While my RX was being replaced by Horizon (the first one fried) I was busy doing a few mods to my BCX.



I cut the front vents open and punched a couple ½” holes in the upper canopy for better ventilation. I also reinstalled the RX (now) without the case so it shouldn’t overheat no matter what I do.

I really like the boom look so I made one using a tube from an arrow shaft… it has that nice CF pattern in it. I also fashioned a mounting plate using some standard aluminum U channel that I purchased at the hardware store.







The boom is screwed into the mounting plate… I actually used the threaded insert that came in the front of the arrow shaft and just replaced the arrowhead with the right size screw (that was nice and simple).



I wanted something more than just double face tape to hold the boom on so I made the mounting plate to be attached to the frame utilizing the chassis mount. I also covered it with some black electrical tape because I didn’t like the silver look of the aluminum showing (maybe I’ll paint it yet).




I wasn’t sure what I wanted for a tail fin… I took a cover from a used candy container that was red plastic and came up with what you see. I made the fin mount out of some ½” delron I had laying around from another project. I can easily change the mount and fin to something else if I want latter.



I also moved my servo links up one notch in the horns and changed the flybar to a shortened one with the XRB’s paddles. BTW the Heli is much more responsive now after these changes.



You can only imagine what I like to do seeing that “window” in the background of my kitchen… it leads through into the living room with the cathedral ceilings.




Checkout this latest video I made… LINK

Note: The video file size is about 21 MB

Thanks again to Rickgode for enlightening me to WMM on XP.



The following was add (2-19-06) as a request (from Vario 3) to help out newbies and give all of us a reference point to refer to.

Here you go CX fans!! Some of the best stuff so far to make your CX flyi'n even better.

Special thanks go to Rodono and ALL the contributers for the great Word doc, with PICTURES! There are too many mods on this heli to list, but these cover most of the basics.

Special thanks also to Aeronuts for the disassembly pdf that you WILL need...

Lastly, For you newbies who are learning the ropes in these forums, CHECK THIS OUT - http://albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting.php (Helped me out last fall when I joined). Have fun!

(Updated 3-9-06) More help on the BCX can also be found on Dacaur’s dedicated site HERE

You were right about the tail boom. It looked awesome. I tried flying one last weekend (stock). It was so slugished and not that agile like what you have on the video. I think the flybar trick helps. I also had the problem which the heli keeps spinning slowly. I had to correct the rudder all the time.


thanks for sharing

thanh

3vw, awesome work!

Thanks for posting the info and detailed photos. I had been wanting to do a tailboom mod, but wasn't quite satisfied with any of the solutions I'd though of for attaching it. I didn't want to attach it to the servo. What you've come up with is exactly what I was looking for.

I guess I'll have to buy another BCX and do this mod, because I already painted the body of mine and made it a police chopper.

hi
very nice work , the tail looks really great

LRHann posted the stabilizer mod in thread ( e-flight blade cx coaxial heli )post #515 page 35

here's the link for more info

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...&page=35&pp=15

i,ve tried it too and it makes the heli a lot more responsive , i'm thinking because the weight of the stailizer is reduced the risk of blade clashes and broken holders will be reduced too , just a guess on my part , time will tell , dana

3vw.awesome work [mods], how long is the tail boom?same length as the body?real nice vid too.by the way thats one big a$$ fan in that room.

3vw,

Great video and nice mods to the BCX too.

I enjoyed it!

___________
Best Regards,

Ron Osinski
aka - GMRO

Now thats what I'm talking about! I ordered my paddles also, and with the throttle curve on my Futaba 8U my hovers are getting better at keeping a constant altitude.

Thanks for all the compliments.

This Heli is really a dream come true for in-the-house flying. I remember flying a FP Dragonfly in my family room last summer and I was quite happy to do nose-in hovering without chopping into the furniture. I just can’t imagine having the control (or confidence) to fly through the window or do funnels in my living room if I didn’t have the excellent stability of a contra heli like this. IMHO If this heli is too stable for someone there are plenty of UN-stable helis out there to choose from. lol

I haven’t had a chance to really determine FFF (after the mods) seeing it’s been really cold outside and just too windy to fly. I’m looking forward to getting a chance at flying in a school gymnasium tomorrow so I’ll report back as to how the FFF is with the servo and flybar changes.

Here’s another pic that shows why I made the boom mount so long. I originally intended to screw the bottom down to make it even more secure.



I abandoned this idea of using the screw on the bottom because the combination of top chassis mount along with some double sided tape is enough. It’s probably even better not to make the boom too secure because I would want the boom to separate from the chassis so as not to cause more damage to the heli itself if and when a crash happens.

I also forgot to mention I added the extra linkage to the other side of the top rotor blades (it came with the spare BCX flybar I bought). After tuning the links the upper blades are tracking beautiful now.



You can also see the steel collar I added to the rotor head LINK and I can continue to report that it is holding up without a problem… it’s really no long an issue for me.

Crash Gordon

That ceiling fan has a span of over 7 feet… it’s a treat in our living room and it moves a lot of air when it’s turned on high. I wouldn’t attempt flying in the room if it was turned up… it would be worse than flying outside.

I made the tail boom 9 ¾” long…

3vw, I finally got around to watching the video with the sound. I'm glad you found the windows movie maker, you made a great video! My paddles came in today, I didn't shorten the stock bar, I just put the paddles in their place. The top tracks much better, and I guess its more responsive, or I'm getting more brave. It zipped (use this term loosely) along outside faster than it has in the past.

3vw, I just bought my first heli this last Sunday. I went in the hobby store to buy one for my brother for Christmas; after a demonstration the question was asked 'So, do you want one?' I said 'No, I want two.'

Reading up on the net about helis I found this forum and eventually your post about the BCX tail mod and then registered here to say what a fantastic job you did, it has challenged me to do the same for my chopper

I've had quite a few fantastic crashes in the past couple days and luckily my local hobby stores have extra parts. In fact I went down and bought a handful of the upper drive shaft/connections and have since gone through three of them. I seem to be learning a lot more about disassembling and assembling my aircraft then actually flying, but hey it's all practice.

My mom stopped by to store presents at my house and her being a real pilot was watching me try to fly through this or under that and after I crashed into some candy canes shared with me the saying "There are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are not old bold pilots."

So I decided to go with the basics and I'm going to master hovering before I try to slalom around Christmas decorations.

Thanks for the inspiration man! Going to hit Home De-Pot and someplace that sells arrows to pickup my parts later today.

Originally Posted by Atjeh

"There are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are not old bold pilots."

Gee, I can't say that I've ever heard it said any better than that!

3vw,thanks for the reply,now i just have to wait until the morning of the 25th. i thought that fan was huge but i guess nessesary in a room that size.

cheers

Hi 3vw
I did your tail Mod and it works great. The aluminum bracket on the back was easy to make with a dremal and drill press. I took it to the Coyotes hobby shop in Oregon city and everyone wanted to know how to make the mod. I also got the arrow shaft for $3.50 at sportsman warehouse, and they glued in the threaded insert for free. I cut out a plastic fin and used servo tape to attach it at the end of the tail boom. It would be great if you could post the mod in the cx mod thread. I would except I am not sure how too.

Thanks
Roger (aka wowsers)

Thanks Roger,

I’d enjoy seeing a few pics of your modded BCX if you can post them.

I’ll post a link in the Mod Thread like you suggested.

I am going to get the police blue front part I hope on monday then I will post some
Thanks
Roger