novus cp difficulty

[motorbro1470]

i might be purchasing a novus cp and im wondering how difficult it is to fly. i have an exi450 and i can hover that okay. will the cp be hard to hover and do a little forward flight in my house. its a big room so size doesnt matter just how hard is it to hover and do forward flight?

[Jskrapper]

Haha. I bought a Novus cp a few months back and it reminded me of a mosquito on crack. It was manageable, but I was all over the cyclic trying to keep her steady. It was flyable, but not amazing fun indoors. When I took her out into the backyard, it suddenly felt like I had a full size field at my disposal. Then I grabbed the 4g6 and felt that was even better.

Bottom line is I have a 30'x25' room in my house with a cathedral ceiling so its a good size. A little FFF and pie dishes are very manageable, even a slight stall turn, but I am no good at funnels and such so I can't tell you that. As for inverted, the best I can do is hold the heli inverted and take off like that.

Btw the tail on the novus does not hold worth a damn for anything other than hovering and FFF, but again, manageable.

[motorbro1470]

thanks so much. the main motor is brushless and the tail isnt so im gonna upgrade that as soon as i get it. thank you for the response it helps a lot and i think im definetly gonna buy it now..for 100dollars rtf with 3 batterys and 5 blades and other spare parts i cant go wrong.

[Crash_Monkey]

The Novus line are literally rebranded Walkera's, and in many cases, a generation behind the comparable Walkera heli. The Novus CP is a Walkera 4G3...and Walkera seems to be phasing out the 4G3 in favor of its 4G6 line.

I would recommend not getting the Novus CP, but instead getting the Walkera 4G6S -- it's a direct drive, pitch tail (so no tail motor to deal with) and the 4G6S has a 3-axis gyro (not just HH gyro). If you prefer Helimax for whatever reason, then get the Novus 125 CP as it's basically the Walkera 4G6S. I really like this heli. Plus, if you're willing to wait, there's a flybarless version coming soon.

http://www.walkera.com/en1/particular.jsp?pn=V120D02

The parts are fully interchangeable between Helimax/Walkera (as is their Tx) -- I know this because I own the Novus 125 CP (purchased before I knew about the Walkera thing), but get Walkera replacement parts and upgrades that you can't get from Helimax (I buy from Wow Hobbies, a large, U.S. Walkera vendor, and they test fly your heli before shipping).

As a final suggestion, before you buy, you should check the Walkera threads as they are much more active and will provide lots of info for the models you might be considering. Good luck with whatever you decide to buy!

[motorbro1470]

I only bought I only bought it because it was 100 dollars and my parents gave me 150 as a budget...and I want a cp heli for indoor and outdoor

[Crash_Monkey]

Not an issue if you've already bought. Novus CP is a solid, popular heli - and parts are cheap. (see Wow Hobbies and Helipal). The extra blades will come in handy -- these heli's tend to go through them a lot when flown in tight spaces, but are fly decently outside if there's little to no wind. One money saving purchase was the Tx lipo -- my Walkera/Helimax Tx depleted alkaline batteries a lot faster than I would've expected and didn't just plug into the wall like my dx7.

Small CP helis are twitchy, but lots of fun. When looking for help, IMO it's worth checking out the walkera threads on helifreak -- there's a lot of good info there.

[CrashmanEd]

I have a Novus CP. I agree with the mosquito on crack description. I find it too squirrelly for indoor flight other than gymnasium-size indoors. Lag on collective input is long, and response is touchy. That said, I did an upgrade with a CNC head, and replaced the sheathed foam blades with woodies, and that improved the stability immensely, while still allowing good 3D flight. Compared to the maneuverability and precise control of a Blade 400, it is still nowhere near, but it is a challenging kind of fun.

[Crash_Monkey]

Originally Posted by CrashmanEd

I have a Novus CP. I agree with the mosquito on crack description. I find it too squirrelly for indoor flight other than gymnasium-size indoors. Lag on collective input is long, and response is touchy. That said, I did an upgrade with a CNC head, and replaced the sheathed foam blades with woodies, and that improved the stability immensely, while still allowing good 3D flight. Compared to the maneuverability and precise control of a Blade 400, it is still nowhere near, but it is a challenging kind of fun.

Interesting... The extra weight of the woodies didn't limit 3D performance? I might give those a try on my 4G6S. I only use foam blades as most of my Walkera flying is indoors where furniture abounds. Thought about woodies for outdoors on the assumption that the extra weight might help in light winds, but didn't think that 3D would work on anything other than CF blades. Thanks for the tip!

[Dusty1000]

Originally Posted by CrashmanEd

That said, I did an upgrade with a CNC head

Did you try the woodies with the stock plastic head? I've never tried the cnc head, apart from the mixing arms, since so many others do the opposite and 'upgrade' from the metal head to the plastic since the plastic head apparently works better.

The only metal head parts I would recommend are the mixing arms, for durability.

Originally Posted by motorbro1470

thanks so much. the main motor is brushless and the tail isnt so im gonna upgrade that as soon as i get it.

That's a good idea. Unfortunately the brushless main motor and brushed tail is the worst possible combination. Since the brushed tail struggles to cope with the weight of the stock brushed heli, it struggles even more with the added weight of the brushless main motor and esc.

The best tail motor for this heli is the 2.9g motor. The 'official' brushless 2g tail motor has no bearings, so it's lifespan will be very limited.

By far the best bang for buck upgrade I did to my 4G3 was to replace the stock 12t pinion with an 18t. With the 12t pinion, power was much the same as with a stock brushed motor. A bigger pinion REALLY wakes the heli up
With hindsight I should have probably have gone for the 16t, but I would definitely advise upgrading from the 12t.

Originally Posted by Crash_Monkey

Interesting... The extra weight of the woodies didn't limit 3D performance?

As I only fly sports I can't speak for '3D' performance, but I've tried woodies on my 4G3 (see my avatar) and the cf covered foam blades (which look just like cf blades - until you break them) when I first got the heli in 2008, but went back to the stock foam blades and have been using them ever since. Woodies are the most stable but I found cyclic response and power lacking. The heli is at it's most responsive with stock foam blades, and the CF covered foamies were half way between stock and woodies. Also I like the floaty way the heli flies with stock blades.

Durability wise, if you crash with woodies or CF blades you'll be replacing at least the feathering shaft, if not the main shaft as well; whereas as you'll no doubt appreciate, it's usually only the blades that get damaged if you crash using stock blades.

Dusty

[Jeff_Barrett]

I have a Novus 125 CP (without TAGS). I love it. It seems to be hit or miss for stability.

My own personal experience with it? If you take some time and tune it up nicely (ie; blade balancing, tracking, swash levelling, etc ... everything you'd do on your 450) it will fly amazingly stable.

If you get it with TAGS, it should be even more stable. With a few simple upgrades, you should be able to really improve the performance drastically. Durability has been very good, with the exception of the front rear rotor gear.

For indoor flying? Too fast for small spaces unless you're totally into hovering. Get an mSR for fun indoor flying... I guarantee you won't be able to put it down.

I'd get the Novus 125 CP again ... I haven't been disappointed yet ... I haven't flown my B400 since I got it.

Check the Walkera 4G6 forum on here for more information... they're the same model ...

[RaymondJ]

I have a 4g3, so same thing really.


When I first got it, I couldn't even fly. I busted up blades the moment I took off. But after some work, I have it flying nice!

I stiffened up my dampener o-rings in the head block by wrapping teflon tape around them which really slowed cyclic down.
I've programmed my TX for as much expo as it allows.
I installed a bushless tail motor the other day which was a night and day difference. I bought a new brushed motor and couldn't get it to hold durring pitch pumps at all, the BL motor works great! However at the end of a pack it starts to lose power, not sure if thats because of the LVC setting in the tail motors esc or not.

But after doing that, I can practice backwards flying and all kinds of junk at work in a 20X30 space fairly comfortably, and then I can fly it in my small apt just working on hovering and junk with out getting to worried.


The only thing I caution you on is where you mount your esc's! After installing the BL tail motor, with the esc by the RX my cog was off. And they dont give you much wire to work with, so it's kind of a task trying to manuever everything so its not super nose heavy.

[Jeff_Barrett]

Originally Posted by chronic

I have a 4g3, so same thing really.

I don't agree on this. They have some parts in common, but the similarity ends pretty quick when it comes to the tail. An electric driven fixed pitch tail performs and feels completely different than a variable pitch shaft driven tail. There is a huge difference here.

I'm also of the school that using expo to tame a bird isn't a great idea as you lose the 'feel' for the heli. Limiting cyclic travel instead of response, in my opinion, is a much better idea. You don't lose responsiveness, but you manage to limit the "oh sh*t" factor....

I'm interested in your dampening mod, but not quite following how how exactly to apply the teflon tape. Got a photo? I would like to improve cyclic response as there is a LOT of head slop on this helis.

[RaymondJ]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Canuck

I don't agree on this. They have some parts in common, but the similarity ends pretty quick when it comes to the tail. An electric driven fixed pitch tail performs and feels completely different than a variable pitch shaft driven tail. There is a huge difference here.

I... wasn't talking about the 4g6, or 125 lol, I meant the thread topic novus cp.

For the orings, just slide them over a screw driver, or an allen key. Then rip strips of teflon tape off the roll and start wrapping it up. Then just use a razor and cut around the bottom and top of the oring to get rid of the exccess teflon.

Worked good, still not sure why the metal head has THAT much slop in it with a brand new oring. Might throw on a new plastic head I have laying around and see if its tighter.

[Jeff_Barrett]

Originally Posted by chronic

I... wasn't talking about the 4g6, or 125 lol, I meant the thread topic novus cp.

Oh, duh!!! I must be smokin' funny stuff....

Then, yah, you're right. 4G3 is the same as a Novus CP.

Originally Posted by chronic

Worked good, still not sure why the metal head has THAT much slop in it with a brand new oring. Might throw on a new plastic head I have laying around and see if its tighter.

New plastic head. Doesn't matter anyway, I have a FBL kit on it's way.... wheeeeee!!

[RaymondJ]

Where is that from? I'm intrigued!

[Jeff_Barrett]

Originally Posted by chronic

Where is that from? I'm intrigued!

http://www.rchobbyhelicopter.com

You need the FBL head, the RX2601S 3-Axis Gyro, and a link set from a CB100.

[earlwb]

I would have to say that at first I thought it was difficult to fly, but I kept at it, and now I can fly it pretty well. it took a while to get used to it as it is very sensitive to the joysticks. Eventually I got it going and am able to fly it quite well.
I have replaced the motors a couple of times already, they do wear out over time.
here is a early video clip of me learning how to get the thing to hover. I was using training gear at the time too. I have since removed the training gear as i don't need it now.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaCfYt-g_So[/ame]

[CrashmanEd]

I just installed the Helimax brushless DC main motor upgrade on my Novus CP, and now cannot get to the tail to hold. Even full right trim can't quite do it. Any suggestions? Thanx!

[earlwb]

Usually that means the gears are not meshing properly and it is loosing rpms. Check the gears real close. It is easy to get the cross shaft too far in causing the gears to move apart under power. Sometimes the little gear on the tail motor moves a little if the motor gets too hot.
The other reason is the tail motor is worn out and can't turn the RPMs needed anymore. I have replaced the tail motor a couple of times so far on mine. When the tail won't hold and it isn't a gear alignment issue, then the motor is worn out.

[motorbro1470]

where can you get wood blades for the novus cp. i got the brushless esc and motor with the heli and is it worth using that or the stock brushed motor?