My Blade CP:  Brushless and ready to rumble (or buzz, whirl, etc.)

You knew that I could not continue to run a brushed motor in my Blade CP, didn’t you?  Life is too short to run motors with brushes.  I originally tried a Himax 2015-4100 that I had laying around.  It was too hot of a wind even with the smallest available 8-tooth pinion.  The head speed was really fast and current draw excessive.  I opted for a Himax 2015-3600 with a 9-tooth pinion and the results are excellent.  Here are the specs on my set-up:

            Motor:  Himax 2015-3600
            ESC:  Castle Phoenix 10
            Pinion:  9-tooth from HPI
            Batteries:  3-cell ThunderPower 900mah with JST connector

Tidy installation of Himax motor and heatsink

To be able to use a brushless motor you need to tap into channel 3 on the RX board inside the 4-in-1 unit.  I just soldered in a cut-off servo extension wire – remember that you do not need to solder in the power wire, just the signal and ground.  You also have to pigtail power and ground from the ESC power input connector so as to power up the 4-in-1.  I accomplished this by running a second JST connector off of the power input.  You can see in the picture above the double wires, 2-black and 2-red, running out of the power input.  One pair goes to the ESC and one plugs into the 4-in-1 power input connector.

The motor installation is simple.  You can use a Himax speed 370 adapter disc or just Dremel away a little plastic so that the motor flange fits in the slot.  Then bolt in place from the bottom ensuring that the gear mesh is OK.  Make sure to get a Himaxx 20 mm heat-sink and install it with some heat-sink paste to ensure contact.  This motor will get warm so use a heat-sink and paste!  You can get the paste from Radio Shack. 

While I was at it I bought two new 3s 900 mah LiPo packs since my old Etecs were about dead.  These new packs are lighter and put out much better power than ye olde first-gen Etecs.  The head-speed when going to “idle-up” is higher than with the brushed setup.  This gives better stability without an increase in sensitivity.  The duration is very good as well.  I have not timed my flights, but 15-minutes is probably about right.  The little bird has more power than I know what to do with given my skills.  Jamming the collective up with send her rocketing skyward!  I live in a crowed subdivision and this little chopper is just what I needed to be able to fly in the backyard.  When the wind calms down I’m out harassing the neighborhood pet population.