New Blade 130 X 3D

[Nutz 0]

Looks tasty

 

[Lofty 5]

Horizon Hobby's / Blade just don't stop! Looks / feels like they are being out a new helicopter every 6 to 8 weeks

[Bravedan 106]

OK, so its been around for quite a while now, so where are we with it?

 

On the face of it, its been a very popular model. However, with few Heil flyers in the club the only people I know with one are Sam (yellowalert), Bill Turvill, and myself.

 

Sam bought a batch one import. At the time it was just emerging that the model was suffering from what can only be said with hindsight to be diabolically bad Quality Control. The model was somewhat revolutionary as it had a shaft tail drive with "proper" pitch control of the tail rotor, pretty much a first in anything affordable and that small.

 

This is obviously far better than a one directional tail motor with fixed pitch blades. However, due to poor manufacture, it was in that area that most of the mechanical issues arose, worsened as many models also came through with (simply) too much Gyro set, exacerbating the situation!

 

Now, gyro setting on a tail driven single motor/engine helicopter is a basic need not a nice to have, especially for a 3 Axis flybarless collective type and yet IT WAS NOT IN THE MANUAL!!

 

Heli Modellers being what they are, it didn't take too long before how to achieve this started being spread on the jungle telegraph. Eventually the importers to the UK made this available:-

 

http://www.horizonhobby.com/pdf/BLH3780_Gyro_menu.pdf

 

Now there are videos of how to do this (and other "fixes") out there made by people, but my advice is IGNORE THEM!!! It never ceases to amaze me how people rush to make a video when they don't know enough about the subject OR making a video. If you are bored sometime watch a few, there's a great one where the guy gets part way through explaining the gyro setting process, tries something a few times increasingly desperately, mutters "that didn't work" and the video ends......and yet he STILL published it on YouTube!!!

 

There is a another really funny one where a guy is trying to show a problem he has with one during which he puts his fingers into the fast rotating blades and says "OOOH, that hurt", and yet HE STILL PUBLISHED IT. BTW, the "fault" wasn't a fault at all, just the 3 axis gyro doing its job while held static !!

 

A third has the guy talking over "background" rock music so loud you can hardly hear what he is mumbling about!

 

Priceless!!!

 

I waited and bought a batch 2 model, hoping that HH would get on top of the quality control issues. WRONG!

 

Mine came with a cross tail shaft so undersized that the bearings appeared to be shot, but inspection under an illuminating magnifyer showed the shaft rattling around in the bearing inners!!

 

Mine also has the tail drive shaft either bent or eccentric to the bearings fitted to it, giving a small but annoying judder in hover. Have not replaced this yet.

 

Bills has been modded to try to stop tail shake but as of Tues evening had the gyro turned up a little high (as most seem to have on arrival).

 

So, a disaster to avoid then?? Well, NO!!

 

Once reasonably sorted, it is a great flying machine that will perform in far more weather than its small size would suggest, it performs much more like a 3D 500 in stability terms and in wind handling.

 

Would I recommend one, well, not to someone not willing and able to dig deeper that you should have to, but given that, YES!!

[Bravedan 106]

Four months on since last post, and mine is still running, with at least once weekly use. No extreme 3D but loops and rolls/flips. It is still fitted with all the original parts with the sole exception of the main shaft tail drive gear, which simply wore its teeth away, and is now replaced with a metal one.

[Bravedan 106]

And its still going...................