The Horizon Hobby Blade CP

8/3/2019 The Horizon Hobby Blade CP

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The Horizon Hobby Blade CP -- a CCPM, Collective Pitch, electric, micro-

sized RTF helicopter -- comes as a welcome addition to the multiple

choices already available to todays hobbyist.

It has three distinct advantages when compared to the competition:

First, it is street priced under $220.00 USD and includes everything you need to

get flying except eight AA cells for the transmitter.

Second, it is robust and flies well as delivered.

And last of all, the distributor, Horizon Hobby (a USA based firm) providesexcellent parts support for the product and is responsive to their customer base.

The Blade CP will have a significant positive impact on the RC helicopter

hobby if it continues to bring new helicopter pilots onboard as it has in the

first few weeks post introduction. The Blade CP isn't radically different

from the other CP micros available, but a real distinguishing factor about

the Blade CP is the support offered to the US market by Horizon Hobby.

Technical support and spares have always been a weak area for imports.

Horizon changes that by being responsive to their customer base. There

are still a few bumps in the road, but if Horizon continues in the right

direction, they will likely garner a large percentage of the sales in this

segment of the hobby business.

Lets see what we get for our $220.00.

Everything's in the package, except the AA

batteries for the transmitter.

Quoting the copy from Horizons website:

The Blade CP offers collective pitch and CCPM control that will let pilots

fly in almost any direction. Transitioning from forward flight to hover with

smooth, solid control is a cinch and negative pitch is a breeze for

aerobatics like loops and rolls.
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The Blade CP is versatile enough to fly anywhere, and almost everything

needed to fly is included and installed such as a Ni-MH battery pack, 370

main motor, 4-in-1 receiver, mixer, ESCs, gyro and a 6-channel FM radio

system with servo reversing and CCPM mixing. All that is needed are 8

"AA" batteries for the transmitter. Plus, each Blade CP is test-flown at thefactory to ensure precise performance and control which makes it truly

ready to fly right from the box.

For more elaborate aerobatics and inverted flight, Blade CP pilots can use

a 3-cell 860-1320mAh Li-Po battery pack and E-flite's Aerobatic

Enhancement Kit (EFLH1168), which includes wooden symmetrical main

blades, main motor heat sink, tail motor heat sink and 370 main motor

with 9-tooth pinion.

PACKAGING:

The Blade CP is delivered in a sturdy box with molded Styrofoam inserts.

Everything fits well and is nicely protected by a great packaging design. A

bonus is that the shipping container doubles as a carrying case to get

your helicopter and support gear to and from the flying field. Of course

since this is a micro electric, the flying field may be your front or back

yard. In that case the box serves as a great stowage container/hangar.

Bright, quality packaging, including aneasy handle to carry!

The container can even be used fortransport!

SETUP:

A well written, illustrated, instruction booklet comes with the Blade CP. I

used it to set up the test helicopter provided for this review. I found the

document to be clear and easy to follow. This model is about as close to

ready-to-fly as you can get, so there is very little setup to do.
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I followed the instructions to load the NiMh flight battery into the

helicopter and fly it until discharged. They are adamant that this is done

as received before charging the pack for the first time. Then after a few

minutes of cool down time, I hooked up the supplied wall charger and

charged the pack until its warm to the touch. This normally took 1 to 2hours with the packs that I received.

FLYING:

In box-stock form, using the supplied NiMh flight battery, I was able to

get 7-8 minutes of spirited circuits and hovering. Motor temps were

something to be mindful of as overheating these inexpensive brushed

motors would seriously shorten their service life. While not required, I

recommend installing the heat sinks that are available individually or as a

part of the aerobatic enhancement kit as an extra 'safety' precaution at

the outset. This, combined with a little discipline in using the heli, may

help to lengthen the motor life. The discipline I recommend is that the

pilot not exceed 5 minutes of continuous flying time and lands to let

things cool down for at least 2 to 3 minutes. Again this is not required,

but may help extend the life of your heli, especially if you are pushing it

hard during your flights.

The Blade CP is a gentle, but responsive flyer as delivered. Leaving the

wheel collar fly bar weights in their delivered position moderates the

response to cyclic control inputs and is a good way to start until you get

accustomed to this heli. After you have a few flights under your belt,

move the weights inboard or remove them altogether and enjoy a

noticeable improvement in responsiveness. A set of training gear is also a

good idea and will save you the cost of replacement main rotor blades as

these are most often the items damaged in a crash. The training gear is

available from Horizon as part number EFLH1128 and it sells for under$10.00 USD.

I also found the Blade CP remarkably tolerant to windy conditions and

since I live in a coastal community next to the Gulf of Mexico this was a

big plus. Now understand we're not talking about 30 knot wind, but 5-10

knot breezes gave my test bird no big problems. Although the Blade CP is

not recommended as a first helicopter, a number of new heli drivers have

received their wings with this bird. It is very robust and affordable and

the spares support seems better than most of the competition.


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Something to consider when buying your Blade CP is the crash kit. It

comes with some essentials that should help minimize your down time

(what we called during my days in the USAF AOCP or Aircraft Out of

Commission for Parts).

Flight Video/Photo Gallery

Downloads

Type Name Size

The Horizon Hobby Blade CP flies basic maneuvers with ease. 13.1 MB

Horizon offers extensive flight videos also on their Blade CP webpage, ifyou'd like to see more video of the Blade CP flown stock.

Modifications and Upgrades:

Inverted, what fun!

The NiMH flight battery mounting system as supplied is adequate. The kit

also included "hook n loop" material which I chose to use to secure my

battery. This mounting scheme secures the battery nicely, and has the

advantage of releasing the battery in a crash or hard landing thereby

minimizing damage to the helicopter. Its sort of a frangible system

designed to let go at sudden high G levels.
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The kit also included hook-n-loop material

which I chose to use to secure my battery.

This has the advantage of releasing the

battery in a hard landing (crash), minimizingdamage.

I flew the first flights with dry cells in the

transmitter, but later changed torechargeable NiCads that can be purchased

complete with a simple wall charger frommany sources. This will save money over

time.

I had to remove all 4 case screws to

access the notched throttle ratchet.

The notched "airplane" ratchet made

precise setting of throttle and pitchdifficult. This is critical in heli control.

By slipping a short length of silicone glowfuel line over the ratchet, it now feels like

my other heli radios. I look forward toHorizon changing this ratchet in future

shipments.

I also opened the back of the transmitter case and slipped a short length

of silicone glow fuel tubing over the ratchet on the throttle control so that

it operates and feels all the other helicopter transmitters in my

experience. The ratchet prevents a very precise setting of the throttle and

pitch, which is critical in helicopter control. Please remember doing so
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may void the warranty on your new radio. Its a simple fix that I

recommend until Horizon Hobby get this changed.

Aerobatic Enhancement Upgrades

The aerobatic enhancement upgrade kit is a great bargain. You get a set

of nicely crafted, fully symmetrical, blades along with a new main motor

with a 9t pinion as well as a pair of heat sinks for the main and tail

motors. With a 3s 1320mah Lithium Polymer flight pack attached flight

times climb to 20 minutes. While not required, I do recommend giving the

brushed motors a periodic rest stop. For accomplished pilots, the

enhancement kit is the ticket to mild aerobatics (loops, rolls and inverted

flight) and even some toned down 3D. The Blade CP makes an excellent

trainer for these maneuvers due to its crashworthiness and low repair

costs.

Horizon even offers an article on the Blade CP's webpage on setting up

the aerobatic package and going inverted!

The aerobatic enhancement

upgrade kit is a great bargain.You get a set of nicely crafted,

fully symmetrical, blades along

with a new main motor with a9t pinion as well as a pair of
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heat sinks for the main and tailmotors.

Flying with the aerobatic enhancement upgrades installed and the Idle Up

switch in the active position makes the Blade CP a totally different and

even more enjoyable helicopter. The combination of the symmetrical main

rotor blades and the preprogrammed throttle and pitch curves available in

this mode kick the head speed up and really bring the Blade CP closer to

its full potential. The key thing to remember is to only activate the Idle Up

switch when you are in a hover or mid stick condition and be prepared to

throw the switch to off before chopping the throttle. When the throttle is

closed in the Idle Up mode, the main blade pitch goes full negative and

the throttle curve in the transmitter goes to max. Adding three cell

Lithium Polymer (LiPo) flight packs with capacities somewhere in the

range of 700 to 1320mah really up the level of fun with the Blade CP.

Longer flights and more nimble flight characteristic with the lighter of the

LiPo pack choices adds another new dimension to this helicopter. Again

remember, cooling the motors may extend their life, so take a few breaks

during the extended flight times allowed by the better battery

chemistries.

I received two sets of the Horizon Hobby carbon fiber main rotor bladesfor the Blade CP just as this report goes to press. With only a few flights

on them, I can say the ones I flew are nicely finished and track much

better than the woodies. If you are using the aerobatic enhancement kit

with the differently geared main motor, you will find these symmetrical CF

blades to be just the ticket for moving up the scale of improved flight

performance.

Other Upgrades

There are numerous interchangeable parts available from other

manufacturers that adapt easily to the Blade CP. For example, there are

carbon fiber and fiberglass main rotor blades intended for the ModelSport

Hornet that work very well. Also symmetrical wooden blades for the

HummingBird Elite CP are a good choice. With a little effort and

handcrafting most of the Humming Bird CNC aluminum upgrades

including the swash plate and blade grips can be adapted to the Blade CP.

I have included some pictures that show some of these conversions. So

for you experimenters and tinkers, there is a wide-open path to fun.


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For those that would prefer to outfit with their own selection of electronics

and move up to a brushless motored Blade CP, Horizon offers areplacement airframe complete with everything but the electronics for

under $100.00. It does have the two brushed motors and I hope that

down the road they will offer an even more affordable option that deletes

the motors. I have also added a few pictures of my brushless Blade CP to

give you an idea of what the possibilities are.


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I prefer scale ships to 3D, so I set one of my Blades up with a Schweizer

300 canopy set from the Kyosho Caliber M24. A little crafting of a new

larger OD tail boom canted upward, modified landing gear and struts tomimic the full scale helicopter, and mounting the canopy and fins left us

with a Fun Scale 300 that flies well on the stock motors, 4 in 1

electronics and 3s LiPo batteries.

A Stumbling Block..."Sticky Collective"

There were no problems encountered during the first 4 to 5 flights of the

Blade CP, but then an issue surfaced that seems to have happened with a

number of other Blades, according to posts in several of the popular

helicopter online forums. Its been dubbed the sticky collective phenom

and the symptoms are easy to detect. On throttle up the helicopter

refuses to lift off. The normal response from the pilot is to add more

throttle. So the head speed increases and still no lift off. Suddenly and

without warning the heli rockets off into the wild blue. This is very

exciting, but not real cool, especially if you are flying inside. A number of

pilots were certain that the problem was in the sliding parts of the head.
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Sanding and various types of lubricants were tried with varying amounts

of failure to clear the problem.

Horizon, in their usual style, has stepped up, admitted the problem, and

actively worked to fix it. Recently Horizon Hobby has added a section totheir website dealing with this and other issues related to the Blade CP

titled: E-flite Blade CP Bulletins and Performance Enhancement

Tips. As Horizon notes on their site, not all Blades have this problem, and

they do provide details in what to look for and how to resolve it.

For those who are interested, here's my take on the issue, and my

approach to repairing it.

My Repair Approach

It turns out that the outer main grip ball bearing is bound/locked by the

flat aluminum spacer normally found tight against the outer bearings

inner and outer races. On the four Blades that I have I found that

swapping the order of assembly for the M2 washer and the aluminum

spacer solved the problem and I have not a single recurrence or other

issue with this fix.

< Editor's Note: Horizon indicates this repair may not be ideal in allcases. The webpage referenced above contains their recommendations for

servicing your Blade CP. "Your mileage may vary.">

Mark blade holes for ease of reassembly. 2 hex wrenches required for removal.
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Note spindle shaft with blade grip

removed.

Blade grip and spacers/washers for

reassembly.

Factory order of assembly. My chosen order of assembly.

CONCLUSION:

The Blade CP helicopter is a great little flier that performs well out of the

box indoors or outdoors in light winds. Although it is not the best

beginners helicopter, I am certain that with some time on a good

simulator, it could prove to be a rewarding first helicopter experience.

Horizon Hobby continues to provide great support, and is continuing to

research the sticky collective" phenom.


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It should be interesting to see what Horizon does for an encore. I believe

they will have a group of devoted customers, wanting the next step up

the ladder for a follow-on, intermediate electric helicopter.

The Horizon Hobby Blade CP

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