Blade MSR-X Micro Helicopter - Brushing Off The Cobwebs

First flight of ANY of my helicopters since 2019. Get out the WD-40. because the ol' man is rusty.




I have flown fixed-wing since 1981, but back in 2011 after toying with some 3-channel coaxial indoor heli's any child could handle, I decided to pursue a decades-long dream and learn to fly real RC helicopters.


Before gyros one would have to practice for 6-months to a year before they could hover an RC helicopter, and go through a large number of wood main blades and more on the way there. And the smallest helicopters were still a fairly good size and not cheap. Tricky too. The slightest breeze can make them rise or drop, and single-rotor birds pivot on the YAW axis with the increase or decrease of power just to name a few challenges involved.


Then makers started putting gyros on the tail rotors that made them somewhat more manageable, though still requiring full concentration. That's when I got the MSRX. It was tricky to learn, but I finally reached my goal many broken parts later. There is literally no original parts left on the bird after the last 10 years.


The only parts I upgraded over the years were:
-- Changing the blade grips and the swash plate to aluminum, both featuring small link balls that break off far too easily on the plastic stock parts. The red blades are a factory item.


-- Changing the easy-to-break landing gear for one made of aluminum and carbon fiber. The stock gear breaks if you just look at it funny.





IN late 2019 I started flying the new micro electric planes and modifying them for more power. I already had a YT channel and movie-making skills, so I decided to start shooting video and making how-it-was-done clips to post.


1-and-a-half years later my rotary-wing aircraft skills have faded and I found trying to fly my heli's very iffy. I had lost all that muscle memory that let me fly my whirlybirds without having to think about what I was doing and just do it. So I dug out and tuned-up MSR-X #1 (I have a second completely stock example stashed away) and took it out in the back yard for some hover sessions to try to find my old rotary-winged mojo.


Today's birds of the single rotor AND 4-rotor drone type have 6-axis gyro stability to make them easier to fly, and SAFE modes that let the pilot release the controls if the get in trouble to allow the helicopter to level itself and hover in-place. The relatively newer Blade "MSR-S" and "MSR-S S2" feature such flying aids.



Release the controls of an older MSR-X and it's back to ordering more replacement parts, IF you don't stick it way up in a tree or on the hard-to-access roof of a business or multi-story town-home .







Once I felt a bit more comfortable hovering and feeling out the controls, I popped in a fresh pack, started the video recorder and took it for a real flight around the yard. I admit I felt like I was going to mess up at any moment during the ride and stuff it in a tree or lose orientation followed by losing control. But the old skills all started coming back to me after a few laps, and I began to feel it out more and started to have a little fun with the little hot rod.


I still feel like I'm a bit behind the heli, but I think I can catch up pretty quickly now. I need more open space to re-build my skills with comfort though.


A little more time and I may put out the collective-pitch brushless birds for more practice. None of those have stabilization either. I feel if I bought and flew one of the newer heli's with 6G then I'd NEVER get my old skills back. No pain, no gain, right?


Happy Hovering!