NEW Blade 230S!!!

[kylelnsn]

Blade 230S BNF [BLH1580UK]

Pre Order Now at RC Hero! Price TBC (RRP £209)

OVERVIEW

Collective pitch mechanics are a key element to learning sport aerobatics with a helicopter. When combined with the durability of a 230-size heli, pilots get the “wow” factor in an airframe that’s practical. Until now, learning with a collective pitch machine still had an intimidation factor. The Blade® 230 S collective-pitch electric heli is engineered to meet and go beyond the needs of the new heli pilot by offering a highly-tuned machine with innovative SAFE® technology so that it’s easy for any pilot to achieve first-flight success, prevent crashes and then move on into advanced flight, all with one heli.
Engineered around the abilities of innovative SAFE® technology, its progressive flight mode system makes flying the Blade® 230 S collective pitch heli more comfortable, even if you’re a beginner. Stability mode helps keep you in control with the safety of bank limits and self-leveling so it’s possible to fly and build pilot skills quickly. When you’re ready to progress your skills, Agility mode opens the flight envelope to explore basic aerobatics and 3D mode enables the 230 S to really come to life. In addition, Panic recovery mode allows you to recover the 230 S to level flight at the press of a button and prevent a crash. Durable features like ABS blades and metal-gear cyclic servos mean you can be flying more often than fixing. All combined, the 230 S is the heli you’ll want to fly whether you’re a new pilot or seasoned heli expert.
SAFE® Technology
The Blade® 230 S features exclusive SAFE (Sensor Assisted Flight Envelope) technology, a revolutionary electronic flight envelope protection system that makes it easy for anyone to fly helicopters with confidence. Flight mode versatility means that you can instantly choose the level of assistance and maneuverability that’s right for you. Plus you get the virtual protection of Panic Recovery mode that will recover the heli to a level attitude for you at the push of a button.
Three Flight Modes
Stability mode—limited flight envelope with self-leveling and a bank angle limit
Agility mode—full control authority for sport aerobatics with no bank angle limit
3D mode—turns up the flip and roll rate for 3D capability
Panic Recovery Mode
1. Orientation is lost
2. Panic Recovery button is pressed
3. Recovery to a level attitude
Collective Pitch Rotor System
The collective pitch rotor mechanics of the 230 S have been engineered to give you just the right level of maneuverability for learning aerobatics and inverted flight.
Brushless Motors
The high-speed brushless main and tail motors work together to deliver a simplified drive system that makes the 230 S light weight so that it’s quick in response to your commands.
Metal Gear Servos
The 230 S comes equipped with the same 9-gram, digital metal gear servos used for cyclic control in high-performance Blade mini-helis like the 360 CFX.
Durable
The fiber-filled plastic main frame is incredibly resilient. ABS main blades, molded in bright-white material help with visibility and hold up better in a crash compared to wood blades.
DXe Transmitter (RTF only)
The all-new Spektrum™ DXe transmitter delivers the 6-channel control you need with the industry-leading precision of DSMX® 2.4GHz technology. When you’re ready to experiment with radio settings, just connect the DXe to your PC and adjust settings such as the expertly set Dual Rates and Exponential parameters to your liking.
SPECIFICATION

Collective pitch flybarless electric heli

536mm (21.0 in)

82.5mm (3.25 in)

339 g (11.96 oz)

474mm (18.7 in)

90mm (3.54 in)

164mm (6.46 in)

235mm (9.25 in)

3900Kv Brushless outrunner

3600Kv Brushless outrunner

120 degree CCPM

14 years

Intermediate

Indoor/Outdoor

No

Approx. 7-minutes

6-channel (DXe included with RTF)

SPMSH3050 Sub-micro digital, metal gearr

800mAh 3S 11.1V 30C Li-Po (included)

FEATURES

• Fully assembled, no building necessary
• SAFE® technology makes flight with a collective
  pitch helicopter easier
• Stability mode delivers the comfort of self-leveling
  and bank limits
• Progressive flight modes help your aerobatic skills
  build quickly
• Panic Recovery mode can recover the heli to a level
  attitude
• Collective pitch rotor system with flybarless
  mechanics
• Brushless main and tail motors for great power and response
• Impact resistant ABS main blades
• Tough, yet lightweight airframe
• Streamlined canopy with vivid color scheme
• Spektrum™ AR636 DSMX® receiver with AS3X®
  heli technology (installed)
• Durable, digital high-speed metal gear cyclic servos (installed)
• E-flite® 800mAh 3S Li-Po flight battery and charger
  (included)
• Spektrum DXe transmitter (RTF only) with DSMX®
  2.4GHz technology (included)
• 5–6 minute flight times

[mahbouni]

Similar weight to a T-Rex 250 but slightly longer blades so should fly lighter. When do you expect them in stock?

[PeteStewardson]

Motor driven tail on something this size? Not convinced on that one.

[Peteski]

Motor driven tail on something this size? Not convinced on that one.

I was liking it until I spotted that! But still looks like a great alternative to the fixed pitch 200 SRX for somebody looking to progress. With the SAFE mode it kind of makes the 200 SRX obsolete in my book as it should be just as easy to fly with all the advantages of cp.

[Peteski]

Did you notice no boom braces in the photo?

[myxiplx]

I was interested right until I saw it's a motor driven tail. That to me says this has been designed with durability as the primary goal, rather than 3D flight capabilities. It'll probably be a damn good beginner CP model, but I'd need to see it in action before deciding whether it's able to compete with either the 180CFX or Trex 250.

That 339g flying weight isn't bad though, and with the slightly larger blades than a Trex 250 I reckon the cyclic and collective will be pretty good.

Edit: Hold on a sec, it's got a three bladed tail. It might have more oomph than you'd expect on the tail. Interesting.

[3dx]

I sold my 180CFX as I found it couldn't really handle anything more than a brisk breeze- hopefully this will be better in that respect and I fancy playing around with the rescue modes as its something I don't have on any of my other models- best micro's for me so far have been the MCPX BL( wish I'd kept it !) and the 130X (only ruined by reliability issues)... Lets wait and see what this does .

[acidla]

At least the tail motor is not brushed

[Peteski]

I'd need to see it in action before deciding whether it's able to compete with either the 180CFX or Trex 250.

It doesn't look to me like they're pitching this at the same market. This seems more like an intermediate level heli, hence the tail motor and SAFE modes. But it will be interesting to see how it compares in flight. I'm still loving my 180 CFX!

[myxiplx]

Agreed Pete, it looks like a cracking first CP heli, and is probably ideal for taking somebody from beginner right to the basics of 3D flight.

[Peteski]

Yeah I'm wondering where that now leaves the 200 SRX?

[tomatwalden]

Motor driven tail on something this size? Not convinced on that one.

You've got to look at its target market. It's clearly aimed at beginners who want to get into collective pitch. To be fair, as soon as Blade announced 'SAFE' technology way back when, they were constantly being pestered for a CP heli with SAFE+panic.

Once you accept the target market, the motor driven tail makes sense. Newbies will have no end of problems with torque tubes. You would have seen loads of people on forums complaining about how a minor tail scrape on their first flight resulted in an out-of-control spin! Result : poor target audience experience.

If you want a high performance CP heli in this size ... get a 180CFX! It has a variable pitch tail rotor and torque tube. It has a governed ESC! It's target market is completely different!

But, you if you're just starting to learn how to fly helis - maybe a bit nervous about moving up from 4-channel fixed pitch, don't want to build your own kit with an expensive FBL unit that needs setting up .... this looks peerless to me.

Is it a bit late to the market though ???

[myxiplx]

No, I wouldn't say late to market Tom. In fact it's pretty well placed for current beginners. The new generation of beginner pilots will likely be coming from quadcopters, and their SAFE technology makes perfect sense in that context. Those pilots will most likely be able to just pick this up and fly it.

[tomatwalden]

Have to say, looks good on the face of it. Metal gear rotary servos, brushless motor(s!). Looks perfect for its target audience to me ...

[mahbouni]