While stuck in Kim’s basement immediately following my first surgery, I was looking for something to keep me entertained (besides CNN and the election). After some Internet research I settled on an E-Flite Blade MCX radio control helicopter. I’ll go over the in’s and out’s of this little heli and provide a small review in a moment, but first a little background.
I’ve always been interested in things that fly (birds, kites, planes, etc.), and in fact I initially declared an aerospace engineering major in college. Over the last couple of years small, cheap r/c helicopters have become available in discount stores and malls worldwide. I’ve owned several of these: Havoc Helis, Mosquitos, and others. While these toys have been amusing, but they’ve always disappointed by being difficult and terribly imprecise to control. Enter the Blade MCX.
The helicopter is pretty small; just 8 inches long and weighing in at just about 1 ounce. The small size and lightweight makes the MCX perfect for flying around the basement. I’ve had a good time landing on just about any surface that’s large enough to get the landing skids on (about 4″x4″). The heli is super stable, and hovers well; control is precise and intuitive. Because of the heli’s small size (and small, lightweight LiPo battery) flight times are limited to 8-10 minutes. While that sounds like a short amount of time charging only takes about 15 minutes, and I purchased a total of 3 batteries which seems to be the right number for my attention span.
The experience of flying the MCX had led to a “false” sense of confidence. Several crashes have resulted from attempts to fly under our folding tables and up and down the staircases. After dozens and dozens of crashes the MCX was still in excellent shape — even after being in the hands of 4 different novice pilots. But I did eventually break the helicopter inner shaft. Which is a good segue to talk about the difference between the MCX and the other toys I’ve had. The Blade MCX differs from the earlier toy helicopters I tried in that it’s a hobby-grade radio control device. E-Flite has been making radio control aircraft for several years, and they support their products with a complete line of replacement parts and an network of hobby shops that carry their products. The availability of (inexpensive) replacement parts and repair advice elevates the Blade MCX over cheaper toy helicopters. The total repair costs for my MCX was just $6 — it’s now good as new. With only minor maintenance I can keep the Blade MCX in the air for years to come.
After 4 months of zipping around the room with the MCX, I’m still infatuated with flying it around the house. Unfortunately, the MCX is also the perfect radio control gateway drug. Now that I’m off the couch, the house has since accumulated several more radio control vehicles all because of this great little aircraft. Next time, radio control cars become part of the family.
I’ve been enchanted by flying animals and aircraft my entire life. I’ve always wanted to get into radio control aircraft, but the time, complexity, and cost of radio control aircraft kept me away. These days modern high-density lithium-poltmer (lipo) batteries and foam aircraft have addressed the issues that kept me out of the hobby.
