Is X BL still "the one"?

[madeye]

I've learned to fly on X BL back in 2013 (it was my first RC helicopter), and taught to fly my friend's kid a year ago (it was also his first exposure to RC). Now I'm considering a gift to some other kids, and there's no question that X BL is a challenging, but quite fun and doable first RC heli.

One question, though - I've been out of the loop since the winter, is X BL still in same position it occupied back then? Are there signs of it being discontiuned? Is there anything that was released to the market since and could be a better choice?

[HeliLust]

Mcpx bl has been discontinued, but is still readily available as well as parts.

As for being able to call it the one to beat, I would also say that it has lost that spot as well. Check out a xk k110, RTF with a decent futaba compatible TX comes in at $120.

The xk k110 flies awesome for a micro. It has piro comp, brushless main motor, real servo, and a 6g stabilized mode. It's not as powerful as an Mcpx bl, but more powerful than a Mcpx v2.

The only down side is the heli and parts typically have to come from China and may take a few weeks to arrive. On the up side though, it has epic durability. I've literally crashed mine 100 times by now, some of them hard enough to send pieces flying 20 ft. It's very beat up and abused and I've only had to put a new tail boom on at this point, which I sourced from the lhs carbon stock section. The canopy is taped and the front canopy pins are broke and the blade grips are stripped out but heli still flies better than any of my Mcpx helis ever did. I will be replacing this one soon with a BNF version that runs $70, it would be close to that to repair what's broken on the one I have now all said and done, so it's better to start with a fresh build.

The k120 is supposed to be more powerful but also less durable than the k110.

[driftermickh]

Originally Posted by madeye

I've learned to fly on X BL back in 2013 (it was my first RC helicopter), and taught to fly my friend's kid a year ago (it was also his first exposure to RC). Now I'm considering a gift to some other kids, and there's no question that X BL is a challenging, but quite fun and doable first RC heli.

One question, though - I've been out of the loop since the winter, is X BL still in same position it occupied back then? Are there signs of it being discontiuned? Is there anything that was released to the market since and could be a better choice?

I'm not sure what you mean about "The One"? But it's still a cool
flying heli if you got a good one. I fly one on and off, back yard
flyer. And, 2 more, never out of the box. Good hand full of parts
here too. The one I fly is a good one. Only mod is a metal swash.
I tend to keep the birds I buy. The grankids talk me out of them.
So, nothing gets wasted around here. Enjoy flying it...

Drifter...

[madeye]

Originally Posted by driftermickh

I'm not sure what you mean about "The One"?

As in, "the one to buy today". Apparently not, discontinued, as other folks noted. I'd take this risk, but folks this bird is intended for wouldn't benefit from it.

I'm keeping mine. Here's my summary of owning it: https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=642086

Currently, it's beat up, with one blade hanging on a thread, probably some vibrations, getting shakes after takeoff every time because I don't fly it often - but still flying

[3D Ambitions]

I still fly mine , I guess I got one of the good ones since it flys so well. I find it flys better then my trex 150.

[ks9818]

I'm on my second one and still love it! 1of 2 helies I've actually sold and re- bought .

[catpainkev]

Someone told me a couple of years back that the Trex 150 was the new 'the one'...but I've not seen anyone flying one since

[3D Ambitions]

Originally Posted by catpainkev

Someone told me a couple of years back that the Trex 150 was the new 'the one'...but I've not seen anyone flying one since

I still fly mine , it is a powerful heli. I would say it's more powerful then the mcpx bl.

[Number]

no

[JonJet]

The Blade mCPX BL will always be remembered...

1) Back when the mCPX was questioned with the idea of conversion to brushless...Blade said it couldn't be done...and it was

2) It will always be the only size that was first to be successfully upgraded to dual brushless...and parts interchange readily between the mCPX and mCPX BL

If you have one and still fly it...you've successfully Tamed the Beast

If not...keep trying...because it won't be long before the Chinese knock-offs move on to the next new thing

[3D Ambitions]

Originally Posted by JonJet

The Blade mCPX BL will always be remembered...

1) Back when the mCPX was questioned with the idea of conversion to brushless...Blade said it couldn't be done...and it was

2) It will always be the only size that was first to be successfully upgraded to dual brushless...and parts interchange readily between the mCPX and mCPX BL

If you have one and still fly it...you've successfully Tamed the Beast

If not...keep trying...because it won't be long before the Chinese knock-offs move on to the next new thing

I still fly and enjoy mine, in fact I'll fly it this weekend . Mines all tricked out so it looks as good as it flys.

I'll be flying my trex 150 , 130x and the mcpx bl. Here's a pic of the line up.

[corrosionate]

The Trex 150 is junk, in my experience. I never did get mine to actually fly, after spending lots of money on it.

The xk k110 is another rebranded Helimax Axe 100SS, and same as the WLtoys V977.

I spent lots of time and money trying to keep the axe 100 going, (I've had 3, all with the same issues) with very little success, yet that's a lot more than I can say for the trex 150, which had zero success.

On the axe, The main board and the tail boom and tail motor were the weak points. The main board would fail randomly in flight, and would always drift to the right. And the tail boom and/or tail motor would break on every crash. This was a bummer because it took 12-15 flights to get the tail motor broken in enough that the tail would actually hold during the lightest of aerobatic maneuvers. I tried and tried cus I really wanted a micro I could fly with my Futaba radio, but it just wasn't working out.

Perhaps the v977 and the XK k110 are better now, as the main board appears to be different, not sure about the tail boom and motor... But with those issues resolved it might actually be a good heli. I liked the quality of the rest of the airframe. Less slop than the Blade/Eflite micros.

I had much more luck with the mcpx BL. I was simply able to keep flying it with little trouble.

[d12bn]

Still one of my favorite micros

Blade Mcpx BL 3D with custom sound on my DX9 Spektrum radio (3 min 27 sec)

[corrosionate]

Well, I decided to try an xk k110. So far, it's better than the Axe 100, the problems with the control board aren't there, and the tail holds pretty well, even without several break-in flights. It's a major plus that I can fly it with my Futaba 14sg, and I guess the 6g mode might be good for beginners, but it's still no MCPX BL flight wise and setup wise.