Logo XXtreme — Coming Soon 14Mar11
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ReadyHeli has a bunch of nice photos of Mikado’s upcoming Logo XXtreme. It is Mikado’s new 700-class heli. It is designed for 12-14S power, has a carbon fiber frame and, at last, a torque tube! Release date is second half of 2011.
See Mikado’s official XXtreme page along with some 3D renderings of the heli.
Blade mCP X — Coming Soon 04Feb11
Posted by tanker in Advanced, Beginner, General Heli, News.add a comment
Horizon Hobby just announced the new Blade mCP X helicopter. This one really caught us by surprise. Unlike all of the previous small Blade helis this one is collective pitch and flybarless! This is even more amazing considering it is just over nine inches long! Finally heli pilots will have an indoor heli with which to practice inverted flying. We can’t wait for this one. The mCP X is now available.
Here is a video of the heli in action.
NOTICE: There is a recall on the mCP X blade grips. Cease flying your heli until you check the notice.
[Updated: 1APR11]
SmackTalk RC 23Jan11
Posted by tanker in Advanced, Beginner, General Heli, News, Reviews, TRex.add a comment
If you have not checked out SmackTalk RC yet you should. Bert and Bobby have been producing some very useful and entertaining shows. They are only a few dollars a pop and they provide multiple resolutions and formats so you can watch them on your device of choice.
If you are wondering where to start we found their Learning 3D episodes very useful as well as Episode #10 – Going Flybarless! but you can’t really go wrong with any of them.
eLogger v4 — Now Available 16Dec10
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Eagle Tree Systems recently released the latest version of its data logger, the eLogger v4. It features a huge number of improvements including a much improved physical structure that protects the sensor pins and even has an on-board mini-USB connector. We find the logging on the Castle ICE ESCs often sufficient but having to pull the ESC lead out of the receiver is often more trouble than it is worth. The eLogger gives you far more information and in a more convenient package.
eLogger v4 Improvements
- Logs pack current to +/- 100 amps (150 amps with MPRV4-LEADS-150) and voltage from about 5 volts to 80 volts
- Current is measured with a true Hall Effects Sensor – NOT a power robbing resistance shunt
- Adjustable logging rate (from 50 samples per second to one sample every 5 minutes)
- 16 times the logging space of the standard eLogger V3, and lossless data compression. Typically logs all available sensors for about four hours, at 10Hz.
- All data logged to permanent memory, which retains the data even when the power is removed
- Fully compatible with our OSD Pro expander
- Includes Y cable for throttle position logging
- Great for bench monitoring of battery charging also!
- Supports the PowerPanel LCD Display
- Accepts optional inexpensive sensors for three Temperatures, RPM (brushless, magnetic or optical), Airspeed, Altitude, GPS, Servo Current, and more
- Software computes Wattage, mAH, etc. for complete e-flight data.
- Fully Compatible with Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit), Vista, 98SE, ME, Win2K and XP™
- Weighs about 0.8 oz (22 grams). Versions with Wire Leads may weigh slightly more.
- Comes with our state of the art Windows virtual playback display and graphing software
- Powerful Graphing software has advanced charting features, such as amps vs volts
- Internet Updatable firmware – as we add new features or (heaven forbid) have a firmware bug, the update is just a download away! No need to ship hardware back and forth.
- Full support for English and Metric units.
- Software has built in English, German and Chinese language.
RealFlight G5.5 28Nov10
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We finally got around to picking up RealFlight G5.5. It is a nice improvement on the last versions of RealFlight. The flight dynamics seem better than in G4/4.5 and the new depth of field feature is nice (when turned down to medium). For heli pilots it includes a number of scale helis. Expansion Pack 7 includes the Curtiss Youngblood Rave 450 model (but not the new ENV). Still no new Align helis (especially the 550, 600 or 700) but the T-Rex 500 is in Expansion Pack 5.
There is an upgrade version available for previous owners and we got it running on 64bit Windows 7 with a minimum of fuss. We did have a couple of startup dll errors where we had to reset to defaults to get it to load but then all was well.
Innov8tive Designs How-To Videos 11Oct10
Posted by tanker in Advanced, Beginner, General Heli, Motors, News.add a comment
Innov8tive Designs, U.S. distributor for Scorpion Motors, has posted some handy How-To videos.
Spektrum DX8 — Videos 03Sep10
Posted by tanker in Advanced, Beginner, General Heli, News, Transmitters.add a comment
Bert Kammerer has done a nice video that goes over many features of the new Spektrum DX8 transmitter. The video is 13min long.
Horizon Hobby also did their own video that covers the DX8 (8min).
If you are considering the DX8 it is well worth checking these out. Also see Spektrum’s announcement.
T-Rex 700E — Review 19Aug10
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T-Rex 700E 3G Combo
The T-Rex 700E is Align’s long awaited 700-class electric helicopter. Currently you can buy the heli in two forms. First is the traditional 700E flybar version that also includes the 700M motor and 105mm carbon fiber tail blades. The other option is the 700E 3G combo kit that includes not just the 700M motor and 105mm carbon fiber tail blades but also 690mm carbon fiber main blades, 3xDS610 servos, 1xDS650 tail servo, flybarless head and the Align 3G flybarless system. Both kits include both an aluminum tail boom and a carbon fiber tail boom. There are reports of a new 3G package that includes a Castle Creations ICE 120 ESC as well as the new 700MX motor and CNC main gear. (more…)
Blade 120 SR — Available Soon 23Jul10
Posted by tanker in Advanced, Beginner, General Heli, News.add a comment
The new Blade 120 SR by Eflite should be in stores any time now. The 120 SR is the big brother to the great Blade mSR sub-micro heli. The Blade 120, with a 12 inch rotor diameter, is about twice the size of the mSR. This makes it a bit more stable and a great choice for larger indoor flying sites or no wind outdoor flying. RCHelicopterFun.com has a nice review of the 120 SR.
The mSR is a great flying heli and perfect to get your indoor heli fix and practice basic heli maneuvers. It is quite a bit more responsive than the Blade mCX (or mCX2) so we do not recommend the mSR for new heli pilots. But veteran pilots or those who feel they have mastered the mCX will feel right at home.
The 120 SR should be a nice addition to the fleet. It will be available in both bind-and-fly and ready-to-fly options.
[Updated: 20AUG10]
Spektrum DX8 Officially Announced 24Jun10
Posted by tanker in Advanced, Beginner, General Heli, News, Products, Transmitters.add a comment
Spektrum has now officially unveiled their new DX8 radio. The DX8 is the long awaited successor to the DX7 and brings with it not just 8 channels but a host of other nice improvements. More importantly, this radio has a number of great features for heli pilots including,
Electronic E-Ring
When programming the cyclic and pitch mixing for a helicopter, it is possible for the sum of the two mixing values to exceed the mechanical travel limits of the servos. This can cause them to be overdriven into a locked position. Spektrum AirWare’s Electronic E-Ring prevents this by automatically limiting servo travel if the sum of the cyclic and pitch values exceeds servo limits.Built-In Telemetry. Fly Smarter with Vital Model Feedback
The DX8′s built-in telemetry feature gives you vital, real-time information about what’s happening with your model in flight; information that can prevent crashes and maximize performance. The telemetry data appears in an easy-to-read format on the large backlit LCD screen so you can reference it at a glance. You can also have the DX8 alert you with an audio or vibe alarm whenever any telemetry values exceed limits you define.The long-range telemetry module that is included with the DX8 will provide a steady stream of data in models that are flown to the limits of sight. A smaller, lighter telemetry module with sufficient range for park flyers or helicopters will be available separately. Both telemetry modules will be compatible with any DSM2 receiver that is equipped with a data port.
The DX8 will initially be able to track four key safety and performance factors:
Battery Voltage
Never again will you have to wonder whether or not you have enough voltage to keep flying. Being able to monitor voltage will also help you detect a worn out battery pack before it prematurely ends your flight. The telemetry module is plugged into the receiver and will automatically relay receiver voltage. A separate sensor for tracking main battery voltage in electric aircraft will be included.
