shards of CF in the air at one time, along with the foam core material!!! it took me 10 minutes to find all the peices of the blades. OOOps. Needless to say , I wont be replacing them. Maybe Radix next time.... ( Hmmmmm, I wonder how THEY blow up.........)

[skigolfmike]

I thought it might be an out of balance thing because I picked up a really bad vibration in the tail with these blades. Putting the TP blades back on cured that.

I think I'll pass for now on exploding blades.:wow2:

[LockMD]

First of all, they are thinner than the stock woodies and they need shims. I didn't see any in the bag, but it would be nice if they were in there. I found some brass washers that would work and off I went.


Mike, I put mine on the other day. Mine are as fat as woodies, no shims needed :confused: They do have vibrations.....need balanced had to use 2 - 2.5" of tape to balance. My overall opinion of them is just okay.

My favorite blade so far is the plastic X-400's they are shorter though prob 315?

[skigolfmike]

I'm really happy with the TPs. They are similar to a Radix. Wait until I get the Scorpion Motor in this thing. Then I'll shoot another video.

My E-Flite CF blades were really loose in the grips and needed shimming. Surprised they didn't come with shims. I'll put them on the blade balancer and see how well they are balanced.

IMHO, the think the cord on the E-Flite blades is too thick and it takes too much power to drag them around. That's it - I need more power!:thumbup:

[darkhawk22]

When I had my CF's that is before I crashed and destroyed them, they seemed a bit heavier or something as it took more throttle to get the heli to lift off. Overall the Aerodynamics of the blades were a bit different than the stock ones but they were stiffer during flight. I'm new so maybe i'm just crazy!

They do shatter like crazy though as I've went through two sets and CF goes everywhere when they strike hard enough!

[LockMD]

I'm really happy with the TPs. They are similar to a Radix. Wait until I get the Scorpion Motor in this thing. Then I'll shoot another video.



Where to you get your TP's from and how much did you spend? Did they need shimmed?

[skigolfmike]

I got 2 pairs of TP blades at the Toledo show from the TP booth. $40 total. That's the blade on the heli in the last video I shot.

Yeah, they are thinner at the grip and I had to add shims. I think they are sized for the Trex 450 grips.

[HeliMix]

Ok, a silly question I have yet to ask... Say for instance 325 blades. That is 325 mm in length one one blade?

[LockMD]

yes I believe they are measured from bolt hole (center) to the tip.

[HeliMix]

:noteworthy Thank'ey

[skigolfmike]

Not sure about that. Radix 325 blades are 315mm from the center of the bolt hole to the tip.

[LockMD]

Not sure about that. Radix 325 blades are 315mm from the center of the bolt hole to the tip.


Really?

Well I told you how much I love my plastic 315's so with this info I have a pair of Radix on order from Ready Heli. :)

[LockMD]

Well, my Radix blades arrived yesterday. Although, I dont like shimming them, I do think these will be my favorite blades now. Thanks Mike.

[skigolfmike]

Cool! Glad you like them.

[ericm7030]

Do the CF blades tend to be balanced pretty good out of the box?

I'm thinking of trying some Align carbons because they are available at my LHS.

The last set of E-flite woodies were horrible. They tracked really bad.

[skigolfmike]

CF blade quality is generally better than woodies; however, I would still check for balance.

Also, there are Align Carbons out there that aren't really True CF blades. They are heavy and are worse than stock.

[sparx-]

If you are still crashing frequently, Carbon Fiber blades are going to get really expensive really fast. There is nothing wrong with wood blades for FFF, Hovering and Aeros. You can even manage 3D on them with some good collective management.

SPaRX

[LockMD]

If you are still crashing frequently, Carbon Fiber blades are going to get really expensive really fast. There is nothing wrong with wood blades for FFF, Hovering and Aeros. You can even manage 3D on them with some good collective management.

SPaRX


Agree, not crashing much anymore at all, BUT I will put the woodies on when trying to learn something or even if in a new atmosphere. 40 bucks just for blades OUCH! that would add up fast.

[skigolfmike]

One thing you will notice going back and forth from wood to CF blades is you WILL have to re-track the blades everything you make a change. CF blades generally track better than woodies.

[LockMD]

One thing you will notice going back and forth from wood to CF blades is you WILL have to re-track the blades everything you make a change. CF blades generally track better than woodies.


Yes, I have noticed that. Argh! hate that......it will make me lazy and just mess up the good blades in training :) now now, paitience my son.......easier said than done. :YeaBaby: