Blade research, 8 brands, what's best...

[theturd]

Kinda of sick of people commenting and bloging without actual usage... So contact me if you want to do an actual test or review on the Chameleon 450 and 500 carbon blades (or our other products). No sponsored pilots (including ours) please;

1) you would be violating your contract,
2) you would be biased (in my eye and readers)
3) no BS, if it sucks then tell the world, but all reviews must be posted....
4) it is all about accountability...

my email: schao@cermark.com

[Cullen Colapietro]

Just a quick report back to keep this thread alive: I have been flying the Align 3G blades on my 3GX stabilized 450 Pro and am pretty darn satisfied with them. I haven't flown ANY other FBL blades on this heli yet, so I cannot make comparisons, but these blades fly pretty locked in, they don't bog too bad, and best of all, they are really durable. I have been doing sliding autos and have tipped on the street about 5X andthey are only scuffed and nicked a bit. For $18, I'll be trying these blades again and not running out to replace them ATM. 25g a piece.

[Cullen Colapietro]

Just picked up a set of TPs for the FBL, will report back.

[Cullen Colapietro]

So far I have had the opportunity to try 3 ets of blades on my newish 450 pro 3GX. First I have to say, I am really liking this heli, the FBl makes it fly that much bigger!

Up to no I have tried a set of Align 3Gs, a set of Thunder Powers and a set of Edge FBL blades.

I was pretty impressed w/ the 3G blades, but the TPs fly better. The differences I was able to perceive were, though the blades are a bit slower on the cyclics, they allow more crisp cyclic pitch changes. This made for tighter tic-tocs, which actually made the heli feel a bit more "floaty". There is also a bit more disc area w/ these blades, so that could contribute to a floatier feel as well. Additionally, the heli changes collective pitch in a crisper manner. The heli actually flies really well with these blades. I was concerned that some bad tendencies might be induced with non FBL blades like bobbling, pitching up in forward flight, but so far, I have not encountered any negative tendencies from these blades.

I also had the opportunityto borrow a set of Edge FBL blades and so far, these blades offer the best combination of stability, response and they just fly locked in. They are not as stiff as the TPs, so they offer a VERY smooth flight envelope. Perfect for anyone working on technical 3D or anyone just ripping around.

Personally, my TPs are what I'll continue to fly as they offer the most agressive, snappy, snarley flight characteristics.

I plan to try the Mavrikk G5 FBL soon and will repot my findings.

[willlig756]

I have a set of the mavrikk g5 fbl and radix fbl blades on the way. I plan on getting edge fbl and a couple other sets before too much longer and will post my findings also.

[skinart76]

OK, I have finally had a chance to test out the Chameleon blades. These are my findings.

Quality/Appearance- I had received two different sets of 325mm Chameleon blades. One pair with the Chameleon reflective decals and one pair without. The pair with the decals had a few issues I didn't feel comfortable with, so I did not fly them. There were a couple of spots on one blade where the laminating and finishing job was just terrible. The spot on the tip was so bad, you can actually look into the void. The root area on both sets of blades were pretty rough, I had to do some sanding and finishing to make it nice and smooth.

Balance- The pair without the decals actually came out of the package nice and balanced. I checked the balance by weighing them on the scale, then checked for symmetry of center of gravity, then finally on the blade balancer. Kudos in that department. I did not check the pair with the decals because I was not going to be flying them.

Performance- I have been flying the Sonix and Align 325D blades for sometime now, so these are the blades I'm comparing the Chameleons to. The Chameleons flew good, perfect for flying circuits and basic flying. But once I tried to make some more aggresive moves, it just felt heavy and sluggish. It did not have the pop or snap I've been used.

So in conclusion, these Chameleon blades flew ok. Good for sport flying and mild 3D, but may be difficult with anything more aggresive. So at $17.99 for these blades, the price might have been catchy about a year ago. But now with the price of Align blades coming in at around $18, my vote goes to the Align or Sonix if you can find them still.

[The Steve-O]

I'm running mavrikk g5 blades with a 7200bx FBL unit, the combination is very stable and hasn't exhibited any bad tendencies. I originally picked up the mavrikk blades because they were inexpensive and higher quality than the $10 chinese ripoff blades i was running before, and i would have to say that i'm going to stick with them for a while because i like the performance.

[snjbird]

The last few months I have been running the Align 325D 3G blades, they really seem like a good value! The 3G play vey well with the VBar, I used both the 3G head, and now the DFC head...

[MtnMan1]

love this info guys.

thanks!

[killshot]

Originally Posted by MtnMan1

love this info guys.

thanks!

Anyone running the revolution FBL blades???

[mrmarc]

Originally Posted by killshot

Anyone running the revolution FBL blades???

I am. They were beautifully balanced out the box compared to the Edge ones I got at the same time and blade tracking was spot on. Mind you, I have the FBL blades. I don't do any 3D, so I'm curious what someone who does more aggressive flying would say about them. Otherwise, they're great IMHO.

[Epoweredrc]

Dont think i ever seen this thread greaf thread i fly the tp and align 3g blades im not good enough to notice a driffrence


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[Turttle]

Ive been flying with the thunderpower 330mm blades running an ikon fbl and ds 410 servos with kde head and it flies great.Blades are perfectly ballanced track dead on and are pretty durable.I planted it into a tree and not even a nick.Same blades for a few years now.

[bluthang]

Originally Posted by snjbird

The last few months I have been running the Align 325D 3G blades, they really seem like a good value! The 3G play vey well with the VBar, I used both the 3G head, and now the DFC head...

+1 on the Align 325D Blades.

[maarset]

Yah align 3G 325 blades are awesome for the money. Stable and quick. Flutter on hard cyclic moves.


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[osyhaz]

Originally Posted by snjbird

Really...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGtG3N2tgI

I think they fly OK

The cheap blades are a great way to relieve some of the anxiety of trying new stuff, or training your thumbs to come down a little. I still think good blades have merit, I just don't think you can say they fly twice as good as cheap blades. But there is some risk in using them, and ya can't whine if they fail and you crash!

Very nice flying!

In my opinión, this post is the most enriching one in this thread. An image talks more than a thousand words... It doesnt make sense to me to spend a lot of money on blades if youre gonna do sport flying also if youre trying new stuff on 3d. That video shows that it is not about blades, it is more about developing skills. Theres a lot of people that thinks that cheap blades will limit the heli capabilities, well maybe yes, but not that much... what limits the helis capabilities the most is the guy behind the tx that is scared to crash with expensive blades.

I use the about $3.50 fg hobbypartz blades and works great on 3D. Maybe im a little limited on performance compared to expensive brands, but for sure I would do the "investment" of the "good ones" if somebody guarantee that im gonna fly like Tareq and no more simming!

[lolerblades]

I only fly scale and the Gazaur 325mm wooden and heat shrunk blades work best for me. They weigh between 25-30g each, are pair matched, have weights in the tip for extra stability, and are perfectly balanced from blade grip to tip. They're rare but I have a few sets stocked up

[b_vanfossen]

Have you ever tried rail 325's?

[kriswithak]

The blue ones, with the hollowed out ten slots covered with foil. Can anyone tell me what they think of them. I'm on my third battery of Radd's School of Rotary Flight. So all I can really tell you is they're 34.49 Grams one, and 34.34 grams the other. COG is
at 160mm from the root center on both blades, and they track as well as my human eye can tell, and God Bless Me I have good eyes. With that said, if anyone can tell me what they think of them I would be much obliged. Going slow here, 57 year old Cancer survivor, want to fly not crash. Thanks for this site everyone.
Kris.

[Dr. M]

Originally Posted by kriswithak

The blue ones, with the hollowed out ten slots covered with foil. Can anyone tell me what they think of them. I'm on my third battery of Radd's School of Rotary Flight. So all I can really tell you is they're 34.49 Grams one, and 34.34 grams the other. COG is
at 160mm from the root center on both blades, and they track as well as my human eye can tell, and God Bless Me I have good eyes. With that said, if anyone can tell me what they think of them I would be much obliged. Going slow here, 57 year old Cancer survivor, want to fly not crash. Thanks for this site everyone.
Kris.

Those are a bit dated, but they should work just fine for you thru all of Radd's school and beyond. Welcome to the hobby!