blade 400 trainer balls

[maxman55]

Finally the wait is over i reiceive my blade 400 today, i want to now if the e-flite trainer balls are good for beguiners my worries are about the size of the e-flite trainer. can anyone recomend one in specific. thanks

[Gsquared08]

If you mean the E-Flight training gear for the CX2, then no. They don't extend out far enough to stop a blade strike.

A google search brings this up but I think it's a bit expensive and there are ones made for the 400-450 size but can't find it:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cnchelicopter.com/catalog/07162007supertrainingkit.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cnchelicopter.com/servlet/the-RC-heli-training/Categories&h=390&w=350&sz=20&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=8iQk_k4JaK7xfM:&tbnh=123&tbnw=110&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dblade%2B400%2Btraining%2Bgear%26um%3D 1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1B3GGGL_enUS248US250%26sa%3DN

Wooden or carbon fiber rods, ping pong balls and zip ties will do the job. If HeliMix reads this, he may be able to post some of pics of his homemade setup. It ain't pretty but consider how ugly your heli will look without them (trust me:mad::mad:

[KevinV916]

I just picked up a B400 this past Saturday as my first heli. The training kit that my LHS had seemed really small, so I decided to make my own.

I used some 3/8" wooden dowels, a plumbing Tee, and some practice golf balls. One dowel goes all the way through (the one without the arm on the Tee), and the other 2 dowels are cut to size. It seems to work great since it helped me with my first attempt at flying tonight.

http://www.nivek.us/blade400/B400.jpg

http://www.nivek.us/blade400/training-kit.jpg

[Redfire SVT]

I personally do not like training gear.

[KevinV916]

Hey Redfire, any reason why or just personal preference? Would you suggest a beginner use them or does it promote some bad habits early on?

[OCD 4 RC]

I ran into the same problem. I used the balls from my CX2 training gear and put them on 2 carbon fiber rods that I got form the LHS, zip tied them to the landing gear and went for it. Worked great and they were cheap.

[maxman55]

ok thanks to all tomorow i will go to the LHS to see what i can found.

[sokal]

when i used gear i made my own with steal rods and foam balls
the rods were like twice the rotor diameter

things us crazys will do to fly not to mention all the other crazy contraptions ive made to learn from (man were they dumb):arggg:

[notreallyme]

you say they were dumb but look at the way you fly now, did any of them help at all?

[dhoffroad]

yea make some it's prety easy mine is as simple as it gets just used some zip ties on the skids, wood dowel and some wiffle balls. the ones in the pics are a little large but they work good for keepin "things" off the ground....I have some wiffle golf balls I'll be using shortly. one quick thing if you do it this way put some type of mark on the dowels for center point and I would recomend making sure that the balls are "ballanced" I used a scale to make sure they all weighed the same I had to drill some new holes in a couple of them to make them weigh in the same...

and one more thing if I did'nt use them I would have spend allot more $$ than I have repairing things.....

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a284/dhoffroad/DIGI00772.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a284/dhoffroad/DIGI00771.jpg

[SeaComms]

Pool toys were the go for me

[tommy_b_o_y]

this might seem obvious, but don't fly over grass with your training gear on! unless the grass is like the greens on the golf course, you will snag and crash. i did this just this weekend. it was like my 4th ever flight, and i tried to bring it down smoothly, but the ball snagged on some monkey grass, and wham! had to straighten that feathering shaft out again.

thats why i don't like training gear. gets in the way for me now. it did help in the basement, where the floor is slick. once i got landings and takeoffs down pat, it wasn't necessary.

[keiser BLADE]

i used gear on my cp, but i never put it on my 400,
just my .002
brandon

[Gsquared08]

I just picked up a B400 this past Saturday as my first heli. The training kit that my LHS had seemed really small, so I decided to make my own.

I used some 3/8" wooden dowels, a plumbing Tee

Genius!!That plumbing tee is soooo smart. I have been racking my brain trying to find something that connects my rods together but didn't think they made a tee that small. :noteworthy:noteworthy

[xpower180]

I have had my B400 for 2 months now, and originally bought some training gear for it, which I never really got comfortable with.

To be honest, I just bobbed around without much control, relying on the gear to save the heli - it didn't really give me the confidence to 'go for it'.

Most people would say that learning to fly a helicopter is tough, and I would say that by far the toughest part is overcoming the fear factor!!!

I decided to fit some Trex 500 landing gear, which made the B400 look much more stable on the floor, and lifted the tail blades clear... took it straight outside with the new gear on (no training balls) and went for it!

I have to say I have never looked back from that day, i can hover without really thinking about it now, and am ready to try some side-on.

IMHO no training gear will substitute getting over the (understandable) fear of crashing - get out there and KNOW you can fly this thing - and have some fun!! :)

[maxman55]

ok with the help of all, this is what a could make with 2 carbon rods from the LHS and the four balls of the e-flite trainer. thanks again is working great.

50995

[M.Huerta]

Tommy, if you don't want the balls to snag on the grass you can use ping-pong balls which are lighter than wiffle balls.:hammer

[Bladey]

I have had my B400 for 2 months now, and originally bought some training gear for it, which I never really got comfortable with.

To be honest, I just bobbed around without much control, relying on the gear to save the heli - it didn't really give me the confidence to 'go for it'.

Most people would say that learning to fly a helicopter is tough, and I would say that by far the toughest part is overcoming the fear factor!!!

I decided to fit some Trex 500 landing gear, which made the B400 look much more stable on the floor, and lifted the tail blades clear... took it straight outside with the new gear on (no training balls) and went for it!

I have to say I have never looked back from that day, i can hover without really thinking about it now, and am ready to try some side-on.

IMHO no training gear will substitute getting over the (understandable) fear of crashing - get out there and KNOW you can fly this thing - and have some fun!! :)

Seconded for the TRex 500 landing gear, it's a lot more stable and more robust than the 400 standard gear.

[Swashmix]

Is there a picture around with the TRex 500 landing gear installed on the Blade?

[maxman55]

today i order my trex 500 landing skids but i would like to now if you need to make any modifications to fit . and here is the link to a video of a blade with the 500 skids i like this one.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r23bbb3i8NU

[Swashmix]

Thanks, that is a cool video.
I'm sure someone will chime in here re the necessary mods for installation.

[sokal]

these might work
http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=51125&stc=1&d=1213240004

[Gsquared08]

I think those are replicas of bull balls for truck bumpers but man, that looks like the entire "package" to me. :shock:

Shame on you, there are kids in here:thumbdown::lol:

[sokal]

I think those are replicas of bull balls for truck bumpers but man, that looks like the entire "package" to me. :shock:

Shame on you, there are kids in here:thumbdown::lol:
well this sport requires steel .......... to keep going


silence......................

[dhoffroad]

here you go now make some and put them on your blade.....and of corse we want vid of it http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112888