E-flite Blade CX3 MD 520N RTF
The new Blade CX3 follows hot on the heels of E-flite's hugely successful Blade CX2 coaxial electric rc helicopter, widely regarded as the best beginner heli out there.
Although fundamentally based on the CX2, the CX3 has some noticeable improvements, not least of which is the scale fuselage of the MD 520N helicopter, in police color scheme. The McDonnell Douglas 520N is a popular helicopter used by police forces all around the world. The 'N' stands for NOTAR, an abbreviation for 'no tail rotor'. On the full size 520N, compressed air is blown out of the rear of the tail boom to control yaw, in the same way that the thrust from a conventional tail rotor does.
A NOTAR helicopter has massive safety benefits over a conventional tail rotor helicopter, one NOTAR promotional video showed such a helicopter being reversed into a hedge!
E-flite have done a great job of reproducing the MD 520N in the Blade CX3. Apart from the obvious non-scale element of the dual rotors, everything else is there, even down to the steps on the landing skid legs and the antennas at the tail. And for more realism there is the navigation lights kit, an optional upgrade that will complete your helicopter with all the right red, green and white nav lights of the real MD 520N.
When it comes to flying, the E-flite Blade CX3 MD 520N is about as stable as any electric rc helicopter will ever be, right out the box. The radio system supplied with the helicopter is the solid 2.4GHz DSM2 spread spectrum technology for interference-free flying and immediate and precise control response.
And being fully RTF, there is nothing for you to do other than install the radio gear batteries in to the transmitter. Indeed, each helicopter is test flown at the factory before dispatch, so you should have no problems whatsoever.
The stability of the helicopter comes from the coaxial design. Even though the CX3 MD 520N has no tail rotor because the real 520N doesn't, coaxial rc helicopters never do anyway. The two sets of main rotors spin in opposite directions to each other, thus cancelling out each others' torque - the rotational force that makes a tail rotor necessary on conventional helicopters, and a major reason why conventional helicopters are so difficult to control in your early days of training.
And on top of the inherent coaxial stability, the Blade CX3 is also equipped with a heading hold gyro (HHG) as an integral part of the 3-in-1 unit, in place of the standard gyro found on most RTF electric rc helicopters. HHGs work harder to maintain a constant heading ie they stop the nose of the helicopter from yawing left or right, while still giving you full control of directional movement. The combination of coaxial main rotors and a heading hold gyro really do make the CX3 about as stable as can be!
E-flite Blade CX3 MD 520N specs and features include:
- Main Rotor Diameter: 13.6"
- Motor Size: 180 Brushed (x2)
- 2S 7.4V 800mAh Li-Po battery pack
- DC Li-Po balancing charger supplied
- Radio gear: E-flite LP5DSM transmitter and Spektrum AR6100e receiver
- Two S60 Super Sub-Micro servos (6g each)
- Compatible with most Blade CX2 option parts
See the E-flite Blade CX3 MD 520N RTF in more detail.
As with many E-flite aircraft, the Blade CX3 is also available in a Bind-N-Fly (BNF) version, for those already owning a DSM2 compatible transmitter.
Do you own or have experience with a Blade CX3? If so, let us know about it here!
Related pages
Blade CX2 - the successful predecessor to the CX3.
Blade mCX - E-flite's micro coaxial.
Coaxial rc helicopters - more info on how they work.
Electric rc helicopters - an overview of all types of electric heli.
