Blade Scout CX RTF 3-Ch Heli

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.9 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B005KP1E14
• Item model number: 2700
• Manufacturer recommended age: 10 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: 7,744 in Toys ; Games (See Top 100 in Toys ; Games)
• 66 inToys ; Games Hobbies Radio Control Helicopters

By : BLADE
Price : $49.99
You Save : $20.00 (29%)

Product Description

Engineered by experts in RC heli performance. The amazing Blade Scout CX may only weigh a little over half an ounce (17 grams) but it will have you flying circles around other helis like it.

Product Features

• Engineered by experts in RC helicopter performance
• Advanced 2.4GHz radio control lets multiple helis fly at the same time
• Computerized Piezo gyro for superb directional control and stability
• Proportional rotor head servo for smooth, precise control response
• Replacement parts available to keep your Scout CX flying like new

Costumer Reviews

I've had a Syma S107 for the last nine months so that's what I have to compare it to. The Blade is smaller and lighter. It's more stable while hovering. It has a swashplate, like a real helicopter, rather than a tail rotor for pitch control. Like most small R/C helicopters, it has yaw control but won't crab (at least not when you want it to).

Forward flight is very slow, slower than the S107, slower than a walk. It would be easier to fly than the S107 except for one annoying quirk. If you're going straight ahead, then move the cyclic to neutral to go into a hover, this thing crabs to the left and slightly backwards. Not just a bit, but maybe a foot or two. Enough to run into whatever it was you were trying to avoid when you told it to go into a hover. This is not a fatal flaw, and wouldn't keep me from buying this helo, but it sure does take some getting used to. It is easy to trim, and the trim holds well.

Charging is from the controller's battery. The S107 charged from a separate USB cable, which I appreciated because it saved the controller battery. Charging and run time are both fine.

One thing I really like about this helo, although I haven't had a chance to really test it, is that it seems very sturdy. The S107 has these little plastic nubs for the gyro linkage that broke off within a few weeks, and required replacing the entire upper rotor assembly and inner shaft. The nubs on the Blade look much sturdier, and better yet, there is a spare nub on the rotor in case you break one. The body looks much flimsier than the S107 but I don't think that's where you're going to get serious damage. The rotor blades are thin cheap plastic and are already getting pitted but it looks like they'll be easy and cheap to replace when the time comes (but ask me again in a couple months).

So far I'm entirely satisified with this bird but time will tell.

UPDATE: Two months later

Like the plastic nubs on the S107, the Blade has its own Achilles heel. The upper rotor has two thin plastic pins that go into the shaft assembly. As the rotor pitch changes, the rotor swivels on these pins. In two months I've had to replace the upper rotors twice when these pins broke off. But it's still better than the S107. These pins don't seem to break as easily as the S107 nubs, and when they do, they are both cheaper and easier to replace. If you crash as much as I do, it's a good idea to keep a couple of spare upper rotors on hand.

As for the tendency to slide back and left when going from forward motion to hover, this is apparently a mild form of "toilet bowl syndrome" and can be reduced by keeping the above mentioned swivels clean. It happens when the upper rotor angle doesn't change quickly enough in response to gyro input. My house has enough cat hair lying around that it tends to foul the pins.

I have never owned a flying RC of any sort. A buddy had a micro Helicopter and let me try it out. I was hooked. I am a latest and greatest kind of gadget guy, so I researched this little guy and found it to be just what I wanted. I anxiously awaited its arrival. I have been flying it at least 3 times a day, every day for the last month. Easy to learn great product support. I am now shopping for a more advanced model!