Quick Tips for the E-Flite Blade Family of Helicopters

As a hobby shop for hobbyists by hobbyists, we learned a few tricks and tips on how to maintain and improve the performance of the E-Flite Blade Family of Helicopters for a more enjoyable flying experience. Here are a couple of tips based on our experience.

E-Flite Blade 400

• It is good practice to replace both the main and spindle shafts after each crash. While the main shaft is easy to see if it is bent, the spindle shaft takes a keen eye to tell if it has been bent

  

• If the main blades look like they are either drooping down or flexing up, it is more than likely that you bent your spindle shaft

  

• Replacing the main shaft is easy. Simply remove the screw holding the gears on and the bolt holding the rotor head on. Loosen the collet under the swash plate and your main shaft is ready to slide out.

  

• Replacing the spindle shaft looks intimidating but here is an easy tip. Once you remove one screw, put that screw into your new spindle shaft, and push the old one out with the new one. If you do it right you can replace this part in under 2 minutes.
• Having two 1.5mm hex drivers are essential for easily replacing the spindle shaft. We highly recommend buying a metric hex driver set, as they work much better than Allen keys and will make your repair times much quicker

  

• After a crash, make sure to check that no gears in the servos are stripped.

  

• After a repair, make sure the swashplate is approximately level, and not tilted majorly in one direction, as well as that the paddles are level, along with all connecting parts

  

• Make sure when the tail servo is centered, the arm is straight up, and the slider on the tail rotor is in the middle.

  

• If you are going to crash, hit the throttle hold switch. It will help keep the damage to a minimum upon your harder than expected landing

  

• When starting to fly your heli nose in, just remember to “stick with it.” That is move your right stick in the direction your heli is going to correct its movement. While nose in, if the helicopter is starting to drift forwards and to the right, simply move your stick in the same direction, down and to the right.
• Always check the tracking after major repairs. It is rarely spot on after the repair

E-Flite Blade CX2 Tips

• If your blade is slowly spinning around, use the proportional screw to straighten it out. If your blade is spinning clockwise, turn the screw counter clockwise. Make sure to make very small corrections, as once the screw is turned more than a quarter of a turn, it becomes ineffective and will not help correct the issue.

  

• Make sure you start out with your rudder trim in the middle and throttle trim down before plugging the battery in

  

• Allow the gyro time to initialize, and don’t move your blade while the light on the 3-in-1 is still flashing red

  

E-Flite Blade CX3 Tips

• When replacing the lower rotor head, make sure the top screws in the plastic, or aluminum piece, line up with the two holes on the outer shaft

  

• On each blade is a number or marking of which mold it was made in. Make sure your pair the blades, 3’s to 3’s and so on. Having blades from different molds will cause vibration

  

• Typically, when replacing a stabilizer, the link that connects to the upper blades needs to be turned in one or two turns before attaching.

  

• If your blade is hovering around almost uncontrollably in a circle, check to make sure the stabilizer bar is level with the upper blades. To adjust this, either lengthen or shorten the link

E-Flite Blade Micro CX

• If once you have the elusive inner shaft replaced and it flies uncontrollably don’t fret. Simply loosen the screw used to hold the stabilizer in place and make sure the top blades can swing freely.

  

• Adding a paper clip to the front of the canopy will allow you to enjoy faster forward flight, although it will take a minute or two off of your flight time. Make sure not to fly too fast and get too aggressive on the sticks, otherwise they will drop from the sky

  

• Keep a hardware kit handy when making repairs. The small screws can easily get lost