The reborn World Models P-51 is Daddy's new little pumpkin! She flies great, but the timing on the original ESC didn't match up at high throttle. I tried a Castle Creations Phoenix-25 from another model...worked fine. I put the no-name ESC back in that other model...timing issues with that other motor as well. Back went the Castle and off I went to the hobby shop to part with dough.

The timing glitch been solved with a new SuperTigre 30A unit which, of course, matches perfectly with the SuperTigre .10 outrunner. Hasn't flown yet with the new ESC. It will soon.

The E-flite Blade CP/CP Pro/SR hybrid heli shows promise! It wouldn't lift off properly during a test in my garage, resulting in a slightly nicked main blade tip when it made light contact with the sidewall of my car's tire. I had the darn things mounted backwards. The receiver and 2-in-1 weren't tacked down and I had a too-small 500mAh li-po slung under the thing with masking tape, but once the blade issue was fixed, I got it to lift off in my living room! First time in at least two years, too. Twitchy to be sure, but I had it on high rates without realizing it. I'll report back when everything is tacked down and adjusted.

The dusty, musty old .15-powered P-51 electric conversion should be done soon. I'm getting the motor mount and some assorted hardware later today. The motor for the SkyFly2 project is on its way from HobbyKing.

I think I'll post a rogue's gallery photo of these little beasts when they're finished.

UPDATE: The helicopter lives! I hovered it in my front yard a couple of nights ago and fast forward flight is next. Hovering is definitely twitchy with a transmitter lacking expo, but hover it does and it wants to fly! Problem is, the HobbyKing Orange Rx receiver is too large to fit under the canopy, so I'll be going to a spare Spektrum AR6110 soon. I'd hoped to avoid using it, but oh well.

Things are looking promising for Project Blade CP. The used E-flite 2-in-1 and Blade SR transmitter I got off of eBay work perfectly. It took some nurgling with the DIP switches on the transmitter to get the servos to react properly, but react they do. Still waiting for the gyro, but HobbyKing e-mailed me to say it's on its way. Nine bucks for a MEMS gyro is almost too good to be true. Here's hoping it isn't!

Today marked the return of a rebuilt The World Models P-51 EP electric. I used it in the review of the Airtronics SD-6G radio...and I swapped the Airtronics receiver for another brand.

An intermittent failing elevator pot splashed the P-51 a few months ago; I blamed the problem on a faulty receiver. I didn't know the pot was failing until my beautiful EScale A6M5c Zero, reviewed at Ezonemag.com last year, crashed in much the same way. It, like the P-51, went full down elevator only a week ago. Total loss. That transmitter is now in the shop for a new pot.

Incredibly, the P-51 survived other than the fuselage. The fiberglass cowl suffered some minor damage, but it was still perfectly useable. I broke down and ordered a fuselage, decals and pilot figure from AirBorne Models who were kind enough to send a few other necessary parts as well later at no cost. The reborn version has a SuperTigre .10 outrunner mounted to a modified World Models outrunner-style firewall. It flew perfectly earlier today on a Futaba T6EX and full-range receiver. Only...Continue Reading

It would seem that I was born with a bit of an ornery streak.

When I was a kid, I remember my teachers complaining about how I wouldn't follow directions. Drove my folks nuts, too.

Time, maturity and wisdom have made me a much better Do-Bee, thanks.

Or not.

I am, against all professional advice from a team-sponsored R/C helicopter pilot, resurrecting a real monstrosity.

I learned to fly helis on an E-flite Blade CP, one of the first ever. I still have what was a dusty, unused carcass now being converted back to a helicopter. Blade CP's don't stay factory original for long. There isn't an original part left on the thing except for two of the S75 analog servos.

A couple of years ago, I tried a conversion I'd found online, namely that of a GWS tail motor to replace the geared micro motor. Think of it as a poor man's CP Pro.

Worked great...for about fifteen seconds. Motor went blooey, helicopter pirouetted in. So, I bought a Blade SR tail motor, prop and assorted hardware.

Nope. That motor spun too fast for the old 4-in-1 module and I think I may have burned out the module during the attempt.

What I was left with was an airframe with a lot of new parts, lightly flown parts and aftermarket upgrades, including a new canopy, a rebuilt Bell-Hiller head, a brushless main motor operated through an interface hooked into the stock 4-in-1 and one of the first ever sets of SuperSkids. I even upgraded it with an aluminum swashplate along the way.

This little Walkera-...Continue Reading