Back in the game....

[stevek32]

That's insane Tom! I want one, but imagine if you binned it after all those hours making it

[tomatwalden]

LOL, the guy sells them if you want one - but they're custom made - and yes, not cheap! Fusuno do some nice (cheaper) bling though ... Fusuno Yellow Energy Blade 180 CFX Speed Fuselage TDR FUC-B180TDR-SF03

[stevek32]

Tempting, i say no im ok don't need it......... When I know in the near future I WILL get it lol

[Peteski]

The 180 CFX is a good choice for a small heli, I really enjoy mine. I have 150 flights on mine now and I did a few upgrades along the way as bits wore out - mainly replaced stock tail parts for Lynx versions which I hope will last longer.
Servo saver horns are a must-have to prevent stripping plastic servo gears and I also use the Lynx TT with the "clutch slipper" to protect the tail gears. Although the stock TT is designed to self-destruct before the gears, so you could just buy a handful of those instead. They literally take 2 mins to replace, quite a difference to the 130X! I've found the heli pretty reliable and easy to work on, especially for a micro. The only thing that wore out quickly for me was the tail mechanics which became very sloppy after about 80 flights. But the Lynx parts seem to have solved that issue. But it doesn't make it fly any better than a new stock tail. I just thought it might last longer, which I'm sure it will.

Here's mine with the Lynx upgrades.

[stevek32]

Looks good pete, not to ott, how you finding those skids? Quite sturdy?,

[tomatwalden]

Looks good pete, not to ott, how you finding those skids? Quite sturdy?,

I've got them too. They're remarkably resilient in fact - stronger than the stock skids.

[Peteski]

Looks good pete, not to ott, how you finding those skids? Quite sturdy?,

Lynx skids are good, very sturdy. I thought the standard skids looked a bit cheap, but they worked fine too. I wouldn't upgrade anything to start with - except for the servo saver horns, which you really must do to protect the servo gears. It's when parts wear out that a few select upgrades make sense. For me the only real weakness was the longevity of the tail assembly. But it flies great straight out of the box. I've had no problems with the stock gear train or head assembly. I just replaced the main bearings at 150 flights for peace of mind.

[stevek32]

Good choice, it's a fantastic heli with loads of spares available and plenty of "hop ups". As with all micros, most of these are just bling, but some I've found do actually make a difference.

The first is CF blades. The stock plastic blades are fine, but I found (heavier) CF blades made the heli noticeably more stable and actually removed a minor cyclic wobble I had on mine out of the box.

The second is servo saver horns, or alternatively, you can do the "servo saver mod" which is actually quite easy and achieves the same result - which is that the horns slip in a crash rather than taking out servo gears.

Beyond that, I personally haven't found any major "upgrade" that isn't just bling - that said, I quite like bling and have bought a fair bit for mine!

The servo saver mod is that the one where you cut thru the servo arm?

[tomatwalden]

Yep, that's it. Lynx also sell pre-cut arms with the O-ring to support them.

Lynx Micro Servo Gear Saver Arm - Set 3pc [LX1097]

[Peteski]

Yep, that's it. Lynx also sell pre-cut arms with the O-ring to support them.

Lynx Micro Servo Gear Saver Arm - Set 3pc [LX1097]

I use the Lynx version as it definitely works with the support ring. It's not actually an o-ring, it's a flat faced elastic band providing just the right amount of support. I've read mixed results with DIY mods, with and without o-rings, so just went for the proven Lynx option. I've had one big crash where one of the arms rotated a full 180 degrees and the servo was fine. It would have stripped for sure without the savers so they're well worth fitting. You can buy metal gear sets for the servos too, but that's quite expensive in comparison and more work fitting! I don't feel they are necessary if you have the servo savers.

[tomatwalden]

Mine is the home-mod with a bit of nitro fuel tubing cut into support rings. Out of don't know how many crashes, I've had the gears strip once on one servo. In contrast however, I've had plenty of escapes with the horns easily going through 45-deg and saving the gears. I did the mod before the Lynx option came out.

Lynx option is easy and cheap however, so probably a no-brainer!

[Peteski]

Lynx option is easy and cheap however, so probably a no-brainer!

That was my thought. It saves having to think about it! Either way it's a must-do mod before you fly it.