Official Blade 400 for Dummies Thread

[heliaddict22]

can this heli do everything a mini titan or trex can do? cuz im pree good now and want to step up, but i dont want to spend money and then have to upgrade later, as i like sticking with one product (knowledge is key ) please help me! thanks whoever my helper is!

[sokal]

Originally Posted by heliaddict22

can this heli do everything a mini titan or trex can do? cuz im pree good now and want to step up, but i dont want to spend money and then have to upgrade later, as i like sticking with one product (knowledge is key ) please help me! thanks whoever my helper is!

i fyou have your own TX then the PNP moddle is a good choice as you can put your own ELEC in it and bypass the servo upgrades and put what servos you want from the start

its cheap to fix and does well
thiers many vids of this thing in action look around most on youtube

if you dont have a TX
then the RTF is perfect it comes with the DX6i $200 TX

servos/gyro are ok will do but some have found bad luck with them
like my self
i put another $300 in on servo/gyro upgrades and has been a night day diffreance

the titan/rexx are great helicopters but do cost$$$$ money if you happen to have a run in with the gound

so look into all your options and bugget and see whats best for you

[Jasmine2501]

Actually we did a point-to-point comparison on the most commonly broken parts, and in some cases, the Align parts were actually cheaper, but in all cases there was little or no difference in the prices of Blade 400 and Trex 450 parts - if there was a difference, it was pennies not dollars.

It is hard to compare the helis, because the airframes and mechanics are very similar, and it's the electronics that make the difference. So what I'm saying is, if you took a Trex frame and put Blade 400 parts on it, it wouldn't fly any better than a stock Blade 400. However, if you put good stuff on a Trex 450 and good stuff on a Blade 400 - they would also be very similar. I run similar setups on mine and I don't notice much difference between them, except the Trex has faster servos and is a bit more responsive. I originally thought I wouild get the Blade 400 so I could bash it around and save a little money on parts, but I might as well be bashing around the Trex too.

My setup and stuff is listed here:
http://jazzyflight.blogspot.com/2008...blade-400.html
http://jazzyflight.blogspot.com/2008...-trex-450.html

[EVBmcx]

Jasmine- if you were going to buy one of them, which would win? Thanks

[Jasmine2501]

If I was going to buy a new 450 size, I would probably go with the Beam. If I had to choose between the two I have, I'd say the Trex flies a bit better and if I could only have one it would be that one. It is worth about $150 more though.

[lowwing]

Does that also the same setup for the 110 gyro. Don't seem to be much on this type.
I'm new to this hobby, so I probably be asking a lot of question.

[sokal]

Originally Posted by lowwing

Does that also the same setup for the 110 gyro. Don't seem to be much on this type.
I'm new to this hobby, so I probably be asking a lot of question.

setup on the 110 is simmular

just dont have the limit ability like the 401

but the rest is the same

[lowwing]

Thanks, the reason I ask is because the servo does not go back to center for the tail. I have pulled the control rod of and checked for binding and things are working smooth.

[LockMD]

Originally Posted by lowwing

Thanks, the reason I ask is because the servo does not go back to center for the tail. I have pulled the control rod of and checked for binding and things are working smooth.

It wont go back to center if your in HH mode.

[lowwing]

ok because of the torque of the main rotor. Heading Hold

[sokal]

Originally Posted by lowwing

ok because of the torque of the main rotor. Heading Hold

when on the bench it wont center due to its looking for the yaw motion to compensate for

[Jasmine2501]

Yeah the gyro doesn't understand what's going on when it moves the servo and nothing happens. It's waiting for the heli to move like it's supposed to. Also, when the rudder stick is centered and the heli is not moving, the gyro thinks it's holding the tail just fine so it leaves the servo wherever it happens to be.

When you put the gyro into rate mode, it should center the servo when you center the rudder stick.

[lowwing]

Originally Posted by Jasmine2501

Yeah the gyro doesn't understand what's going on when it moves the servo and nothing happens. It's waiting for the heli to move like it's supposed to. Also, when the rudder stick is centered and the heli is not moving, the gyro thinks it's holding the tail just fine so it leaves the servo wherever it happens to be.

When you put the gyro into rate mode, it should center the servo when you center the rudder stick.

It never went up, it's something I was looking at. I guess I need to know more about the mechanics.

[Fierce]

Originally Posted by Jasmine2501

Actually we did a point-to-point comparison on the most commonly broken parts, and in some cases, the Align parts were actually cheaper, but in all cases there was little or no difference in the prices of Blade 400 and Trex 450 parts - if there was a difference, it was pennies not dollars.

It is hard to compare the helis, because the airframes and mechanics are very similar, and it's the electronics that make the difference. So what I'm saying is, if you took a Trex frame and put Blade 400 parts on it, it wouldn't fly any better than a stock Blade 400. However, if you put good stuff on a Trex 450 and good stuff on a Blade 400 - they would also be very similar. I run similar setups on mine and I don't notice much difference between them, except the Trex has faster servos and is a bit more responsive. I originally thought I wouild get the Blade 400 so I could bash it around and save a little money on parts, but I might as well be bashing around the Trex too.

My setup and stuff is listed here:
http://jazzyflight.blogspot.com/2008...blade-400.html
http://jazzyflight.blogspot.com/2008...-trex-450.html

Would your curves and other settings be the same for a DX6i? I think I read you are using the DX7?

[Jasmine2501]

Originally Posted by Fierce

Would your curves and other settings be the same for a DX6i? I think I read you are using the DX7?

Yes I use DX7 - one of the channels is reversed on the DX6i, and I can't remember which one... it's either one of the servo channels or one of the swash mixes, but it's enough of a difference that it is confusing. So, you can use my throttle and pitch curves, but for the swash mix and servo reversing, you'll have to just figure it out.

[lowwing]

Originally Posted by Jasmine2501

Yes I use DX7 - one of the channels is reversed on the DX6i, and I can't remember which one... it's either one of the servo channels or one of the swash mixes, but it's enough of a difference that it is confusing. So, you can use my throttle and pitch curves, but for the swash mix and servo reversing, you'll have to just figure it out.

I will read though it and see if it sinks in. I like the white on that b400. Did you paint that on.

[Fierce]

cool, thanks Jaz

[Jasmine2501]

Originally Posted by lowwing

I will read though it and see if it sinks in. I like the white on that b400. Did you paint that on.

Thanks
Actually it's really simple - went and got the white canopy and tail parts from LHS. Took my crashed canopy and tail parts and carefully peeled off the decals and stuck them to a sheet of paper. Put the decal sheet into my scanner and made a photoshop... then I changed the colors of it - experimented with rainbows and other stuff before settling on just plain black (the design is "tribal" so it really should be monochrome). Then I simply printed the re-colored document on clear label paper you can get at any office supply. Then I took some clear packing tape and put that over the new decals before cutting them out and sticking them on - this gave them a glossy look and will prevent the ink from rubbing around. If you look at my Trex, you'll see I did the same thing, but on that one I didn't use the tape overlay, and the ink is smudged up now. But it's easy to fix, all I have to do is "re-print" that canopy.

I like this method because I can customize my helicopter and without spending hours on a paint job - so if I crash it, there's no great artwork lost.

[lowwing]

Very creative and looks really good. I just wonder how well will paint
Stick to the canopy. I took my walkera 59 and spray painted the inside
Of the canopy, but I got a feeling that it will come off after some use.
It looks awesome like that. Oh! I Googled LHS with not much luck
What does LHS stand for?

[Jasmine2501]

Originally Posted by lowwing

Very creative and looks really good. I just wonder how well will paint
Stick to the canopy. I took my walkera 59 and spray painted the inside
Of the canopy, but I got a feeling that it will come off after some use.
It looks awesome like that. Oh! I Googled LHS with not much luck
What does LHS stand for?

Local Hobby Shop - among other things:
http://www.acronymfinder.com/Slang/LHS.html

You can get special "plastic primer" which will make any plastic into a nice paintable surface... I don't think it's worth it personally - canopies seem somewhat 'disposable' to me at this stage in my flying, so the last thing I want is one that I spent some time on. This lets me be original without taking that risk.