Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Dang Glenn, your more anxious then me...finding all these good links.

I gave it a whirl and not too bad as long as you adjust the settings first. The sim mcpx needs to have the flybar setting changed, as well as the induced cyclic power loss...I also put in +30 for expo on both ele and aerilon to make it more like what mine fly's. The tail though, is completely wrong. I was doing stationary flips...one after another...which is a one-way ticket to the LHS for parts on the real thing. Even with the boom extension on mine...I did feel the tail give a bit (not blow out) and needed a slight correction. So be careful not to develop bad habits. The inverted feel is right on though, as well as the stable feel...both upright and inverted. All in all...very good. (am I beginning to sound like a magazine editorial review? )

JPEE,

I hear your frustration on this but I am looking at it from a Blade CP point of view...how many versions did they come out with before they got it relatively decent? Things aren't going to be rosy with the first edition released, but I feel their R&D dept. did a fine job making it what it is now...flybarless and quite stable while keeping it small and lightweight.

I remember the frustrations I felt when I tried doing an inverted hover with the CPP2 and the tail just couldn't hold, this thing does what the CPP2 really couldn't. I really am amazed at the number of threads on HF where people are saying they are able to hover it inverted after flying it for several weeks (and coming up from a fixed pitch bird). I know the Blade CP line probably turned a fair share of newcomers away just because of its squirreliness but I feel with the mcpx a good amount of newcomers are going to stay and move up into the hobby. Okay, enough of me on my soapbox...can I share some of your valium?

I hope you get nice flying weather tomorrow...batteries all charged up and a generator to go (just in case the misses says 'sure, stay out all day hon ).

Myself...hopefully heading out early in the morning to do some more flight testing. Been getting too warm to comfortably fly by 10am...guess summer is officially here.

Mark

Looks like I got to start 2 pages in a row...cooool.

rotarydoc

Mark,

The UPS man brought a present today!

I didn't have much time at lunch, but it looks good so far, arrived in perfect condition...the radio is not too shabby, it will do fine for the sim I think, once I remove that stupid airplane ratchet/detent thing on the collective stick...an easy mod I believe...

He sent the new head along with it, which I'll replace (and loctite) tonight. The motor gear mesh seems tight, and the HF thread I read said to loctite the motor screws, since some have been coming loose, so I'll look at that too.

I'm tempted to fly it with the stock radio for a bit...just out of curiousity. Probably won't take me long to switch though...

Thanks for the evaluation on the sim MCPX, I changed the flybar to passive FBL, but haven't messed with the tail settings yet...I figure the more time that goes by, the better those HF guys will have the setup dialed in for the most realism...

I'll know more tonight after I get home and have some time to play..

Glenn

JPEE

Congratulations Glenn! Woopie!


JPEE,

Off to the field about noonish.



Back home,

The is still blowing to hard to really enjoy it. I flew two packs in 500-1 while she handles the wind very wel in idle-up, its just a struggle and it makes me sweat I might crash my baby.

We just sat there waiting for the wind to die down. It did not, so we called it.



Glenn, glad the new is heli has you so happy and that you got to take her for a test drive lol.

John

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Well, I didn't have a whole lot of time left tonight after work, but here's what I got done today....

I loctited and installed the new "B" rotor head. I'm still not 100% sure what the difference is, seems like mostly the bearings? Anyways, that is done and out of the way.

I didn't like the gear mesh, it was too tight for my liking, and I needed to loctite the motor screws anyways, so I set that buy putting a piece of newspaper between the gears, turning them until the paper acted as a spacer, then tightened, and it's much better now...

I just looked the rest of it over, spun it up a bit, looked at everthing for proper operation, and charged some batteries.

Didn't have time to set up the 9503, so I just took it out with the DX4e....oh, and I used the fast forward flight blades as well....just to get a feel for this thing...

Took it out to a small field at the horse track, and it was a bit breeezy, but not bad.

I put it in a hover, trimmed it out a bit...and watched in amazement as it just sat there and hovered!! AMAZING sight for such a tiny CP heli!!

I gave it some forward elevator, and let it go....and go it did!! This little thing is pretty fast! I was surprised at how fast it covers some ground...it got further away than I was comfortable with (vision wise) really fast....[X(]

Took it around a few figure 8's...just beautiful handling little heli, especially for being right out of the box, I never did check pitch range or any of that yet...

Then took it for a few backwards circles, one of my main practice reasons for buying this guy...and it was just super! I got to feeling comfortable, and then did some CW backwards circles (my weak direction on the larger helis) and it was a piece of cake!!...mainly because of having NO FEAR of crashing....

Overall, I am very, very impressed! Sure, it's not perfect, I noticed a little tail wagging, mostly when the wind was blowing...and it'll dive into the ground pretty quick if the wind catches it right...but the FBL keeps it stable in the wind, I just found I had to watch the sudden altitude changes more than anything...but I flew 2 packs, no crashes yet....and above all else....it was SO MUCH FUN!!!

Still got a long ways to go, but there are my first impressions....so far, I'm in love with it!!!

Absolutely no regrets so far!

Glenn

JPEE

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

JPEE, at first I thought you were going off the deep end but that looks quite ingenius...and I'm married and don't remember our cake sitting on any fancy rotating device. I guess all that's needed is to attach cloth of some kind to cover all the wood and viola...wedding cake rotator.

Sorry to hear of the high winds but at least you made it out for a few flights.

Mark

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Glenn...Excellent News on your new arrival!!!

We were extremely busy at work tonight so I kinda feel like I missed out on all your excitement a bit. []

Congrats on the maiden...I had a feeling you weren't going to wait until you got your settings in for your JR radio. Did you just deal with the goofy ratched throttle on the DX4, I don't know what Eflight was thinking.

Can you believe how stable this thing is?! Simply amazing...the way it just hangs there. And it will move it too, all the way from one end of the field to the other in no time.

Awesome on the backwards circles too...it is just too much fun mainly b/c you just don't fear putting it in as you would the 450, 500, or SDX. [X(] It really allows you to relax a bit and just enjoy flying around. This one definitely is a keeper.

Wait until you piddle around with it indoors...kinda fun doing slow piro's across the living room...but I had to make sure Ginger didn't try attacking it as she was having a keen interest in it.

Once again great that you got your new mCPx - your wait is finally over!!

Mark

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

JPEE,

That is a cool way to display one's helis, very innovative idea! Or even an RC car, plastic models, or anything hobby related...you should market them!

Mark,

Thanks...I really owe you, because you were the one that gave me the idea!

Eflite really did a nice job with this little heli for sure...yeah, maybe it's not perfect, but it's first gen, and I'm sure they'll watch, listen and make improvements on the next model...but so far, I think they have a real hit on this...it's just plain FUN!

I ordered this;

http://astroid-designs.myshopify.com...ery-connectors

Can't beat the price, I doubt I could purchase 6 of the connectors and a small PC board for that price...

I can't wait to go flying it again! I need to set it up on the 9503 soon too...the DX4e is OK...but not having a timer is enough reason to swap over, not to mention the adjustability. I was surprised how well the DX4e did work though...

I think the reason the DX4e has the notchy plane throttle is because it's just a generic TX that they probably use with inexpensive plane RTF kits as well as the MCPX...

Hope you can get some flying in....I know I will this weekend!

Glenn

jroo

I've decided to join in on the fun....

[link=http://cgi.ebay.com/E-flite-Blade-mCP-X-BNF-Helicopter-BLH3580-New-Version-/310314800566?_trksid=p3286.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI %26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D3%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clki d%3D8798979542098366135]Ebay - MCP-X[/link]

JPEE

Hey Guys,

We are gonna have to rename this thread to MCP-X LOL

jroo

hhaha

Jpee, you are going to have to just break down and get one now.

I put my 120SR on ebay. Auction starts today at 4:30 PST. I hope to at least get 80 for it.

jroo

Curtis Yougblood injured

[link=http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=301380]http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=301380[/link]

evdreamer

Glenn,

That is good you are having fun with the new heli.

The weather was really good yesterday and I also got out of school early, so I went out flying. I brought my 450 just in case I had more engine problems with the Velocity. I ended up flying the 450 more than my Velocity. I had a blast flying the 450 again. It kind of felt like a toy and I had no problem flipping it and working on my flipping circles again. The tail was blowing out. I don't know if it was due to the wind, tail blades, or gyro. The piro rate was really slow compared to my Velocity also. I had 3 flights with my Velocity. It still sounds like it did with the old pipe, but this time it didn't sound like it would die on me in mid flight like it did before.

Some club members were working on the field to make it friendlier to big airplanes. They are going to be pooring concrete under the sun shelters and widen the taxi ways. I was the only one out flying, so I decided to help out until they quit for the day.

James,

That is cool you are also getting a mCPx.

Nick

jroo

Got my DX6i menu roller in today from EastRC.

It's made out of aluminum, so hopefully I wont have it break on me again. The quality of the part is really nice and feels really well. If you know anyone that ever needs this replaced, it sure beats sending the entire TX back to Spektrum|JR, etc.

[link=http://www.eastrc.org/shop.cgi/page=estorerollerbutton.htm/SID=1304127969.31701]EastRC.org[/link]

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

jreue,

Congrats on the new mCPx, I couldn't find a BNF just a few days ago...looks like they have released the new, second version now...

Lipos, especially big ones, can certainly be dangerous....let's hope Curtis's hand will fully recover, that is a nasty burn, for sure...

Nick,

Sounds like you had a lot of fun "rediscovering" the 450....they certainly are a bit more lively than the 600 class helis, that's for sure...

Hope you can get the tail blow out worked out...I guess it used to hold better?

So, the Velocity sounds the same with the new pipe, as in bad I am assuming? [&o] What kind of noise is it again?

Mark,

I pretty much cleaned my LHS out of spare MCPX parts...lol...

Let's see...I got a main frame, main gear, main shaft, tail blade, feathering shaft, another bag of links, and landing gear...I should be set... oh, and one more battery, for a total now of 5...

I might have gone a bit overboard, but there are more than a couple of guys on HF looking at their MCPX's sit on the table waiting for parts....seems there is a huge demand, and HH can't keep up...

I setup the MCPX on the 9503 today. And boy, did I do something DUMB...

I found this thread on HF;

http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=292411

Go down about 4 posts, to the big pics...that is the way to do it...turn one blade over, and fold them forward, and when they are perfectly level, you have zero pitch...

It works like a champ! So, I take the heli up to work, because it's very windy outside, like 20 MPH+...I know the MCPX is good in wind, but not THAT good...besides, I'm doing setup here, not seeing how much wind it can take...

SOOO...I spool it up...and it seems kinda unstable...then when I got it in a hover...it was shaking all over the place, and generally felt like crap, but it was flying semi decent, had a bad wobble on descent...I was scratching my head...and then I tried some fast pitch pumps in idle up...and
I got to see the tail blow out in full force...and about the 3rd time, it blew completely, and it hit the floor...

I checked it out, and the usual stuff from what I've read...lost one link, and the main gear popped out of place...I didn't have a link with me, so I went back home....kinda scratching my head about what radio settings I could have wrong...[&o]

Well, it wasn't until much later....( have you guessed it yet?) at dinner...that I realized that I DIDN'T FLIP THAT BLADE BACK OVER....

You can bet I won't forget that again....lol...but I don't feel too bad...if you read far enough into that thread, another guy did the exact same thing...

So it's all fixed and ready for tomorrow's adventures...I don't know how much of the tail blowout issue was related to that, or if it's in need of some more adjustments (and mods)...we'll have to see....

Anyways, some of the best lessons are learned the hard way...

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Glenn, Glenn, Glenn...already stocking up on mcpx parts...its only a matter of time before you have 2 of them!

I really like that Asteroid 6 port charger...and best of all it already has the stock connectors so no need to buy an adapter for each battery. That's the problem when I impulse buy, I miss out on the better items that are discovered later on. That may be my next purchase...after more batteries...and a MH swash...and Geez, this list also seems to go on and on.

Real funny on the bit of flying with a flipped blade...I bet it flew horribly. To be honest I just eyeballed the pitch at midstick when I was doing my setup and went from there, so I'm sure its probably a bit off. Have you tried out the other set of included blades yet? I think I have tried putting them on several times but keep taking them off in favor of the weighted blades (the ones with the protruding nub in the front). Going to try them again tonight since doing the extended boom and see how that goes.

I found that the boom does help but the tail still will blow out if you give alot of collective. But it is better. I also cut off the little tab in front of the battery so I can slide it in further to help with the CG. How do you check the CG on something that doesn't have a flybar? That is the question of the day.

That is crazy scary what happened to Curtis...I think I remember JPEE posting pictures of cinder blocks he uses when charging...not a bad idea considering this story.

Mark

JPEE

Hello Mark,

To answer your question, YES I was using the cinder blocks for my charging station. But I starting loosing storage space in the shop/garage and no longer use them.

I charge my packs on the back driveway and set them on the ground in the shade just outside the garage door. With the blocks I had to stack stuff around them to

lift up the chargers so they would be as high as the top of the block so as to let the short balance cords from the charger be able to reach down into the blocks where

the batteries sit down low. Just alot of stuff to move around. By placing them on the back driveway I can see and hear them charging and their "charged" beepers by leaving

either my garage door open or my sliding glass door to the livingroom. I have a place on my bench where I keep the two big chargers and power supplies and they are easy

to pick and carry right out the door and that is working fine for me.


Glenn, glad you having the time of your life with the new heli. I won't begin to make light of your blades issue, we've all done things like in our RC careers and will do again.


Nick, glad you got time for some 450 workouts. Its always nice to get out and fly even if it is a short time. Your working at the field sounds fun and we kinda did the same

thing on Thursday. Bob, my buddy brought the weed-eater out and trimmed up and down the landing strip.



Jreue, do let us know when your new baby arrive, congrates to you.

Lets me seehere if I have this right. I see the "MCPX Club" like this:

Mark is President, being the natural leader buying a 550 and now MCPX before anyone else did. Glenn, will have to be Sergeant at Arms for his clear cut and precise

way of keeping everything laid out nicely.


Jreue, shall be Treasure, because he was fast to find the best deal and timely delivery for his new MCPX.


John, well lets say.......... he will be the Club Mascot



The wind is still blowing hard here (I mean shaking the freaking house) and will be for a few more days too. But its in the 80s so that nice.

Bye............

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

JPEE,

Sorry about your high winds, that is not any fun at all....hope they subside soon, so you can get out and have some fun flying again...

LOL on your assigments for the "MCPX club"!!

I have seen this heli's name printed in so many ways....mCPx MCPx mCP x, mCP X, the box is actually mCP x .....for short, from now on, to save typing I'm going to just use MCPX, for short, whether it is correct or not...lol...

Mark,

Well, after WORK today...and a bit of rest... I grabbed the MCPX, and my new box (I'll have to get some pics, found a neat carrying case for it!) and the radio and headed for the Moose lodge....advantage #1...taking two small carrying cases, and having enough equipment to fly 5 flights (6 soon, gotta get another pack!)

Advantage #2...this fairly small field is huge in MCPX terms, it starts to get too small as it gets near danger (TREES)....

I get it out, and a bit shaken by the blade incident, I cautiously took off...and proceded to fly, and it was fine...not only was it fine, it just flat out amazed me...with this much room, this thing moves!! I was doing huge figure 8's, and high circles, basically just sport flying, and it is just a BLAST to fly!!

Then I did a bit of backwards flight, and it was very impressive that way too...I got it going fast enough backwards to blow the tail out...it was pretty neat...the tail let go, and it did a perfect 180, and kept on hauling butt in forward...lol... Didn't even phase it...or me! Advantage #3....a lot less pucker factor...had that happened on my 450 or 500, I woulda' pooped!!

That was fun...now time for some experimentation...so I changed from the FFF blades, over to the high performance ones for my last 2 packs... Advantage #4...main blades are dirt cheap...and tough!

So, I spooled it up, and got a feel for the different blades, not night and day or anything....and then it was the moment of truth...let's flip it and get the crash over with... so, I rolled it over to the right, as I do with the 450 most of the time (ends up inverted tail in)...and it flipped fast...and I "caught" it with a gentle collective movement, and it was hovering inverted, and holding, first try!!

That was pretty short lived, however, as I pretty quickly got uncomfortable, and flipped it back upright, and did it too fast, and down she went...pretty hard too...picked it up, and it blew both links off, and popped the main gear out (KUDOS to whoever at Eflite invented that pop-off main gear!!)...

After that, I tried a couple more flips, and had a couple of more crashes, the tail kept blowing out...but shortly after (and prematurely) I hit the battery LVC....I think I may have not charged that battery up all the way....it died at about 3 mins...and the others were going strong until my timer which is at 3:40...

For the last pack, I just practiced going inverted....and bringing it back, over and over...and then holding it a bit longer...with a couple of more crashes...I need more practice once I get in inverted...I am doing it from too far away...half the problem is not being able to see the rotor disc/orientation...

Advantage #5....4 crashes....total cost $1.00....seeing the MCPX inverted first try....PRICELESS!!

I was having so much fun, I was standing there giggling...good thing no one was around...they'd have thought I was losing it....LOL...

I have not had this much fun with a heli in a long, long time...and that is what this heli is all about for me....FUN!! Being able to fly basically stress free is just an awesome feeling!

Advantage #6....nearly silent operation...I doubt anyone heard a thing, therefore a lot less chance of complaints from *****y neighbors....

Lots of advantages here....I'm loving this thing!!

It was all helped too by some very gorgeous weather, the clouds hid the sun to the west, and it was nearly windless....just a perfect spring evening added to the experience....I wish I had had a video camera with me!

Hope you all are having a great weekend...mine was pretty lousy until this evening...as you can see!

Glenn

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Here's my new MCPX case, and some goodies for it....

Tiger, my cat, decided she wanted to be in the picture....PERIOD..she wouldn't budge...lol...

I got the case and the cute little toolboxes at Harbor Freight, the case was on sale for $14.99...can't beat that! Pretty decent case for the $$$....

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Glenn,

I can't believe how close Tiger looks to Ginger. Wow!

Those are some nice looking carrying cases...both for the mcpx and its batteries. All of it fits in one nice, compact, ready-to-go flying case. That's pricelss.

Wanted to share what I did with the batteries so you can move them forward more if you do the boom extension later on...basically I just removed the tabs with some cuticle cutters (be careful as they have a bit of adhesive on them). Simple and effective. I also did the swash mod...used two of the canopy grommets (included in the kit) and put them on the 2 front swash balls (left the one in the back alone as it didn't have any play) and put the links back on and viola...no more link play.

Mark

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Awesome flight report Glenn...sounds like you had a great time too!! (Told ya so)

I think the best description was the backwards flight and having the tail give so the heli rotated to forward flight w/o a hitch or phase. That was a sight I am sure.

6 batteries soon...you'll have to bring your charger with you so you can fly 3 batts continuously while the other 3 are charging...nonstop excitement. Of course you are going to have to get time in for your other heli's otherwise they are going to get very jealous and sabotage the mcpx at night while your sleeping.

The Moose Lodge field does look like it has some soft grass so I'm sure 'hard landings' (whether they are on the skids or some other part of the heli ) aren't affected too much.

JPEE is such a funny guy with his mcpx club rundown!!

Nick and JPEE, bet you guys had some fun doing the spring club cleanup...always a nice way of hanging out and still get some work done. Plus its nice to have a nice field with improvements to fly at and know you had a part in it.

James...another addition to the mcpx madness.

Mark

jroo

I might have to pick up one of those cases. I especially need something for my 250. I was actually planning on going to Harbor Freight today. I'm going to try and find a bigger toolbox for all my heli gear/parts.

I'll post pics will all my loot tonight

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Well, no more fun today....been raining ever since about 1PM here...

I got my 6th battery from the LHS today...

Mark,

I think you commented about finding the CG on the MCPX...seems like some of the guys are hanging the heli from a thread around the feathering shaft, which you can see if you look down the top of the head...sounds like a good way to me....

Other guys are taking off the main gear and holding the heli sideways by the mainshaft....similar to what you would do with a larger FBL heli, just support it by the rotor head and hold it 90 degrees from the ground....

I have not checked mine yet...but plan to soon....and I also read about clipping the little tabs off to provide more forward battery position, as you noted...the cuticle clippers look like they do a nice job!

Glenn

jroo

Went to harbor freight today, but only got a magnetizer/demagnetizer. I saw the case that you got Glenn, but they wanted close to 18 for it. I thought you had said you got yours for $10, so I passed. I may still end up getting it. They use to have some cases that were filled with foam that was pre cut into about 1" squares. You then just pull out the sections you don't want, and fit any shape. I looked everywhere, but I didnt see anything like it. I'll see what they have online.

Other than that, it just been too windy for anything, and it is suppose to rain tonight and tomorrow. I'm actually hoping we get some rain. I honestly can't remember the last time it's rained it's been so long.

James

choppersrule

Hi Fellas,

I only have you to thank or maybe blame. Lol!

I just ordered a MCPX about an hour ago from Horizon..

Glenn, I also ordered the RTF with in mind that if someday I decide to sell it (probably not) it would be much easier. Thanks for that tip..

I fly my other helis with a Futaba 7C, but also have a DX6i that I got a few years ago when I had a Blade 400 RTF. I've been using the DX6i with my simulator, so I'll be binding the MCPX to that...

Now I'm getting itchy fingers...[X(]

Dave