Blade? (ECHO, Echo, echo...) Not much activity here

[jrman83]

I don't expect much from Blade anymore. They could just continue to produce the 230 and soon to be 250 and I would be happy. Those two would fit the niche of flying cheaply within the size I can fly in my yard and not have to go to a field. Add the 180 in there also.

I also feel this way because I have built my first kit and now know it is not as intimidating as I thought it was. I learn everyday nearly about new things to consider and adjust on.

Blade is more for the people who don't have the time to setting up a kit heli or don't want the extra cost, or don't care to learn. Or, maybe for the same reasons I like them - decent easy to fly helis in small areas. They usually are "easy" to get going.

After buying a Oxy stretch and seeing how it flies, not sure why anyone would do something like buy a 360 instead. That's just a personal feeling - nothing against those that have done that. The cost difference is relatively minor.

Either way, Blade got me to a certain level and I still learn on the ones I still fly (180, 230). I like the company and really have nothing bad to say about them. I would love for them to produce something innovative - that wasn't multi-rotor.

[MariaFan]

Agreed, Blade got me to a certain level too.

However, dealing with crap control boards is inexcusable.
No reason the board quality should be so bad.

[Mike680]

Blade got me all the way to the discontinued 550X. I spent way too much money with them.

My 180CFX and 230S are keepers for light duty stuff, but that's about it. My heavily upgraded 450X is pretty decent but once I kill the rare as a unicorn Lynx frame on it, the electronics will become donors for probably the OXY 4 if it ever comes out. Needless to say, I won't be buying another Blade heli or quad. Ever.

[learnedthehardway]

I owe plenty to Blade, learned on a 120sr and mcpx v2, quit (divorce) for 3+ years, then learned all over again on the nano and 180cfx.

My problem with them is the 120sr, mcpx v2 and my 1st nano cpx took tons of punishment as advertised while my 2nd nano and mcpx bl got twitchy servos and board failures in nothing flat. Cost more to maintain the bl than my 180.

Tail motor failures, board failures, annoying twitchy servos no amount of cleaning would cure in a month with 3 minor crashes and I was done with the bl. Same thing with my 2nd nano, annoying piece of crap money pit in about a month.

When the 300cfx I bought turned into a big ordeal of bs and disaster I moved on to better things and haven't looked back. I might replace my 180 when it finally dies but other than that...nope

Their QC, quality and even their infamous great customer service seems to have taken a dive imho and I can get waaay better helis for the same $$ off the HF classifieds all day.

230s is $250 BNF. Bought a Protos 500 with stock motor, Hitec servos, Castle Phoenix ICE 75 esc rated up to 8s, Castle 10a bec, spares and 3 lipos for $265 shipped and got a SK540 for $60 shipped.

Awesome flying, badass 500 airborne with 3 lipos for $75 more than a 180 or 230s with 1 lipo. Buy 2 more overpriced Eflite batteries for the 180 and 230 and it's close enough to call the same price.

Stalk the classifieds for great deals on good proven helis and you'll forget all about Blade, and with the XK110-120 and other micros available these days there's no reason to buy them at all.

[Mike680]

Originally Posted by learnedthehardway

230s is $250 BNF. Bought a Protos 500 with stock motor, Hitec servos, Castle Phoenix ICE 75 esc rated up to 8s, Castle 10a bec, spares and 3 lipos for $265 shipped and got a SK540 for $60 shipped.

You can't make an apples to hammers comparison. They're totally different helis. Used versus new, too. Shop around and you can do much better on the 230S. I got mine new for under $200. It's a great heli that can be flown in a great many more areas than any 500. Believe it or not, this is one Blade heli that isn't junk. Mine has been extremely reliable and the brushless tail on it is fantastic. I'll never, ever buy anything with a brushed motor anywhere on it again.

[BrokeDad]

The one response that really got me was calling HH about a heli that burned a servo after just a couple of flights (120S pos). I was told that if it flew fine once out of the box there was no warranty and the part is on backorder so we can't help you anyway. Maybe it's who you get there but that really pissed me off first starting out.

[jrman83]

Originally Posted by Mike680

Blade got me all the way to the discontinued 550X. I spent way too much money with them.

My 180CFX and 230S are keepers for light duty stuff, but that's about it. My heavily upgraded 450X is pretty decent but once I kill the rare as a unicorn Lynx frame on it, the electronics will become donors for probably the OXY 4 if it ever comes out. Needless to say, I won't be buying another Blade heli or quad. Ever.

I can't say that I will never buy another. I could see buying the new 250, but having 2-230s kind of keeps me from wanting. I am sure that I get most of what I need and enjoyment out of the 230. Who knows though?

I look forward to the arrival of the Oxy 4 and even the Oxy 2. The Oxy 3 has been a pretty good experience so far and am sure that both will only be the same quality or better. I'm in no hurry. I wanted the Oxy 2 back before they had to shift all priority to the 4 and ended up getting a 180 to fly in the yard instead. Best I guess though since I wasn't exactly ready for the 180 and probably would have been the same for an Oxy 2 - lack of fly and build experience. Now I can fly a heck of a lot better due to the 1000+ flights on a 230. I have come to like the 180 again as of late.

[megawhacker]

Why does anyone care?

[Mike680]

Originally Posted by megawhacker

Why does anyone care?

If you don't, why did you even post here?

[megawhacker]

Originally Posted by Mike680

If you don't, why did you even post here?

O.K., I'll bite. Do YOU care? Why?

[Mike680]

Originally Posted by megawhacker

O.K., I'll bite. Do YOU care? Why?

This is a Blade thread. Either talk about Blade or heed your very own sig line.

[megawhacker]

Originally Posted by Mike680

This is a Blade thread. Either talk about Blade or heed your very own sig line.

Sorry that you had trouble identifying the subject of my question. It should have been obvious since I am posting in a Blade thread. Here is a clarification for your benefit.

O.K., I'll bite. Do YOU care (that Blade has moved on)? Why?

Please answer only the question. This is a Blade forum. :

[Mike680]

Because I still have Blade helis. Do you? If so, maybe you could possibly understand why someone would still care? If not, again, why are you even posting here?

[megawhacker]

Here, I will post my opinion.

No one cares. Including you. You reacted with hostility because not caring makes it impossible to answer why you DO care. Your brain went into a loop which was only resolved by lashing out.

The reason no one cares is because there are plenty of other choices.

We don't need a better 360CFX when there is a Protos 380. And many other up scale choices.

We don't need another Blade 450. There are plenty of Trex 450 look alikes of similar or better quality.

Blade continues to make entry level micros.

We live in some of the best days for RC helicopters and batteries. HH has moved on. We do not care simply because our choices in the market have never been better.

Hypothetically, if we had poor choices without Blade, THAT would be a reason to care.

Maybe I am wrong. Maybe you DO care. If you do, please enlighten us all. Why do YOU care that Blade (HH) is making the choices they are making?

[Mike680]

Originally Posted by megawhacker

You reacted with hostility because not caring makes it impossible to answer why you DO care.

I did answer. Clearly. I would think that most people (looks like I was wrong on that one) would be able to easily deduce that another might care about a company because they'll still need PARTS for the helis they have. That means the company has to stay viable and Horizon/Blade has definitely been going the other way with helis.

But, whatever. Not wasting any more time on the likes of you because you're simply not getting it. Have a good one.

[megawhacker]

Originally Posted by Mike680

Because I still have Blade helis. Do you? If so, maybe you could possibly understand why someone would still care? If not, again, why are you even posting here?

Fair enough. I have about 20 blade helicopters. Mcpx V1 to 600X and most in between. I got a little carried away. Pretty much everything I own is Blade.

My reaction is resignation. I stopped caring.

I am not mad at HH.

I guess people react differently.

[Mike680]

[megawhacker]

Originally Posted by Mike680

I did answer. Clearly. I would think that most people (looks like I was wrong on that one) would be able to easily deduce that another might care about a company because they'll still need PARTS for the helis they have. That means the company has to stay viable and Horizon/Blade has definitely been going the other way with helis.

But, whatever. Not wasting any more time on the likes of you because you're simply not getting it. Have a good one.

Obviously we were writing at the same time. I responded to your previous post.

I will decide what I get and speak for myself.

You can decide what you get (or not) and speak for yourself.

HH seems to be introducing a new foamy nearly every week. They also have quads and an agricultural division. And too much else to mention. HH is going gang busters.

[Nytro97]

From what I am seeing, It is pretty quiet everywhere with helicopters.There is really not much activity in the other brand threads. Maybe a new size, but that's about it. Sales have been slowing with all brands and you can tell by the discounts being offered. We have lost several brands and will be probably loosing more.Horizon I believe saw this coming and this is why the Pro series came to an end.
The real only helicopter that caught my eye in the within the last (that was really different) year was the Synergy 766 and they are really sold in small numbers.
The biggest progress has been in all the different controllers with the Safe and bailout features. Lets face it most all the heli's out there will fly pretty much the same in the hands of a expert pilot.
There is a lot of good machine's (with pro's and con's with all) to choose from and that is a great thing. Variety is the spice of life. Last year I went to my first helicopter fun fly (three hour drive) I love watching those expert pilots fly but was disappointed in the variety of different models. I seemed everyone had Goblins, they have been the big for a while now but I am sure they will slow when the next big thing comes out.People are always looking for something different.
I will say Blade has come along way in offering solid products in the price range that alot of people can afford or people that don't want to have $1000.00-$3000.00 invested. I just bought the 270cfx and I am really impressed in how it flies and how nice it is built. I wanted it when it was first released but when Horizon had a sale I jumped. Now I am glad I did.