The Blade 230s CP heli

[vertico]

http://www.bladehelis.com/230S/

http://www.horizonhobby.com/products/BLH1500

[brokenheli666]

YES YES YES!!!!!!!! sad about the tail motor... but YES YES YES!!!

[JonJet]

It's not really that sad about the tail motor if you consider that this is a second-tier entry level heli designed for new pilots...

A driven tail provides much higher parts count and complexity versus a simple tail motor

Originally Posted by aclysma

The tail motor is a trade-off. There's no question a driven tail is the better choice for top-end performance. That said, a driven tail is also a pain point for the beginner and intermediate flier who benefits from the simplicity and lower parts count of just sticking a simple motor on the tail. If you're doing tick tocs and piroflips you may prefer a driven tail - but if that's the case the 180cfx is a better choice for you anyways For the beginner and intermediate flier wanting to get orientations down and do foundational 3d this is a great fit, and a driven tail mechanism would actually be doing them a disservice. The complexity just isn't worth it for that use-case.

I would also say, let's wait until it comes out and people actually fly it before assuming it's bad.

Also, regarding the comment about an incremental steps business model, this model actually removes some of those steps. The SAFE (auto-leveling) features allow a beginner to fly a CP heli off the bat, and progress it all the way to inverted flight. If anything this model would cannibalize such a business model! Combining the beginner friendly SAFE features with collective pitch mechanics is a huge win for consumers. I think if this helicopter had existed when I started the hobby, my first year would have been much cheaper and I would have been doing more flying and less fixing.

[distructor]

I have had 7 blade helis gathering dust, but I probably would fly this one. My complements to Blade for a nice micro!

[vertico]

I think lessons have been learned about motor driven tails.
Having said that my MCPX BL never had any real tail holding issues and I flew the crap out of that thing.

I look at this like a big ass MCPX BL. Obviously this wont be as fast but I think it will still be awesome for some relaxing flying.

Now, I want some video!

[gstoneberg]

I noticed there was no video, which surprised me. Do you suppose this will replace the mcpx-bl?

[JonJet]

Originally Posted by vertico

I think lessons have been learned about motor driven tails.
Having said that my MCPX BL never had any real tail holding issues and I flew the crap out of that thing.

I look at this like a big ass MCPX BL. Obviously this wont be as fast but I think it will still be awesome for some relaxing fun.

Now, I want some video!

You and Me, vertico...I have a feeling this just might be the ticket to get things turned around from the black-hole quad craze...and get the FAA back to it's real purpose

[SHYguy]

Looks very cool & great concept for a beginner!

Perfect for instance for my bro who is currently loving his 200 SRX:
-He wants to fly outdoors
-Must be pre-built
-First CP heli
-Solid & easy to work on

Blade are on track these days!

[JonJet]

HF Members have been begging for a CP w/SAFE...

This should fit the bill nicely - the beginner has a simple tail, and if it's got decent tail authority it may well be the solution to hours of sim time

[vertico]

OMG I just noticed this:
Approximate Flight Time: 7 minutes

[JonJet]

Originally Posted by vertico

OMG I just noticed this:
Approximate Flight Time: 7 minutes

Yep...just slightly more than I get flying sport with an mCPX spinning 130X main blades

[Bioblade]

Dang! This is exactly what I have been wanting! Funny thing is this announcement is coming just days after I bought a 180 CFX. I haven't flown it yet so there is still time to return it but I'm wondering...

Should I?

I've got three Nano CPX's that I bang around and have been learning 3D flight on. I'm pretty good at flipping and rolling them. I just did my first few ugly aileron rainbows yesterday. Still learning how to hold my inverted orientations. I've been having a blast training with them. So much better than a sim (though more expensive). In addition, I have got a 200 SRX that I have really been enjoying. Super easy to work on with the motor driven tail and I haven't had any electronic or mechanic defects with it. I fly it around flipping and rolling, no crashes.

With this in mind, I bought the 180 CFX because I wanted something that I could fly even on windy days in larger fields and that I could use to apply some of the skills I've developed with the Nanos. The TT tail excites me from a performance aspect but scares me when I think about all the time I'll have to spend fixing it if things go wrong (and from what I gather TT tails will punish even slight pilot errors).

What do you experienced 3D pilots think? Sell the 200 SRX and return the 180 for this? Get awesome with it and move up to the 180 or 360 next year or something?

[JonJet]

That decision would be the result of your mechanical dexterity vs the time you have to devote to the hobby...

If you like the repair side, keep the 180

The 230S is easily months away

[vertico]

Ran through mr mel headspeed calc w 3900 kv motor, 140tooth main gear, 12 tooth pinion and it reads 3900rpm with a full 3s pack. Shouldnt be shabby!

[critical]

The dual brushless ESC has me a little concerned after experiencing PODs on my 200SRX. I fitted a second ESC for the tail (Castle Talon 15) which has fixed the problem. My hope is that Horizon Hobby has addressed this issue rather than repeating a design error.

[MotorG525]

Anyone whos seriously interested in this heli, take this advice. Order a tons of spare parts with it because they will be out of stock for a while after its released

[SHYguy]

Originally Posted by MotorG525

Anyone whos seriously interested in this heli, take this advice. Order a tons of spare parts with it because they will be out of stock for a while after its released

Nah, just be quick to go into SAFE mode

[Iskareot]

Originally Posted by gstoneberg

I noticed there was no video, which surprised me. Do you suppose this will replace the mcpx-bl?

No no way different heli with half the power.


THIS is pretty much a Blade SR redux.... in fact it looks dead on a SR.. which is kinda funny...

Bail out is good but as far as it being as aggressive as a 180 cfx or something... no this does not look like that type of heli at all.

It's a SR with some new features.

[MotorG525]

Originally Posted by SHYguy

Nah, just be quick to go into SAFE mode

Safe modes not gonna work when the main board and esc's cut out on ya

[SHYguy]

Originally Posted by MotorG525

Safe modes not gonna work when the main board and esc's cut out on ya

Drop any circuitry board onto a hard surface repeatedly and see what happens...