Disappointed with CX3

[ThinKat]

I've been learning to fly on this thing for a few months now and I've roughly got the hang of it - with help from a simulator. But there are a few problems with it.

First it's incredibly fragile.
- The skids break every time the landing is heavy. I've got used to aralditing them back together but it's either bad design or bad materials.
- I now seem to have done something to the shaft - the top rotor doesn't contra-rotate properly so that the heli just spins uncontrollably.
- The body is incredibly feeble and badly made.

Surprisingly the blades are undamaged.
Secondly it seems to take a long time to respond to controls and it doesn't really respond very much to any of them with the exception of the rudder, which is very sensitive.

Basically it's pretty useless for what I want. I had an Apache 4ch (bought from Maplin) which was much better quality than the CX3 but it was the wrong mode for me. It cost £75 but I've seen them new on ebay for £30.

Is there any heli out there which is a) tougher b) better made and c) more responsive? I don't mind paying for quality - the CX3 is just not "fit for purpose".

[billydude]

OK, may as well join the rant! I bought the CX3 as a first attempt at a semi serious heli when it first came out and found the it so fragile I almost gave up on the whole thing and threw it in the bin......land a bit heavily and bang, no undercarriage, the blades are made of rubbish that shatters with slightest impact and the body is made of some ultra fragile material that if you look at it too hard it breaks - BAH!
Now fitted previous version undercart that sits a bit strange (tilted forward, but good once clear of ground) but is in three bits and SOLID.
I guess it also helps a bit to have some good crash practice under my belt and can now fly most times, several batts without breaking anything. My latest addition (Trex 250) is SOLID in comparison.

Rant over.

Bill

[heliboy]

To be honest the CX3 is very fragile compare to some to some of the contra rotating helis that are out there.They are good much not much of a step up from the cx2 only that they have the head lock gyro.

If you are confident enough that you have the orientations right maybe its time to step up to a 450 size heli and move forward form the contras.

[anyw]

i don't know the cx3, so this suggestion might be off the mark but i have a century spirit and i think it is very good, strong and sturdy (well fairly)
thinkat where abouts on dartmoor are you, if you want a look at the spirit then maybe i could come and show it

[est1976]

have you thought about a MSR? almost as stable as a cx and quite durable.

[tiddler]

You could take a look at the Ripmax Minicopter. I had one for about eight or nine months (Sold it now) and found it to be a good flier, very durable and very good value for money. Way cheaper than the cx3 which I also have, and like you Was disgusted at the unbelievable poor quality of the landing skids. Ended up fitting a cx2 body and skids which are much better.

Oh yeah and the mSR is a blast plus it will bind to your cx3 radio

[chally3]

I stuck trex 250 skids on my CX3, that seemed to sort it out for the odd bumpy landing

[bolders]

Oh yeah and the mSR is a blast plus it will bind to your cx3 radio

Yes you can do this but its worth mentioning that you would have to remember to switch the DIP switches each time you switch helis.

I have often wondered why they cant supply the same radio with the msr as they do with the CX2/3 as its much better. The CX2/3 is more complex and has more parts but purchase price is about the same as the msr.
However you're right the msr is a blast and its worth the cost from an enjoyment point of view.

I also have a CX2 which had quite a few hard landings when i was first learning (it was my first heli) and it stood up to it all without any breakages.

[ThinKat]

Thanks for the offer anyw, but I'm on the west side of Dartmoor - a long trek down narrow Devon lanes.

I reckon maybe I should get a CX2 body and skids as you guys seem to think they're a bit better. I'm not sure that I'm yet good enough to move up from the contras. The strange thing is I can fly on the simulator pretty well and put the heli where I want but as soon as I have to fly the real thing it's a completely different matter for some reason.

I guess I need more spare parts too. The top rotor doesn't move properly anymore. At first, after the crash, it moved in the same direction as the bottom rotor. It's recovered a bit but it still doesn't move properly and the heli spins uncontrollably. Any ideas on which bit I need - the shaft looks straight, so maybe it's a stripped gear or something?

[tiddler]

ThinKat,
It sounds to me like the lower gear may have come loose on the centre shaft.
You will need to remove the mainframe from the body and check the screw on that gear is tight and in line with the small flat on the shaft itself.

See part 036 on this pdf >>>>> Exploded diagram <<<<<

And yes, the cx2 body, battery tray and skids will fit straight on to your cx3

[ThinKat]

Thanks for the diagram. When I looked at those gears they seemed alright so I thought there was some other damage. I tried flying it again and now it seems OK, so I guess the gears were knocked out of alignment and have now righted themselves.

[martynv]

I bought my CX3 last May and almost imeadiately broke the skids and chiped both blades whilst flying outside. At the time I was dissapointed as you are now. After examining the various options I changed the body for the Xtreme Tailboom, Skids and Canopy and at the same time I added the Xtreme hard blades and blade grips together with the longer upper rotor. So far this combination is virtualy bomb proof and I fly outside almost all of the time, so far I've only broken one side board on the skids and this was a mere £3 to replace. I'd definitely recommend the Xtreme upgrades they make the world of difference. I've now also got the SE180 motors and alloy E-Flite swash and lower rotor as well.

Note: You will need a CX2 battery tray and body pin set to fit the Xtreme body stuff

[grahamw]

Thinkat, I have the Maplin/Colco lama 5, and mine started to spin badly when you used a lot of throttle. Turned out to be the brushes in one of the motors had worn out and so that motor was less efficient at high speeds than the other. I replaced the motor for a few quid and it was okay again. Could that be the case in yours?

TBH I'm getting a bit fed up of having to replace the motors so often - they dont seem to last long.

[ThinKat]

After examining the various options I changed the body for the Xtreme Tailboom, Skids and Canopy and at the same time I added the Xtreme hard blades and blade grips together with the longer upper rotor.

Last week I ordered a tailboom and some "unbreakable" skids from boomtownhobbies - I think they're their own design. I also ordered the Xtreme canopy. I don't think I'll change the blades because I haven't broken the originals yet and maybe it's better breaking a blade than breaking the motor.

I think I'll also need a CX2 battery tray but I haven't ordered that yet - I guess I'll get the aluminium one, but I'll wait till I get the other parts and see what else I need, which isn't very clear at the moment. I still think it's ridiculous that the standard parts are quite so feeble.

[mtlblade]

cx2 battery tray requires the cx2 skids also,they are a differant style then the cx3..and if you are running the stock cx3 body you might have to trim the body a bit for them to fit.not shure abought how the battery goes in with the new skids i changed to a cx2 body at the same time as my gear and skid change. hated having not being able to get to any thing with out taking off the whole head assembly.