Hello from new member Jethro.
- Thread starter Jethro
- Start date
Derek
Well-Known Member
Hi there, Jethro! Welcome to the forum! I've had the Blade SR before and I hated that helicopter. It could just be that I got the "sour grape" of the bunch...I dunno. Many of us, here on the forum, have the Phoenix Sim and many of us are on it pretty regularly. If you are looking for some RCH members to fly with, find the Official Phoenix Online Thread in the Paid Simulators section of the forum. Someone may come along and fly with ya. I'll look for ya from time to time. I enjoy getting on the sim. Take care buddy!!
Graham Lawrie
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum from Scotland Jethro 
Thank you all for the warm welcome. I'm a newbie with Rc Helicopters and will be starting off slow and cautious. This Forum is a great help in deciding which way to begin.
Derek, you mentioned you had a Blade SR and that you didn't like it. I know that others have had a problem with the tail motor twitching and there is a mod to replace it with a belt drive which they say greatly improves the performance. Did you have that problem and did you try the mod? What other issues did you have with the SR? Is there a better heli of similar size that you would recommend?
Thank you all again for all of the help.
Derek, you mentioned you had a Blade SR and that you didn't like it. I know that others have had a problem with the tail motor twitching and there is a mod to replace it with a belt drive which they say greatly improves the performance. Did you have that problem and did you try the mod? What other issues did you have with the SR? Is there a better heli of similar size that you would recommend?
Thank you all again for all of the help.
Derek
Well-Known Member
Hi there, Jethro! Yes, I did have the Blade SR and I found it very difficult to fly....as a beginner. I was thinking, as a beginner, that I would get a smaller helicopter because I could easily afford it and the parts weren't expensive, at all. However, I later found out (from people here at RCH) that the smaller heli's are harder to fly than the larger heli's. I can speak from experience that this is very much true.
I did buy the conversion kit for the Eflight Blade SR....twice.
Freestyle-Hobby
This company, Freestyle Hobby is not in the US so shipping took forever. The quality of the parts is mediocre. The mod parts did make the belt conversion possible but it was a real hassle to do. Keep in mind that I love to build. I love to tinker and I really did enjoy adding the tail conversion mod when I did it the first time. I was in such high hopes that it would help make my SR flyable. After completing the conversion, I attempted a hover. Long story short, it ended in disaster with a very brief hover and a very severe slam to the ground. Hmmm, so...to try it again, I ordered another conversion kit as well as some replacement parts because of the damage. I got the helicopter all repaired, about a month later due to shipping times from Freestyle Hobby, and I took my SR to the heli pro at my local hobby shop. He had never actually seen the belt conversion for the SR so he was curious. He inspected the heli and was impressed. We take the SR outside for him to fly it....and naturally, it hovers really well for him....after making many more adjustments to the dual rates, adding some expo, and changing out the tail servo. I ended up getting a Futaba 3114s servo for the tail and it seemed to work pretty well....for him. Ya see...he has been flying rc heli's for nearly 15 years. He has the reaction speed built into his head to fly these smaller heli's. This SR was my first CP heli.
So, I take the controller, my Spektrum DX6i, and I try to hover it. I get about 3 feet off the ground in a stable hover and there was a slight gust of wind that I wasn't prepared for and SLAM!!! SR DOWN!!!! SR DOWN!!!! AGAIN!!! ugh!
I bought the helicopter used for $125 in a ready to fly box. I then spent well over $400 in replacement and upgrade parts. I was bummed but still determined to fly CP heli's. I went back into the hobby shop and started talking to the guy and he suggested that, since I am a beginner, I should start with something a bit bigger. The bigger the helicopter..the bigger the blades..the larger the rotor disk..the more gyroscopic effect you have....that's what makes it easier to fly larger heli's over smaller ones. The pro then let me hover his Blade 450 and I was able to do so very well, although I was trembling severely because I didn't want to crash and slam a heli that wasn't mine. I lowered the throttle stick and set the 450 down and I had a smile on my face that would go from the east coast to the west coast. I ended up leaving the hobby shop with a Trex 500e Super Combo (450's all sold out). I got it built and I've been loving it ever since.
Ok, this post really turned out much longer than I thought. I apologize for that. Let me just say this....since you already have the SR, just be careful with it. I hope your flight experience with the SR I better than my experience. I have dozens of flights on my 500 now and I have hours and hours and HOURS of time logged on the Phoenix sim right now. Could I possibly hover the Blade SR now? I don't know but I think, for the time being, the 450 sized heli's will be the smallest that I'll fly.
If you are flying your Blade SR, that's awesome! If you are struggling a bit, maybe set it aside for now and get a 450 sized helicopter. Most people here, at RCH, will agree and suggest that a beginner start with a 450 sized helicopter. Yes, the parts are a bit more expensive than the SR but I promise you that the 450's are just easier to fly than a Blade SR.
I surely wish you the best of luck. I hope you continue to hang around the forum. This place is just packed full of very knowledgeable rc enthusiasts. We'll surely try to help you out in any way that we can.
Ok, I'm done....sorry about all that rambling, lol.
I did buy the conversion kit for the Eflight Blade SR....twice.
Freestyle-Hobby
This company, Freestyle Hobby is not in the US so shipping took forever. The quality of the parts is mediocre. The mod parts did make the belt conversion possible but it was a real hassle to do. Keep in mind that I love to build. I love to tinker and I really did enjoy adding the tail conversion mod when I did it the first time. I was in such high hopes that it would help make my SR flyable. After completing the conversion, I attempted a hover. Long story short, it ended in disaster with a very brief hover and a very severe slam to the ground. Hmmm, so...to try it again, I ordered another conversion kit as well as some replacement parts because of the damage. I got the helicopter all repaired, about a month later due to shipping times from Freestyle Hobby, and I took my SR to the heli pro at my local hobby shop. He had never actually seen the belt conversion for the SR so he was curious. He inspected the heli and was impressed. We take the SR outside for him to fly it....and naturally, it hovers really well for him....after making many more adjustments to the dual rates, adding some expo, and changing out the tail servo. I ended up getting a Futaba 3114s servo for the tail and it seemed to work pretty well....for him. Ya see...he has been flying rc heli's for nearly 15 years. He has the reaction speed built into his head to fly these smaller heli's. This SR was my first CP heli.
So, I take the controller, my Spektrum DX6i, and I try to hover it. I get about 3 feet off the ground in a stable hover and there was a slight gust of wind that I wasn't prepared for and SLAM!!! SR DOWN!!!! SR DOWN!!!! AGAIN!!! ugh!
I bought the helicopter used for $125 in a ready to fly box. I then spent well over $400 in replacement and upgrade parts. I was bummed but still determined to fly CP heli's. I went back into the hobby shop and started talking to the guy and he suggested that, since I am a beginner, I should start with something a bit bigger. The bigger the helicopter..the bigger the blades..the larger the rotor disk..the more gyroscopic effect you have....that's what makes it easier to fly larger heli's over smaller ones. The pro then let me hover his Blade 450 and I was able to do so very well, although I was trembling severely because I didn't want to crash and slam a heli that wasn't mine. I lowered the throttle stick and set the 450 down and I had a smile on my face that would go from the east coast to the west coast. I ended up leaving the hobby shop with a Trex 500e Super Combo (450's all sold out). I got it built and I've been loving it ever since.
Ok, this post really turned out much longer than I thought. I apologize for that. Let me just say this....since you already have the SR, just be careful with it. I hope your flight experience with the SR I better than my experience. I have dozens of flights on my 500 now and I have hours and hours and HOURS of time logged on the Phoenix sim right now. Could I possibly hover the Blade SR now? I don't know but I think, for the time being, the 450 sized heli's will be the smallest that I'll fly.
If you are flying your Blade SR, that's awesome! If you are struggling a bit, maybe set it aside for now and get a 450 sized helicopter. Most people here, at RCH, will agree and suggest that a beginner start with a 450 sized helicopter. Yes, the parts are a bit more expensive than the SR but I promise you that the 450's are just easier to fly than a Blade SR.
I surely wish you the best of luck. I hope you continue to hang around the forum. This place is just packed full of very knowledgeable rc enthusiasts. We'll surely try to help you out in any way that we can.
Ok, I'm done....sorry about all that rambling, lol.
Tony
Staff member
Except for the mSR. That thing is stupid stable for it's size.
Derek
Well-Known Member
Derek
Well-Known Member
Well, Tony thinks Derek is going to LOVE that 600 then if he will ever get it in the air and quit being a baby about the cold
lmao! Ya know...if I were to type the words that I just spoke, You'd probably ban me,lol.
So, let me just say, lol, it is -5 degrees right now and it's just too cold to do anything outside, lol. I still need to order the RC Booya canopy mounts, too.
MAN UP!!! 
