Got it!

[450man]

Well, after weeks of deliberation I decided to go and get it... so a shiny new Blade 450X is now sitting very menacingly on my model desk and looking superb.

It is my first non-micro and compared with the biggest heli I have flown, the Blade 120SR, it looks a bit scary. Still, I have got it now so I suppose I will have to learn to fly it!

Weather has been dreadful for everyone recently and my normal flying field is very waterlogged. So I am not sure I will have much of a chance to fly it over the Christmas period especially as I would rather an experienced heli pilot fly it the first time and make sure it is all working properly. I want to have a go now though.... AAAGH!

Any advice in setting up or for first flight? I can do reasonable circuits and fig 8s with the MCPX, even nose in hover, all in zero wind.

I have heard to make sure I get into the air cleanly otherwise the BeastX can make it fall over?

Also, I have a few 3S 2200mah 20C & 25C batteries. I notice that the E-Flight one supplied is 30C. Would my ones be OK for my gentle learner flying?

[johnsandywhite]

Set it up as per the manual and you will not go wrong. It is a VERY stable Heli even in high winds. Just go careful on the sticks and you should do fine. Enjoy.

I use my old 2200 25Cs with no problem.

[tomatwalden]

Well, after weeks of deliberation I decided to go and get it... so a shiny new Blade 450X is now sitting very menacingly on my model desk and looking superb.

It is my first non-micro and compared with the biggest heli I have flown, the Blade 120SR, it looks a bit scary. Still, I have got it now so I suppose I will have to learn to fly it!

Weather has been dreadful for everyone recently and my normal flying field is very waterlogged. So I am not sure I will have much of a chance to fly it over the Christmas period especially as I would rather an experienced heli pilot fly it the first time and make sure it is all working properly. I want to have a go now though.... AAAGH!

Any advice in setting up or for first flight? I can do reasonable circuits and fig 8s with the MCPX, even nose in hover, all in zero wind.

I have heard to make sure I get into the air cleanly otherwise the BeastX can make it fall over?

Also, I have a few 3S 2200mah 20C & 25C batteries. I notice that the E-Flight one supplied is 30C. Would my ones be OK for my gentle learner flying?

Older flybarless units had a problem with tip-over on take off. The BeastX doesn't have a problem in this regard though. Taking off cleanly is sound advice, but don't stress over it - just take off normally and you won't have a problem.

Your 20C and 25C LIPOs will be fine for learning on.

Just give yourself plenty of space to fly it and take it easy. Keep the heli at a safe distance from you (I have a habit of buzzing my mcpx quite close to myself!).

Chances are, the noise it will make in comparison to your mcpx will knock your socks off!

Top heli - good luck!

T

[Mike00top]

+1 on all the advice given above, the one thing i suggest you do when flying this bird is to do each thing gradually, so hover first and get used to the reactions, then do gentle figure 8's and get used to in stages,

the 450x WILL fly better than a MCPx, however remember it also has more energy and enertia, it can pick up speed very fast and to newer flyers may appear to take longer to stop too.

be safe !

You will love it

[450man]

Thanks for your comments.

I think the comments about safety are very important and it is right at the front of my mind but it is always worth being reminded of it. Thanks. I can let the MCPX hit my arm with clothes on an no harm is done but if the 450X hits me I will be at A&E or worse!!!

I have set up the TX now to book settings. I think I will add a bit of D/R and expo for the first flight in NORM mode. I assume that my learning flights would be in NORM mode? I have seen some forum posts that suggest learning in IDLE UP so you get used to it from the start... I feel that it is an unnecessary complication when learning the basics and just something else that can go wrong... what do you think?

[johnsandywhite]

Hi Paul. No DR or expo needed. Just be gentle, don't stir the cyclics until is is off the deck and just a touch of tail to keep it straight and it will be fine. Idle up really is a doddle, but Normal will be OK.

[Mike00top]

When learning to fly a heli there is a lot to learn or understand, and from the days when i learnt to fly full size, my instructor told me a valuable piece of information, and that was as soon as you leave the floor 50% of your brain power is lost to prioritizing what has to be done, its easy to forget the hold switch

so first off i suggest you go through it a few times in your mind, what you are going to do if it all goes wrong, and each thing you learn to do, think of your escape routes,

learn the habit of being friendly with the throttle hold switch, its surprising the money that switch can save

if you can learn with a mild throttle curve in idle up rather than normal, you will find the heli behaves better to quick collective inputs, and changes of mind, sure it will pull the heli down quicker if you panic close the throttle, but your mate the "hold" switch isnt far away

[450man]

Mike00top, you advice is sound except that I am ahead of you on that... I have been flying micro helis now for about 4 months, first the 120SR and then the MCPX and I am very used to using the HOLD switch when I am about to crash! It has happened enough times now for it to me automatic for me to hit the HOLD instead of lowering the throttle.

As for flying in idle-up... I think I will get a few batteries through first and get used to at least hovering before I risk switching to idle-up but I do agree that I would benefit from idle-up as soon as I feel able. I just want to be able to cope with any abrupt changes when I switch.

[tomatwalden]

Paul - a word of warning with regards to idle up on the 450x.

Assuming you're using the standard pitch curves from the 450x manual - you'll have a shock when you switch to idle up. I have no idea why Blade advise this, but the pitch at 50% stick should be 50% in normal mode. I can't recall the exact figure, but the stock curve gives you something like 60% at midstick. The result? - The heli drops sharply when you switch into idle up, and conversely, jumps up when you come back into normal from idle up.

Just nuts! Anyway, simple fix is to change the normal pitch curve to something more like 30,40,50,75,100 (ie. 50 at midstick).

Cheers. T

[450man]

Thanks T.

It looks like they have changed that little bit of fun they had!!!

These are the stock pitch curves from the manual now...

N - 30, 40 , 50, 75, 100
1 - 0, 25, 50, 75, 100
2 - 0, 25, 50, 75, 100
H - 0, 25, 50, 75, 100

Thanks for the heads up though... I expect that caught a few people out before they changed it!!!!

[tomatwalden]

Paul - you're right - I just checked on the Blade website! Interestingly, they still haven't fixed it for the 450-3D though as that still shows +ve pitch at mid-stick, but the 450X shows a sensible curve now ...

[Mike00top]

Mike00top, you advice is sound except that I am ahead of you on that... I have been flying micro helis now for about 4 months, first the 120SR and then the MCPX and I am very used to using the HOLD switch when I am about to crash! It has happened enough times now for it to me automatic for me to hit the HOLD instead of lowering the throttle.

As for flying in idle-up... I think I will get a few batteries through first and get used to at least hovering before I risk switching to idle-up but I do agree that I would benefit from idle-up as soon as I feel able. I just want to be able to cope with any abrupt changes when I switch.

great news Paul, using normal mode is fine for first hops of a new heli, just make sure its not too windy, or FFF the bigger heli's dont like the head speed dropping off too much while descending, tail and gyro get upset too.

WE JUST NEED THE RAIN TO STOP ! ! !

*** Happy Xmas ALL ***