120SR

[19000rpm]

I'd heard some good things about the Blade 120SR. Yesterday I got the chance to look it over more closely and fly it.

It looks like the big brother of the mSR, which I guess if you're into micro heli geneology; it certainly appears to be.

The first thing I noticed is that the flybar is on the bulky side similar to many of Blade's smaller helis. The object being to add stability to the heli. The formula seems to work. Of course, all of the main components are plastic but seem up to the job. I tested duarability by flying it into a cardboard box or two when I was trimming it out. The 120SR came away unscathed.

Both the RTF and then BNF come with a 500mAh single cell lipo with a variable rate charger and AC power supply. Flight time is around 5mins so I'd want to have a spare battery or two.

The 120SR I flew was the RTF so it came with the Tx. The same Tx used on not only Blade helicopters, but also on some of their micro planes. So, if you have any of those micros or heli Tx's the bind and fly is a good choice. I probably don't need to mention that you can fly it with any other DMS2 Tx from the LP5DSM to the DX8.

Once powered up the 120SR gets in the air smoothly. It took some minor trimming to get it just right and in the end came fairly close to a hands free hover. The 5-1 does a really good job and the tail holds very well with much less drift than many similar types of this size.

I was flying in a very small indoor space so I didn't get a chance for any FFF flight or aggressive maneuvers. I was impressed with the power though and think this heli will fly very well outdoors. I look forward to an outdoor session soon to see just how capable this little guy is in a little breeze.

All in all, with my brief exposure to the 120SR, I'd say this is a perfect FP heli for those looking for something a bit bigger than the mSR and a logical stop in the progression up to the Blade SR and beyond. Or, just a neat little heli for the more experienced flyer looking for some stress free fun.

[Raygun]

That has a 45 degree flybar doesn't it?? Ray

[19000rpm]

Nice observation Ray. I was going to mention that, but I decided to see if anybody else had noted it. As usual you're at the front of the class. Now maybe you can tell us the significance to that design.

[fireguzzi]

Does it reduce the exposure to air turbulence produced from the main blades?
Completely a guess.