Hi everyone! Thinking about a Blade CP Pro.....

[GKH]

The only heli, I had previously flown was a Blade CX. I want a heli that is capable of everything, inverted, etc,,, So; I know, I have to take the next step. And; I know, I am going to have to re-learn about everything.

Thoughts on this selection are appreciated.

Would the E-Sky Honey Bee at a lesser price, be a better option for me? And; is it the same design as the CP Pro?

Thanks!

[eddiemoth]

GKH,
Welcome to HeliTown. It is a matter of preference. I have a Blade CP but I personally think that Esky Honeybee CP2 gives more values. However, one can say when you buy a Blade CP you have Hirozonhobby stand behind it, whereas for Eksy Honeybee CP2, you have to deal with the vendor if some parts are defect. Blade CP Pro has some upgrade to it. Overall both of them are good helis and can do what you want. I would be happy to have one of them. It is just my personal thought that if I were to buy this range of heli again, I would try Esky Honeybee CP2. I am sure others will give you their opinion. Let us know what is the winner when you decide.
Thanks
Eddie

[cooperd]

The Honey Bee is a similiar helo and may have some better features. However the Blade Pro is really just an improved Blade CP with the Miller/Hiller mixer already installed, and Lipo Battery provided instead of MyHyd.

I have two Blade CP's and a Trex. The Trex is 3 times the Blade as far as flying goes...of course it is 3 times the price.

I'd recommend the Blade CP because almost any hobby shop you walk into will have parts for it. They are widely sold and parts are everywhere. There are many places on the interenet that provide excellent set-up and how to info for the Blade. It is just a lot of bang for the buck.

Flying the Blade CX will not help you much in flying the Blade Pro...I found that out quickly. You may want to consider a simulator to start out with. Otherwise you will be buying parts quickly....especially blades.

[CaptEvo]

Hey GKH,
I'd go with the Esky, though local part support is not as good as BladeCP.
But part prices are close to double, and you can get esky parts from bphobbies or helidirect.
Just buy bulk of parts that you regularly break.

I had a bladecp, converted to CP2 just for part prices and the better head - before the Pro version exists.

Hi CaptEvo,
I always want to convert my Blade CP to some of the Esky parts but didn't have time to start yet.

Can you share wichi parts that you converted on your Blade CP? One thing I like about CP2 is that parts seem to more scalable than Blade CP. For example, the main shaft and main gear are one piece with Blade CP and they are separate for CP2. For Blade CP, if the main shaft is bent you have to replace the whole set together with the main gear. For CP2, you don't have to replace the whole thing. Another thing I see if the connection between the landing gear and the frame. CP2 it is screwed to the frame whereas Blade CP use the fuel tupping.

But, again I like both and I have still have Blade CP.

[CaptEvo]

admin,
I just pulled my previous order with helidirect for esky head.

1 x Main Shaft Drive Gear Set - Honey Bee CP2 $6.11
1 x Rotor Head Set - Honey Bee CP2 $6.83
1 x Center Hub Set - Honey Bee CP2/Blade CP $6.83
1 x Screw, Nuts, Washers - Honey Bee CP2 $2.63
1 x Pitch Control Linkage Set - Honey Bee CP2 $2.83
1 x Main Axis - Honey Bee CP2 $3.64

[Sleepstalker]

The Blade CP Pro is a very nice unit , however it is Not for the Beginner and that is where you might be if just graduating from a CX , however some peeps pick up things very quickly and flying a coax heli has been useful for you in orientation . Flying a Bell hiller head is much more twitchy and I would highly reccomend starting off with a good head holding gyro for this bird , if you want to keep from banging the sticks around! At just about $300 bucks here in Canada for a CP Pro you are halfway to a Trex 450/XL . The key is if you got an experianced heli pilot that will help you with the original setup and maybe spend a lil "buddy box" time. Good luck bud...Sleepster... 8)

[swatson144]

My thought on the pro. It's like putting lipstick on a pig!

With that motorized tail it'll never be much more than a beginer machine. I can't see spending any real money to have a loose tail.

I'm not knocking the Blade CP or Hbee CP2. They are entry level machines and absolutetly great as such. I know there are talented people who can sorta stunt them, land on the ceiling and such, but they are the guys that can 3d a brick. The low cost of entry is great and you'll be well pleased with either GKH, as long as you don't turn it into a money pit and know when to move on. I'd skip on the Pro and not worry about mods. I too like the CP2 over the BCP. They are great as an entry level. You can buy a RTF fly it a while until the finances settle out. Buy a real TX and set a heli you already know up in it. It'll be a world better just flying with TC/PC set the way you like. After a while you can start looking for a more capable machine in the size you want, You'll have the transmitter for it.

If you aren't carefull you can have 700$ in lipstick and that makes it hard to walk away from.

My 20 mills, I don't mean to offend anyone but its the way I see it

Steve

[remyrw]

That's basically the boat I found myself in. I went from a CX to a CP and while I haven't even managed what I'd call a good extended hover with it I'm already buying the pieces for a T-Rex package. I think the price is great for getting a feel for standard helis, but it's not only too twitchy but also prone to getting unadjusted and "weird" between flights. I feel like I'm battling the machine more than learning to fly it.

When it's right I love learning on it, but the limits and hassles of the design were apparent very early and I decided to start moving toward a T-Rex 450XL cde rather than try to "fix" the Blade.

I'll probably keep the Blade for inside hover practice once I am more skilled. Hopefully I'll also have gotten most of the bugs out and won't spend more time keeping it working than I do flying it.

[swatson144]

If you aren't too far into the Trex thing... You may want to have a look at a Corona (in big electrics) It's slightly larger than a Trex but most crashes cause no damage. Very tough. The best part is if you equip it with a Mega 16-15-3, good Gyro, 2100 3s packs, you can move every thing over to a mini CP later and sell the Corona with servos for about what you have in it. They maintain a high resale value.

Not trying to hijack the thread but it is kinda directed at the OP also. You'll sure learn a lot faster with out the fear of crashing and the down time to set everything back up. For some reason most beginners want to buy a 3d capable "last heli I'll need" for a first ship, not knowing that unless they are very gifted it'll be months and many crashes before they can do FF well.

Steve

[remyrw]

In my case the T-rex is the right choice. I plan to program in a good bit of expo and setup the throttle and pitch curves to be pretty gentle at first. My problem with the Blade CP is less flying it than mechanical issues that ruin flights. When it all works I hover pretty well and in the sim I can do everything short of aerobatics without trouble. My biggest problem is that to fly the T-Rex properly I'll finally need to take it somewhere other than my backyard. The Blade is tricky enough when trying to keep it on a small patio to avoid grass landings (I put down any time I might be losing it or there's a breeze, just in case, but the yard is hardly smooth and even here.)

Basically, when trimmed properly and the darn tail isn't deciding to die on me I can hover in about a 3 foot area and usually don't stray outside a 6 foot area even when I goof. I'm probably a good month and a half from the T-Rex being ready to fly so by then I figure I'll have that down to a smaller circle with almost no "extra" area, along with regular forward flight.

[swatson144]

Yep that is always an option too. Keep the BCP for early morning calm evenings and fly in your BY. I find to do anything with my x400s I have to go to the school yard where there is a lot more room than the church lot I fly the Corona in. The church lot is across the street, the school is a couple blocks through kid infested neighborhoods (I sometimes turn into Pied Piper) in route.

It certainly takes some of the sting out of waiting for parts if you have a spare. Sure seems like when you are down the weather is perfect and when the parts get installed 40 days and nights of wind and rain.

The motorized tail sucks but they are a lot of fun for informal putzing around. It's very hard to work on technique when you don't know if you screwed up or it just weathervaned in a gust. Of course going from FFF to running piros unexpectedly is pretty interesting.

Steve

[remyrw]

My favorite is when you are getting a really nice steady hover, almost no wandering, no yoyo at all... then all of a sudden it just turns and starts sliding but you could swear that the breeze was from the other direction.

You do basically what I figure I'll be doing. Blade for by the house, the T-Rex will be trips to the park a mile away. I'm sure I'll practice hovering in the backyard but there's not nearly enough room for anything other than little circles in terms of ff. The whole yard's only about 25x50 and that includes some trees, a small garden and overhanging tree branches from outside the fence. Plenty of room to hover, but even with the Blade CX it sometimes got small for FF.

R

[hoverdown3k]

I am in the market for another micro chopper and was looking at the Blade Pro, but I think I will save some $$ if I go with the Esky

I already have a radio and a 4in1 so I am only looking for the frame.

[eddiemoth]

hoverdown3k
I also have a spare 4 in 1 from my old Esky HB FPII. I might buy the frame as well. BPhobbies has it for $69.99 - http://www.bphobbies.com/view.asp?id=V019752&pid=NESKV002

[estarter]

I have a Blade CP with the AEK and it's my first helo, learn hovering form it. I had over 1000 minutes flights on her and still going strong ( have many parts replaced from crashes, wear and tear ). I also have a Walkera 22E which is same as Venom night ranger 3D, it is an in-expensive RTF helo, I'm surprised that she handles better than the Blade CP.

[eddiemoth]

Hi estater,
It is good to see you here. I do hear some people talk good things about Walkera here and there. I heard that it is only the electronics that have problems and some people stripped them off and use third party electronics.

[Sleepstalker]

Yes Walkera has cleaned up their act from the early days fixed pitch offerings where you were **** lucky to get a decent hover to where they are today. The frame and components are now robust but I still have an aversion to 3in1 and 4in1 electronics . It would also be nice if they said " ok here is our version of XXX heli" so you now know you can get compatible parts at your LHS. nuff said...Sleepster... 8)

[TalonOne]

Now I just need to learn to Fly it!!

I like many of you bought it thinking I might as well get a good one right out of the gate. I failed to calculate my lack of talent as a pilot. All is not lost however the parts are flying off the shelf at the local Hobbie Store.

With time I too will attempt FF. I just ordered the cable and sim to practice with.......... as the parts bill is getting harder to get by my wife. :)

But I really like the support and service a US based manufacturer gives you.


Watch for trees!!!

TalonOne :lol:

[scootercp2]

in case anyone is still interested just thought i'd tell you that a guy iw ork with bought a cp pro at the same time i got my cp2, comparing them side by side the only advantages i see for the pro is that it already comes with heat sinks on the motor and a cooler looking body. Other than that i'm glad i bought the cp2 the parts are a lot cheaper and if you buy it from rc-expert.com i was able to get the traing gear set, aluminum head upgrade, landing skid upgrade, extra main motor, frame, tail rotor housing, fin set, and fms software with sim cable. For 189.00 way cheaper than the cp pro from the lhs.

[Sleepstalker]

Er.. the price differential on Horizon website from CP to CPPRO is $30.00 not a lot of money for the increase in options and functions on the TX alone.

Based on the tried and true Blade CP platform, the Blade CP Pro adds the lightweight power of a 3-cell 800mAh Li-Po battery pack, the lightning quick cyclic response of Bell-Hiller mixing, and the upright or inverted agility of symmetrical main rotor blades. Plus, it can easily be outfitted with brushless power and a heading lock gyro, without the need for a new radio system or difficult modifications. For red-hot micro heli aerobatics in about the time it takes for you to charge a battery pack, nothing can touch the cutting-edge Blade CP Pro.

Pardon the Horizon Hype that I pasted above but for $30.00 more there is a lot more heli...Sleepster... 8)

[eddiemoth]

It is hard to believe what a Blde CP Pro can do. This is a link to Nickmaxwell's vid http://media.putfile.com/Hyper-BCP-Pro-10906

[zen]

After hearing estarter's Walker #22e I recognize the high-pitched while as a direct-drive tail motor. The power of the BCPP in the video clearly indicates brushless power.

Sure wish I could fly like that....

[MAXXED]

The Blade CP is a great heli to learn to hover on, as well as basic flying.
For a complete RTF setup with a radio and all electronics installed, it's hard to beat for the price.
It got me back into helis after I had taken a few years off.
When you're learning to hover, a motorized tail is very forgiving, as you tend to hit lots of things with the tail, which instantly stops before doing a lot of damage.
The Blade CP and CP2 rotor heads are completely interchangeable.
I have a Blade CP Pro and CP2 head that I interchange on my HDX300.
However, once you're past the hovering stage, it's time to move up to a belt driven tail heli and separate electronics, and a better radio.
If you have gotten that far, it's time to reward yourself and take it to the next level.
Just about the time you get hovering down, you'll find that the Blade CP/CP2 will start to burn out main and tail motors, and your 4-in-1 will go up in a puff of smoke.
It seems like the Blade CP/CP2 was designed to be a disposable heli.
It's great right out of the box when it's brand new, but as it starts to wear out and you pile on the flight time, it gets pricey in a hurry. 4 in 1's aren't cheap.
You'll find at that point it's a worthwhile investment to step up to your next heli.

[estarter]

I learnt flying heli with BCP and I had 150+ flights on her, gone thru couple main motors, 5+ tail motors and still going strong. The 4in1 smoke when the main motor burnt out, HH replaced it free plus a set of free crystal. She can take on some breeze with the AEK, 3S lipo and is a great beginner/intermediate heli. I like the BCP so much that I bought the BCPP and mod it with one way gear, metal swash and DD tail.

[zen]

Well, I don't know how it happened, but suddenly my Blade CP Pro is very flyable, even in a moderate breeze. I run the Walkera #4 tail motor, which holds the tail better than the motor supplied by E-flite.

A couple of days ago I started flying the BCPP after flying the Trex and a Walkera #4 FP heli. Outside in a mild breeze the Blade sat side-on to me and seemed to hang there waiting for me to tell it what to do. It did forward flight and brisk turns without any problem. I have flown it every day since. Today there was a pretty good breeze and I was able to compensate and keep flying, although I toned down the forward flight.

I once wrote to a heli freak in Michigan that the Blade is "a troll under a bridge that we all must cross" because I had come to believe that a real RC heli pilot is able to fly the Blade. It lets us take advantage of flying spaces too small for our Trex 450's and 600's and spectators see it as a cute, interesting, and non-threatening little bird.

[eddiemoth]

Well, I don't know how it happened, but suddenly my Blade CP Pro is very flyable, even in a moderate breeze.......

The helli is not changed but your flying skills. That is the sign of skill improvement.

[G-MRM]

Your not wrong there Eddie, skill and stick time flying go hand in hand ! Good for you Zen !
Martin

[basic]

i will say after learning to hover and stuff on the BCPP, the trex is a very forgiving bird. much much more stable in comparsion, but i would imagine if you were to learn to fly on a trex you would think otherwise.

I'm actually in the market for a blade CX or the like for myself inside and the fiance, for me to help with NI and stuff like that, and maybe to get the fiance hooked.

[The Broker]

I'm actually in the market for a blade CX or the like for myself inside and the fiance


I am all for that we need more women flyers and you couldn't do better than a Blade CX 8) 8)

[eddiemoth]

Basic, it is a good idea to have one in the home to entertain you especially when you are grounded because of the winds and rains outside. I fly cmaxim's Blade CX2 when she is not around. Sometimes she screams at me from the other side of the house when she knows I am flying it. I normally fly Blade CX2 when I can't take stress any more with other bigger helis. Blade CX2 is the only heli can fly and feel relaxed.

[basic]

she says she'll be afriad to fly it, but i think once she see's it's size and how easy they fly she might change her mind. I'd like to get her out so she could enjoy it with me.

[The Broker]

Sometimes she screams at me from the other side of the house when she knows I am flying it.
quite right too Eddie you shouldn't borrow Chinda's heli without permission, if anyone touches my heli's without asking it would be them doing the screaming :lol: :lol: :lol:


she says she'll be afriad to fly it
I think she will change her mind, women are suited to heli flying in my opinion and then it will be a T-Rex she wants 8)

[zen]

I keep the Lama around for indoor and night time outdoor flights. Especially when everything else is waiting for parts.

Also, I let brand-new people fly the co-axial because it is almost crash-proof. (super blades and flexible tail from miracle-mart.com)

[basic]

quick ? about the cx/cx2 - will the 3s lipos i have for the cpp work on it or is it a 2s only bird?

[estarter]

The motors in CX will burn out faster with 3S lipo.

[basic]

will the ESC handle them then?

[zen]

The battery that goes in the CX/2 is specially shaped for the narrow recess it goes in. I don't think a 3s will fit.

[estarter]

will the ESC handle them then?

The esc uses typical SO8 N-channel MOSFET like 4410A, the chip is rated 30V, 10A. They are commonly used in the FP/CP 4in1 micro heli.

If you decided to try 3S, add a fast acting 7.5A fuse to each motor for protection.

[tonybolony]

does a Heading Lock Gyro make the heli easier to fly?

[estarter]

Yes if it is set up properly.