Micro Mcpx Bl2 Anyone?

[leedude1]

Hey guys, I wondering if anybody has picked one of these babies up?
Im going to be doing some indoor flying over the winter and think this is the way to go for the space I have. It will allow me to push things a bit and practice beyond the sim.
I have a Nano S2 but that is really not up to scuff and I use it just around the house just to get my yah yahs out so to speak. It does the job but dont think its as capable as I would like it to be.

 

[Matt]

Leedude, that’s an awesome thought.. I was just going to message everyone that I was hanging up my heli’s for the winter, but if I can get something to fly indoors, I’m totally up to that, although I’d go with the Trex 150x

if fact if Tony is still selling his Trex 150, I might be interested..

 

[leedude1]

I had 2 Trex 150s they work well but crash terribly and that was the issue I had with them and sold mine. Wiring from the tail motor was fiddly and with the satellite for the Spectrum made th canopy a super tight fit also.
Like I said, its a great bird but it spent more time on the bench than I liked and became cost ineffective so to speak. Im not looking for a perfect bird but one I can try things with that wont be 100$ every time I crash it.
From what I see the MCPX BL2 has a total of 26 parts and outside of the board which will rarely be a goner is about 10$ a part..Landing gear has been upgraded (my pet peeve with the other blade micros) so I think ill bite the bullet and give it whirl.

 

[Matt]

The good thing about the Blade helis is that every hobby shop stocks them, and your right, fixing a Trex 150x is costly.. and if I planned on crashing more than flying maybe the 150x is not a good option.. especially having to wait for parts..

I think the Mcpx BL2 might be smaller than the Trex 150x..

but your also right about finding something to fly inside since this is the worst time of year for a heli enthusiast..

 

[Tony]

The only thing about the Mcpx that I didn't like was those little linkages for the head. If you didn't have a stockpile of them, you were down until your order came in. But other than that, it is a great helicopter.

As for the 150x, I don't have the tight canopy issue. Of course I'm running one of the Xcanopy canopies so it may have a little more room. And the crash resistance from the Mcpx and the 150 I find to be about the same. But on the 150, you MUST have a good handle on hitting that Hold switch. The 150 has (had?) more power than the Mcpx and if you crashed under power, it would break stuff.

Oh, and crashing it into the side of your house.... It doesn't matter which helicopter you have, they all explode into a million pieces lol.

 

[Matt]

I’ve got but I don’t quite have the $179.99 for the Mcpx bl2.. if I went to my hobby shop they’d probably have one.. let me know how you make out with this and if it’s worth the trouble..

 

[Tony]

If you can spring for the Mcpx BL, it's worth the money. Great little helicopter to hone some skills in the winter if you have a good place to fly it. I loved mine when it was flying, but mine was the brushed original version that I put an HP05 on. Definitely a good little heli to play with.

 

[Matt]

I do need something to fly indoors this winter.. awesome idea to hone skills while it’s miserable outside.. I’ll call my LHS and see if they’ve got a BNF one..

And, your right, I bet the cost of parts on the Mcpx bl2 is much cheaper than the 150x..

 

[leedude1]

Yeah I had the brushed MCPX years ago also and really enjoyed it, the tail was a little under powered but not bad at all for my flying then. I really didn't need more for circuits.
I have a gymnasium to myself for an hour one night a week. Its just next to my place, and I have it just before some badminton group. Although the sim is great,the live flight and jitters that come with it can only be washed out on the real thing. But like all of you, the thought of driving in one of the more expensive birds keeps me honest and stick shy.
When they released this brushless , from what im seeing its more than capable and with the pricelist on the parts, as I see it, I can afford to play a little.

If I were outdoors, then I would move to my 180 or like Tony the 150 (keeping the house at a safe distance) because they eat up space quick.
So the order is in.. should have it by week's end or early the following.
Ill keep you guys posted.

 

[Matt]

Awesome making the purchase.. I think everyone needs a heli to fly indoors this winter..

The simulator gets boring after a while and there is something about having a legit heli to fly when the weather outside is "not so awesome"..

 

[Tony]

Nice! Keep us posted on how you like it.

 

[leedude1]

Yeah will do boys, man I just ordered some "more than likely"spares eg: spindle, hardware bag, and was going to order a main shaft as well, but all my LHS and even horizon state back ordered until mid FEB!!!! dont understand that one....Wow, if its aluminum as stated , my guess is this will be the first to go in crash . So would be grounded after the first for 2 plus months lol... better just hover this baby when i get it.
Anyway gents ill keep you posted.

 

[Tony]

Are they not using the carbon fiber main shaft anymore? Those were easy to make spares with as long as you have a way to drill tiny holes very accurately. And putting a flat spot for the main gear.

Has me wondering how hard it would be to machine a new main shaft.

 

[leedude1]

I thought so to but the spare on the site is showing Aluminum? Id probably get a aftermarket on that one if it is because it looks like the aluminum shaft is going for the aforementioned 10$ so 2 crashes would cover the cost of the a carbon microheli or rakhon..hell id even check to see if the mainshaft from my old Brushless would fit. If they havent changed the frame to much or distances then I may get away with that swap out.. Ill check it when it comes in.

 

[Matt]

Micro heli and some other manufacturers make parts for the blade helis, they may be more $ but worth the time if the parts are back ordered..

lynx and Kbdd had some stuff too..

check eBay because I know some people are selling their helis with parts and maybe having two helis (one for parts would be better)..

I think if you look around for OEM parts there are a lot of shops out there and just because it’s back ordered in one shop there is a good chance another shop has the part..

I know China always has parts but the wait is long..

 

[leedude1]

Thanks Matt,

Yeah Im aware of the aftermarket/upgrade parts. I had even written an article for Rc Rotor World on them about a year ago.

So yes, you are absolutely right. If your playing with micros a lot of time, if the budget allows, purchasing a second one for spares can in fact save you money when you start adding up all the bits and bites.

Due to the slow down in the market, micro sized upgrade parts have been really reduced to the main players in Microheli and Rakon heli. Lynx appears to have dropped off in this area. My guess for that is simply that they decided to focus on their own birds as they now have entered the field with the OXY's in almost every size.

Anxious to play with this MCPX BL2. The previous versions were the birds that allowed me to really progress in the hobby at the time so they hold special place so to speak.

 

[leedude1]

So Ive got the bird late last week.
This one needs a little room, I would not fly this indoors unless your going to be in Gym (the reason for my purchase actually winter flying).
I needed to throw some expo into this baby because as per manual set up and "0" expo its Waaaay to twitchy for me. To each his own here I guess. Anyway, my bad here and a word to the wise, if your going to take off in normal (suuuper slow and almost non responsive) and then flip into any of the Idle ups either key in the same expo on ALL flight modes or just take off in the mode you want to fly in eg; I1 or I2 (3D) at mid stick. I'm not used to setting my birds up in this manner. I use the same settings more or less and just use a change in head-speed and maybe subtle changes in DR and expo but nothing major. But here if you take off in safe mode and flip into idle up without matching the expo, the change will drive your heli into the ceiling LOL or ground depending on what your doing at the time. i saw the same thing happen with the nano S2 and now just take off in Idle#1 at mid stick.

So, having said that the I bend the aluminum main-shaft I was originally concerned with... I swapped it out with a carbon fibre one I had on my old MCPX BL ..perfect swap out BTW boys in case you have some old parts, there is obviously some cross over.
Apparently I have a faulty board as in all honestly the impact was equivalent to a hard landing and now the bird blinks out for nano second and comes back or goes from a solid hover to a hard bank left regardless of stick input.

On the positive side, as per norm, Horizon has provided great support. When I wrote them, provided a small video of what was going on they told me they were going to flip me out a new board when its gets in. (so much for the winter flying as they dont expect them in until feb either) . No biggy, but in honestly from the few flights I did put in this thing has balls for its size and so far only complaint is the aluminum mainshaft. The one thing about that I do like is there is a small sert screw at the bottom that will prevent the main gear from being pulled off in hard pitch changes.

Any way ll post up a little more info in a few guys.

 

[Tony]

That sucks about the main board issue! But great news on the main shaft being interchangeable. Definitely looking for an update on this one.

 

[leedude1]

So I wrote to Horizon last week, as they are sending me a new board. I was supposed to get by now (mid feb was the original date listed on the site for the restock) ... they wrote me back and said March or April depending on where I am on the list... Oooof that's a long wait to get my 3rd flight in on a new bird , just saying, especially since it was supposed to be my indoor winter gym flyer .. lesson learned. Anyway I was flying the nano S2 instead.. missing a lot of oomph, but at least I get my ya ya's out .

 

[leedude1]

Well boys got my confirmation earlier this week my new board is in the mail.