first flight in a while

i forget how nice it is to fly a quality machine... i finally charged the batteries after 3 months of rain hold.

it was a bit windier than the AXE could handle. so after a few minutes of battling the breeze, i gave up, and landed... only to switch to the larger kyosho. i don't know if if was the gyro or the greater mass of the helo, but breeze be dammed! i was able to fly all over my backyard, only to get more cautious as i flew under some trees. what a nice boost in confidence. i think i'm gonna fall in love with this flying thing all over again.

Bigger Brother - a sneak peak

Imagine that. the big K finally stepped up and announced an electric 30 size heli. it certainly took 'em long enough.

the Kyosho 700 EP releases in April 2008. Happy Hunting!

more info here

Added a new sibling to the Family

Please welcome the Blade 400.
I picked this up a month ago, as a comparison to the 400XP. that, and i wanted to check out the DX6i that comes in the box. i may end up selling the radio on Ebay... bundled with one of the other Helis that are just sitting around now. anyone want to purchase a fully used Blade CP or Helimax AXE CP? ask nicely and i may even throw in the extra parts :P

Irregardless, the new heli is still sitting in the box, and waiting to maidened.

Younger Brother

Kyosho released a new helo in August of 2007. this one is almost identical in size to the XP, the main difference is that the 450V uses 3 servos in a eCCPM (Cyclic Collective Pitch Mixing) arrangement, as opposed to the 3 axis Single Servo Mechanical Mixing setup on the 400. and no, i haven't purchased one.... yet.

More Information

not waiting anymore.

oh the hell with it.

i gave in and bought the dx7 barebones, and added some cheap servos + the AR6100 to the mix. i'm pretty sure i ended up paying more for it this way, but it sure as hell beats waiting for Horizon to catch up with demand.

still trying to figure out how to tune the gyro, and maybe find a better place to mount the receiver, and route the wire to it.

pictures will be forthcoming... soon... i hope...

still waiting....

due to family and supply issues, progress has been stalled on the heli.

i'm waiting for horizon to release the spektrum DX7 + micro servos. + AR 6100. i may end up giving in, and buying all the parts separate, because i'm tired of waiting.

on the plus side, i just received a Hitec HS-50 Micro Servo to use in the tail. this little thing is tiny!

Speed: 0.09sec/60 degree
Weight: 0.2oz/6.1g.
Torque: 7.91oz-in. (0.6kg-cm)
Size: 0.8 X 0.4 X 0.8" (21 X 11 X 22mm)

one little thing, when you're mounting the servo, first center the servo... then attach the horn... then connect it to the tail rotor linkage...

if you forget to center the servo, then you gotta re-position the mount twice!

also, use the corner and edges of a business card, to ensure the rotor linkage matches the 90 degrees spec'd by the manual.

i bought another one

no, just kidding, my pal Johnny @ Boss Robot lent me his display model Trex40SA. i'll be doing a photo comparison between the two models. if you've got any questions, NOW would be the time to ask for direct photo-photo comparisons.

but to start it off...
a quick link to: Align's website

wow... can i just say? what a craptacular website. wtf! why must the manufacturer force one to surf the web in order to find product detail? damn!

lucky for us, there's alot of support @ rcgroups... and runryder.. and rcuniverse... and.....