Are they discontinuing the 270?

[Poke it w/ a stick]

Is Horizon about to discontinue the 270?

They lowered the price to $330. Horizon had them on sale for $299.
I ordered one at $299.

I wouldn't be surprised if Horizon stopped selling any helis bigger than the 180.

[Nytro97]

Well it was released in 2015.....and they do like changing things up a bit so I am sure it is coming. Maybe a three blade head coming, nothing I would be interested in, two blades are enough to worry about.
But for $299.00 it is the same price as the 250cfx. It is a no brainier on which one to buy.
You are going to love the 270 ..I think it is Blade's best bird to date.

[learnedthehardway]

IDK why they discontinue a heli and replace it with a 3 blade version but that's what they did with the 360 and I saw somewhere they were doing the same thing with the 180.

Is it just to make you pay more for a 3 blade up front then pay to downgrade it back to 2 since most people seem to prefer a 2 blade??

That's all I can think of anyway. Personally think that's the dumbest **** any heli manufacturers has ever done. Hope I'm missing something​ for their sake

Yes the 270 will be discontinued soon, all Blade helis will be discontinued sooner than later. They do at least maintain part support for a while afterwards​, it's just the Lynx, Microheli, ect upgrades that disappear shortly after they're discontinued.

Not a big deal on the 270 cause nobody bothered to make any for it. It wasn't the biggest seller probably cause of the lack of blade options. Blade used an odd size to lock you into their high priced but low quality CF blades and noone bothered to make any blades for it either that I know of.

I know that fact kept many including myself from buying one. Sneaky move to try and make more money but they shot themselves in the foot when it came to overall sales with that one.

People caught on to that one faster than they catch on to the odd bolt patters Blade uses on their motors to try and prevent you from using other manufacturers motors.

[Nytro97]

I don't find the 270 carbon blades to be of low quality. There are other manufactures that have limited motor options (like Mikado 550sx)
The Oxy2 from what I can see uses 190mm blades that are an odd size that only lynx offers.
None of this really matters because in four years we are apt to be flying something else for a change or just to get something new. I just hope we don't lose to many more manufactures of helicopters because of this slowdown in our hobby.

[crsorrell0653]

That's incredible value for money, one of the best 270 class helis in the industry to date. Especially if you compare it with the new Goblin 280 at $500 incomplete.

Anyway, I believe Blade are slowly retreating from the Heli market, and are just using up parts in the meantime. That's ok, except their value for money can't be beaten. Once I run out of 360 flying time, I think I'll try SAB, but know I'll be poorer for it (literally $$).

[Lupo99]

$299 is an amazing price! If I could order in the US, I would even buy a second one. I also noticed the promos on HH .com for several other helis including newer models. Maybe not the same discount magnitude but it looks a bit like HH wants to exit the segment (?).

Just cross checked prices in Europe. Situation here appears completely different. Prices seem higher than ever across the line. Lowest 270 offer is around EUR 400, HH Germany sells it for EUR 529 (!) (1 EUR = 1,10 USD). Also on Spektrum products, HH significantly increased prices. I got my DX9 for EUR 299, today's lowest level is rather EUR 399.

Anyway - the future will tell us...

P.S.: I am also very much looking forward to the new SAB 280 mini lines (Fireball and Comet). However, they appear to come at 30% more weight compared to a 270...

[jrman83]

Originally Posted by Nytro97

The Oxy2 from what I can see uses 190mm blades that are an odd size that only lynx offers.

You realize you are comparing $12 plastic blades to $32 CF blades? Every Blade micro has its own plastic blade size, no different. When the stretch version for the Oxy 2 comes out then there is a CF blade that can be used (Zeal 210).

[learnedthehardway]

Plus Zeal will almost certainly make short blades for the Oxy2 and Lynx will make plastic and carbon plastic both in standard and stretch.

One stretched to 210mm it will most likely be able to use the many blade options already available for the Trex 250.

There will be plenty of options for​the Oxy2 it's just a matter of time. Oxy still hasn't released the non factory edition or stretch,. It's just getting started while the 270 is on its way out.

Many manufacturers use odd length blades but it's the odd bolt/root size the 270 uses that prevented Zeal or anyone else from making blades for it.

It's a shame cause the 270 is one of Blade's best helis and could've been a great seller. Most heli guys do their homework before making a purchase​ and word travels fast these days.

[learnedthehardway]

Originally Posted by Nytro97

I don't find the 270 carbon blades to be of low quality. There are other manufactures that have limited motor options (like Mikado 550sx)
The Oxy2 from what I can see uses 190mm blades that are an odd size that only lynx offers.
None of this really matters because in four years we are apt to be flying something else for a change or just to get something new. I just hope we don't lose to many more manufactures of helicopters because of this slowdown in our hobby.

They cost $3 less than 353mm Switch blades. Hold a set of Switch blades and then hold Blade cf and you'll see what I'm talking about. You could karate chop both Blade cf's in half and probably not even scratch the paint​ on the Switch blade.

Owned more than enough Blade cf blades to know they disintegrate on a split second tip over that would​ only scuff the tips of other blades but cost just as much or more to buy. Seen the proof first hand..twice

IDK what this slowdown is so many people keep talking about. There are just as many premium brands of helis and more electronics, blades, upgrade companies, ect. than ever before.

Quads are starting to fade in popularity but brought a whole bunch of new people to helis and planks. There used to be two heli pilots in my town now there's about 20.

There are so many more new pilots in the kit heli forms than there was when I joined only a couple years ago it's not even funny. See questions being asked in the 700 forms you'd only see in the micro-450 forums before.

This hobby is alive and well at least where I'm at. People are starting on quads or WL Toys models and jumping right to kits because of fbl with self level/rescue.

Blade forums may be slowing down but that's because their same old half assed, ok but never great helis with overpriced parts method doesn't cut it anymore.

Better flying, tougher micros are available at a lower price, and Align has some really cheap but good bnf kits these days. No reason to buy Blade helis anymore and they will be doomed if they don't make some drastic changes.

[brianbremer]

We are looking to continue the 270 series.

For the intermediate pilots that may be jumping to this model due to price please keep in mind the 270 is a rocket out of the box intended for advanced pilots but you can easily tame it down by changing a few settings.

For intermediate pilots set the castle governor RPM's to Normal 3000, Stunt 1 3200 and Stunt 2 3400. Going down to a 10 pinion with those head speeds will extend flight time as well. The model is still very capable and a great flying model with the reduced head speed.

If you personally feel the model is too fast on the cyclic simply reduce the ail/ele dual rates to meet your preferences. Expo can be used if you like.

Best Regards,
Brian Bremer
Senior Project Engineer
Horizon Hobby, LLC

[Nytro97]

Thanks for the information Brian.

Best Regards,
Tom (a very satisfied 270 owner)

[ks9818]

Thanks Brian , ! Love mine also , keep up the great products please .

[Poke it w/ a stick]

Cool. Glad to here it'll be around.

He did say "270 series" will continue, so maybe they'll release a new version. Trio? I don't know what else they would change.

[Inverted Hokie]

The 270 is a beast. I like it better than the 360 Trio, but don't tell my wife, she got the trio for me as Christmas present.

[OrbitalGolem]

Originally Posted by brianbremer

We are looking to continue the 270 series.

For the intermediate pilots that may be jumping to this model due to price please keep in mind the 270 is a rocket out of the box intended for advanced pilots but you can easily tame it down by changing a few settings.

For intermediate pilots set the castle governor RPM's to Normal 3000, Stunt 1 3200 and Stunt 2 3400. Going down to a 10 pinion with those head speeds will extend flight time as well. The model is still very capable and a great flying model with the reduced head speed.

If you personally feel the model is too fast on the cyclic simply reduce the ail/ele dual rates to meet your preferences. Expo can be used if you like.

Best Regards,
Brian Bremer
Senior Project Engineer
Horizon Hobby, LLC

Thanks for chiming in Brian - good to see you monitoring the forum. I have over 620 flights on one of my 270s and have had to replace the motor three times. Each time the brass washer on the lower bearing broke loose, causing the motor can to move significantly up and down. It looks like the brass washer is glued to the bottom bearing. Something should be done to improve this design - not sure why a C-clip wasn't used.

[brianbremer]

A small silver or black e-clip is installed on the motor shaft and this retains the brass washer which is their to reduce the end play. You should see a small slot machined in the shaft for the e-clip.

Due to the helical tooth profile the motor shaft is actually pulled downward during flight however a crash or blade strike could reverse the direction causing it to be pushed upward which might damage/bend the e-clip.

We will look into other options, a true cir-clip would probably be a better choice due to the much larger contact area.

I checked into our sales on the replacement motor and found the sale qty to be very low in comparison to the number of models sold so this does not appear to be a widespread problem.

I will check into having the manufacturer using cir-clips in the future. Thank you for letting me know about the issue you have run into and please accept my apologies for the issue that you have run into.

Please don't be afraid to contact product support, I am sure they will get a replacement motor out to you. Product support is one of our main mechanism to capture issues such as this.

Best Regards,
Brian Bremer
Horizon Hobby, LLC

[OrbitalGolem]

Originally Posted by brianbremer

A small silver or black e-clip is installed on the motor shaft and this retains the brass washer which is their to reduce the end play. You should see a small slot machined in the shaft for the e-clip.

Due to the helical tooth profile the motor shaft is actually pulled downward during flight however a crash or blade strike could reverse the direction causing it to be pushed upward which might damage/bend the e-clip.

We will look into other options, a true cir-clip would probably be a better choice due to the much larger contact area.

I checked into our sales on the replacement motor and found the sale qty to be very low in comparison to the number of models sold so this does not appear to be a widespread problem.

I will check into having the manufacturer using cir-clips in the future. Thank you for letting me know about the issue you have run into and please accept my apologies for the issue that you have run into.

Please don't be afraid to contact product support, I am sure they will get a replacement motor out to you. Product support is one of our main mechanism to capture issues such as this.

Best Regards,
Brian Bremer
Horizon Hobby, LLC

Thanks for the reply and feedback - much appreciated. I've seen the same problem with the 360 CFX motor too, though I've only had to replace two of those motors in over 550 flights. I suspect the retention mechanism is identical across both motors.

[crsorrell0653]

I've had two motor shafts on the 360 snap at this point, so replaced with the Lynx 1970 motor which is far stronger built with a 4mm shaft. Having said this, I think Blade products are extremely good value for money, and will leave it at that.....

[brianbremer]

Except for the motor length, diameter, winding and magnets they are the same motor

Chris's problem might help to explain how the e-clip is coming loose, if the shaft fatigued over time due to side loads the same side load might cause the shaft to bend before complete failure and allow the clip to eject.

We will look into improving the motor shaft.

Thank you for the feedback guys.

If anyone has run into this problem please contact our product support as I am sure they will take care of you.

Best Regards,
Brian Bremer
Horizon Hobby, LLC

[Lupo99]

Thanks, Brian for your official input and involvement here. This is very much appreciated and IMO shows HH's commitment beyond just selling, even for a niche product like our 270 CFX.

I would wish the colleagues of Horizon Hobby Europe in Germany quickly sort out their internal processes and issues after several business decisions and get back to us customers, providing the same enthusiastic level of customer service as they did in the earlier days.