Review of the Blade mSR Electric Micro RC Helicopter by E-flite
Ranked #6,258 in Hobbies, Games & Toys, #74,827 overall
It's a whole new playing field!
The Blade mSR from E-flite is marvel of modern engineering. Never before has a radio controlled helicopter of this size been as agile, controllable, and robust. While there are cheaper copies of it, the quality of the Blade mSR is unsurpassed.
While it is small, small enough to lift off from the palm of your hand and fly in your living room, it is a 4-channel, real, fully operational helicopter. It is not one of those toy helicopters that has coaxial blades and a tail rotor that pushes it forward. This micro rc helicopter operates in essence like a real helicopter does. It has a single, fixed pitch main rotor with full forward/back and left/right cyclic control, and a smaller tail rotor for anti-torque and yaw.
The Blade mSR can be flown as a first helicopter by someone wanting to get into the hobby. The built-in electronics even feature a toned-down mode that limits the range of the cyclic servos so that the helicopter won't make too sudden moves. Once hovering and basic maneuvers have been mastered, the full range mode can be switched on. And when you start getting really good at flying it, there is even a physical upgrade that can be done to the swashplate links (don't worry if you don't know what that is now, it is all explained in the manual) to make this little machine fly even faster!
While it is small, small enough to lift off from the palm of your hand and fly in your living room, it is a 4-channel, real, fully operational helicopter. It is not one of those toy helicopters that has coaxial blades and a tail rotor that pushes it forward. This micro rc helicopter operates in essence like a real helicopter does. It has a single, fixed pitch main rotor with full forward/back and left/right cyclic control, and a smaller tail rotor for anti-torque and yaw.
The Blade mSR can be flown as a first helicopter by someone wanting to get into the hobby. The built-in electronics even feature a toned-down mode that limits the range of the cyclic servos so that the helicopter won't make too sudden moves. Once hovering and basic maneuvers have been mastered, the full range mode can be switched on. And when you start getting really good at flying it, there is even a physical upgrade that can be done to the swashplate links (don't worry if you don't know what that is now, it is all explained in the manual) to make this little machine fly even faster!Blade mCX: a great companion to the mSR
Read this lens for my recommendation on a combo deal
Getting the mCX together with the mSR both provides a natural, non-steep learning path, and can save you some money in the long run.
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What makes the mSR such a great heli?
It's an agile, realistic, fun-filled, high quality helicopter!
- Its incredibly well-engineered design
- The quality of the parts (E-flite is an employee-owned American company)
- The robustness and flight characteristics make it both agile and durable
The Blade mSR also offers great value: it also comes with two batteries and a charger that can charge up to 4 batteries at a time and run on both AC power (adapter included) or 4 D-sized batteries, which means that you can take it with you to the park or the field and recharge your flight batteries while flying! The fun never has to stop! There are also more powerful 150 mAh extra batteries available to buy separately which enable longer flight times. I have these batteries myself and I can fly it in the park for about 8 minutes easily.
What are the weak points of the Blade mSR?
While my overall impression and experience with the mSR is very favorable, I've found some weak points, in particular:
- The landing skids are weak and tend to break. Although I have been able to fix these breakages with epoxy and CA while waiting for replacement parts, so no major downtime from it. There are alternatives out there, both in hard plastic and aluminum that one can change to, although these add weight to the heli without improving performance (only robustness), so it might be better to just keep repairing the stock landing skids.
- The blade grips also tend to break after a violent crash. I know, you shouldn't do violent crashes, but it still happens sometimes. They can also be fixed with CA usually, but in this case I would recommend upgrading to CNC aluminum blade grips, since these add practically no weight, and improve performance as well as robustness.
- There are cheaper alternatives out there, such as the Solo Pro. However, personally I think that it's worth a little extra to know that you get E-flite quality and support, and most of all, the mSR uses the common DSM2 radio standard, which means that it can be used with computerized transmitters such as the DX6i.
Official Horizon Hobby review of the Blade mSR
Straight from the horse's mouth!
curated content from YouTube
Specifications and available versions
It's available as Ready-to-Fly (RTF) and Bind-and-Fly (BNF)
When you buy your Blade mSR, you can choose between two sets. One is called Ready-to-Fly (RTF) and the other is called Bind-and-Fly (BNF). Basically what this means is that in RTF the transmitter (the controller that is used to fly a radio controlled helicopter) is included. In the BNF box a transmitter is not included, which means that you can get your own, favorite transmitter and use that to fly the helicopter. More on these two sets below.
Other than the transmitter, the two sets are identical. The charger, extra battery, AC adapter, and spare parts are included in both sets. The Blade mSR helicopter in itself is of course also the same. Here are the heli specs:
- Main rotor diameter: 180 mm (7 in)
- Total length: 190 mm (7.5 in)
- Flying weight: 28 g (1 oz) including 120 mAh battery
- Battery: 1 cell Li-Po (lithium polymer hybrid), 3.7 V
- Radio standard: 2.4 GHz DSM2 compatible with all DSM radios
- Radio channels: 4 channels: throttle, yaw, fore/aft and left/right cyclic
- Color: Blue, red canopy also available separately
The Blade mSR Ready-to-Fly (RTF) version
Everything you need to get in the air right out of the box
However, if you are planning on getting into the hobby more seriously, or you're considering buying a few more helicopter models (such as the mCX or SR) either now or later, then getting the BNF versions of all your helis would make sense. The money you save on that can then go to buying a more advanced, computerized transmitter, such as the DX6i that I review below.
Get your Blade mSR online
Although there might be a local hobby store in your area that carries E-flite products, the best prices are usually to be found online. Amazon and Ebay are the best places to find good prices on RC products in my opinion. The prices you find there are usually much lower than list price.
Blade mSR Bind-and-Fly (BNF) version
Spare a few bucks, and bind it to your favorite transmitter!
Another option is that you buy a RTF version of another 4 channel E-flite helicopter, such as the mCX, and use the radio you get with that one to fly the mSR. In fact, it's the same radio. This way you will save some money and you won't have an unused transmitter lying around.
I would personally recommend getting the BNF version of the Blade mSR and getting a DX6i to fly it with. I have the stock transmitter since i got it when I bought a Blade mCX RTF. I soon upgraded to the DX6i, and I am no longer using my stock transmitter (anyone wanna buy it?). The transmitter makes a big difference to how your heli flies. And with a DX6i you can set up custom dual rates for the flight controls, which are toggled using switches on the transmitter. This is great for quickly changing between more sensitive, indoor or outdoor hovering mode, and for fast outdoor flight, for example.
Find the best price on the BnF online
DX6i: the perfect transmitter for the Blade mSR
The modern Spektrum DX6i transmitter is the perfect companion for the mSr
The DX6i is a modern, compiterized full-range 2.4 GHz DSM2 transmitter. It has an impressive amount of programming features for both airplanes and helicopters that are simple to access and use. The DX6i is compatible with all existing Spektrum aircraft and helicopter receivers. Whatever kind of flying you do, the DX6i can be adapted to most any model in your existing collection. Since this is a 6 channel transmitter, that means that you can control more advanced, collective-pitch "3D" helicopters with it, if you decide to progress in the RC helicopter hobby. So when buying this transmitter you are essentially future proof. However, should you want to get into nitro-powered helicopters, a 7 channel transmitter might be necessary. In that case, the DX7 is a great choice. It can of course also be used to fly the Blade mSR.
Specifications:
- Full range 2.4GHz DSM2 6-channel radio
- 10-model memory
- Roller/selector user interface
- Attractive and ergonomic design
- Rudder dual-rate
- Large LCD display
- Integrated timer
- Dual-speed trim scroll
- Model name and type
- Servo monitor
- Dual rate and exponential
- Compatible with any existing DSM and DSM2 receivers
- Heli Programming Features: Gyro adjust, graphic throttle curve, Graphic pitch curve, P-mixes, Revo mix, Swash type (Normal, and CCPM 120)
Find the DX6i for great price here
Parts and mods for better performance and repairs
Tweaking and repairing is a big part of the hobby
I also highly recommend the E-flite 150 mAh batteries for the Blade mSR. They extend the flight time by a couple of minutes, and I don't notice any difference in handling of the helicopter due to increased weight (by a gram or two). Highly recommended!
Below I have included some searches of what kind of parts are available for the Blade mSR online.
Recommended upgrades for the Blade mSR
These are ones I've found particularly good
What great deals are to be found over at Ebay?
Enjoy some outdoor mSR flying!
With advanced swashplate setup and a DX6i
curated content from YouTube
A look at what Amazon has to offer
Comments are most welcome!
Questions regarding the mSR, comments, suggestions...
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sushilkin Jun 6, 2011 @ 12:17 pm | delete
- nice videos. I like RC Helicopters.
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TyGatti
Jan 19, 2011 @ 5:42 am | delete
- Great lens :) Love my blade MSR :D
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Darren at yogo10@netzero.com
Oct 1, 2010 @ 12:01 am | delete
- hi I Purchased the cnc metal blade grips,for the MSR and found the heli to be pretty much uncontrolable,too much binding somewhere I dont know,, any idea??THANKS Darren
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What people are saying about the Blade mSR
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hefa
Hi! I'm Henrik. I'm from Sweden but moved to Japan five years ago to work in the mobile software industry, and I'm loving it here and plan on staying.... more »
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The Blade mSR
Blade mSR BNF
Amazon Price: $1,255.58 (as of 02/17/2012)
The Blade mSR is the coolest little helicopter out there that has full cyclic control and is both robust and agile.
Recommended mod
Improve durability and performance of your Blade mSR
Precision CNC Main Blade Grips, Silverblade MSR MHEMSR002BG
Amazon Price: (as of 02/17/2012)
While the mSR is very robust, after too many crashes things tend to break. The blade grips is one of the most quick to break parts on the helicopter, but also one that is easy and cheap to upgrade. These precision aluminum blade grips not just tougher but also improves flight performance and adds a little extra "bling" to the looks of the heli.
