Blade 180 CFX .. Can't get any better!!! The best micro ..!!

[Gaba]

So I have been a victim of a lot of a hype about a lot of micros. Mcpx was the best thing that happened to me when I was very new. It helped me with flying so much!!! Can't thabk blade enough for that bird . Yes it was expensive sometimes to keep but hey. Better than my then big bird 450 pro!!!!!!

Then came the mcpx BL.. Make it powerful make it Rick your socks off... It just wasn't meant for it. The bird was sensitive to vibrations. Tail wag issues and it would hold any hard tail anything

Blade 130x .. Feels like this bird ruined all micros for me . My experience not speaking for the crowd here . I have PTSD from that bird. Didn't fly well stock, so I poured upwards of 400 dollars in uogrades... Now the bird was like a 600 size bird in cost and 130 in performance. Just didn't like it enough. Moved on... Good riddance !!

Align 150.. Well. Started off with amazing reviews. I got one and it was just riddled with issues. Almost had to buy a second one just to make the first one fly right. But it flew. Had power . Not as bad as the 130. Not as expensive. Restored my faith in micros. But still. No tail authority in backwards flight. No consistent piro.. No piro comp. was just all over the place. Needed a few things upgraded to be consistent in its flying output.. But.. That wasn't as bad.. It was a more powerful better designed blade mcpx BL. Still a motor tail.. And still a pain.. So .. Got rid of it ..

Blade 180cfx. Ok the first time there was a technical video on a micro showing what is good, why, and design. Hey.. Ok worth looking into. Beefy gear train.. CF frames stock.. Castle esc.. Separate from the gyro.. Nice!! A lot of hype. But also some consistent videos that showed its tail performance..! That was good! I was very impressed.. Again falling a victim to advertisement .. The sucker I am .. I knew I very well could be making a huge mistake. But I pulled the plug.. And Man!! This bird has surpassed every expectation!!!!!



I can upgrade the firmware to the gyro via a spektrum cable. So any issues .. Voice it to HH.. And they'll find a fix , send a FW uograde down the line. So the servo centering wasn't taking.. HH found a fix.. Did a FW upgrade.. And WHOALLA! It's fixed ..! The gyros'a PID values are all available to all transmitter users.. Programmable via a little process .. Not very convenient .. But available nonetheless.

The motor rocks!! It's powerful ! Smooth!!

Gear train is like having MOD-1 gears on a 700 size Heli.

Servos are smooth! Very smooth and very fast. Plastic gears strip easy .. So do the servo saver mod and save your gears. Easy no cost mod!!

Tail is 450 size tail servo!!! ROCK SOLID. I have done funnels .. Backwards hurricanes .. Slow and fast flights. Tail slides and it holds like a big bird .. Better than my big birds right now (they need gyro tuning)

OUT OF THE BOX.. This bird does not stop surprising me in its capabilities! No upgrades at all!

Mods : all free mods and easy.. Make your life easier : like servo saver .. Torque tube bearing stabilizer mod, tail box mod, tail balance, and I have one paid mod .. The O ring mod ($3) !!!

Can I say the best micro ever!!?? Wow!

It's not a mcpx in crash-ability. It's a big bird . It's heavy and powerful. I have stripped two servos in two small crashes. And after the servo saved mod .. I have broken just the canopy in a MAJOR crash .. Go figure. But the torque tube is designed to give in.. And as is the main gear. Both extremely easy to replace.

I feel like I am going to be asked for a video.. I'll post one. But I think you can take my word for it.. This micro is the best yet!!! Might actually get flown .. I have more flights on it already compared to the 150!

[cml001]

My buddy works at Hobby Town here and we had come from the flying field one morning and the UPS truck was unloading the 180's.. So we charged up packs and had at it right there in the parking lot.. It is night & day difference from ANY micro to date.. It is what the 130X was suppose to be. I had said I wasn't going to bother after doin the same w my 130.. As GABA states here... I too have way too much vested in the 130X to still be a turd. I was done w micros.. Now.. If I can get the 2 projects I have goin finished.. I'd like to get one... It truly is the best micro to date.

[Tony]

Fantastic write up Gaba, lots of info and praise for this 180 CFX, and yes your right, would love to see a video if you have one..

[Lee]

Very tempting to get one. But its not going to happen for a while yet.

[Tony]

I would have to fly it 20-30 feet away at most otherwise I'd lose orientation, blind buga I am...lol, nice machine though by the sound of it

[Marius]

If I'm buying a new indoor model, it's gonna be this one.

[KevG]

Nice review Gaba, now fly the butt off that bird, and yes video of it would be sweet,

[danhampson]

Great review Gaba.

[Gaba]

So today I flew it twice ! Went into the ground twice hahahahah friend was filming out except for The fact that the "record" button wasn't pressed hahah

Second crash took a lot sono flight after that .. It was fun. 18-20mph wind and I was doing tic tocs !!! It was amazing!!

[Tony]

What are the damages Gaba? Is it an expensive bird for repairs?

[Gaba]

Actually not much damaged

I got servo saver mod . It's a must . If I hadn't the cyclic servo heads would have stripped

Usually such crash would take out the torque tube . It didn't .. My boom slipped out so that helped

Landing gear
Tail servo seems notchy .. I might be able to fix that without replacement
Feathering shaft
Possibly main shaft
Tail output shaft looked good (it's beefy as heck)
Main gear had a tooth missing

So yeah not bad. All these parts are two to a bag when you look at prices . If I had crashed in concrete carnage would have been worse . I try not to fly there ..

Main gear went after 4 or 5 major crashes . Still to strip any tail gears

[KevG]

Not to bad Gaba, seems a bit more robust than people thought it was gonna be,

[Tony]

I think Gaba is doing test crashes for the FAA.. Haha, doesn't sound too bad Gaba, nice to know these things. One day I might get one..

[pvolcko]

I'm thinking I need to get one of these. Ever since the first vids were hitting the net I was thinking this was going to be a winner, at long last. Seems your experience with it, Gaba, is proving that out. Guess I'll be selling off my ncpx, mcpx-bl and 120SR finally. May keep the 120SR as a trainer for newbies in the family and whatnot.

[cml001]

Lol.. 120sr was my first heli.. I need a servo for it now.. Won't give full travel.. But I still fly that thing all the time.. Yeah it's a keeper! If anything for the pure sake of nostalgia.. I've actually got 2.. Stock & a belonged out Rakon version in red.

[Gaba]

i posted a video on the Flight log section.. check it out.. you will see how it flies.

[Graham Lawrie]

I was the same with my 150 Gaba, replaced basically twice:) but it has been good now and it took 6 months to get it right:)

[Gaba]

Naaah this thing is leaps and bounds better graham. No updates .. Out of the box 3D !! Stable. Still running like a champ!! Have Been extremely busy and cold

Got a clutch based torque tube , waiting to play with that

[Graham Lawrie]

Sounds great Gaba:) i was not meaning the 150 was better, just that it took a long time to get right for me:) By then i had ploughed to much money into it to sell it:( So a 180 would have been better:) I got a Blade qMX that i would never have bought in a million years, and i am very impressed with it:)

[Tony]

Have I missed out on a flight vid of this bird Gaba, would love to see it in flight... Sounds like an awesome heli even if it's a bit small for me to see....lol