© 2010. Issue 205 Feb 04 2010

Competition Winner
Congratulations this week go to Chris Latham winning with the caption "Tower... I've definitely got payback for that bird-strike last week, the nest is toast!".

Well done Chris! There were several great entries this week but this one tickled us the most. Please give us a call to arrange the details.

Weekly Competition £10 prize

Looks to me like this is one cat you should definitely avoid! He moves so fast he's a blur and quite clearly he packs a serious kick to go with those evil eyes. Deadline for your caption is Wednesday February 10th. Please send your entries to:
editor2 AT modelhelicopters.co.uk
Entries addressed to anything else won't be seen! Please use 'editor2'.

New Items this week
Lithium Polymer appears to be a hot item this week. Not literally you understand, that would be a bad thing. These, however, are good things, and they come from Align.

We have five new LiPos in a few sizes and capacities, including:

6S2P 5200 mAh 40C
6S1P 2600 mAh 40C (TP balance)
6S1P 2600 mAh 40C (Align balance)
3S1P 2250 mAh 40C
2S1P 1900 mAh 40C

Notice that the two smaller capacity 6S packs come with either the Align or Thunder Power balance adaptor leads.

More flybarless stuff from Align this week. They have announced the Trex450 and Trex250 flybarless conversion kits, which should be with us shortly. We are taking pre-orders on both of these items now, so make sure you get in early to avoid missing out!

Here we have the removeable pull start mount upgrade part for the Century Radikal G20.

And for you Century Hawk pilots out there (and Century Raven models before May 2007), we have the upgrade 500cc fuel tank, which is an increase of fuel capacity of almost 40%!

The new issue of Rotorworld magazine has arrived and is on sale now. This month it includes a great writeup of the outstanding 3D Championship 2009 competition weekend, among other things!

Make sure you add one to your next order.

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The Special SST M3 Button Head Frame Screw has been designed to resolve the problem of the standard screw easily stripping. They have a modified head design which is deeper than the standard kit item which allows for more torque to be applied without the worry of stripping the head. They come in a pack of 10 or a pack of 45 (pictured).

Here we have a complete set of Radio Arm Balancers for all current transmitter brands. Designed to work with the standard lanyard radio pin. With a very low profile design, this radio arm allows for easy switch sliding operation. The perfect design and upgrade for your expensive transmitter. The length is designed to move the balance point of the radio 50 mm forward, adding comfort and ease of use.

The three items pictured below are for:

JR/Spektrum
Futaba 8/10/12/14
Futaba 6/7/9

Next we have our second installment of the Lithium Polymer delivery, this time the highly anticipated Thunder Power 45C packs, which have been getting great reports from users across the pond.

We now have the following packs in stock:

6S 2650 mAh 45C
3S 2650 mAh 45C
6S 2250 mAh 45C
3S 2250 mAh 45C
3S 850 mAh 45C

The eFlite Blade CX3 MD520 bind-n-fly version is on a very limited special offer with a massive reduction in price. This heli comes in the licensed MD 520N scale body with an attractive police trim scheme, and includes a lipo, charger and power supply. Get yours while you can!

For the Century Razor CX pilots out there looking to fit a scale body to their helicopter, we now have the EC135 bodyshell available in a rather fetching red and white colour scheme.

Spare parts for the new Align flybarless system are already starting to arrive! These are spare replacement larger ball links for the Trex700 swashplate and the blade grips. Yes, they come in the flybarless kit but if you had a little accident and bent one already, your replacements have arrived!

Speaking of Align's flybarless units, as you may well know, they are fitted with the latest sensors that Align are calling the 780, and now the latest version of their gyro is here as a standalone unit. The GP780 has brand new intelligent control logic providing dynamic gain adjustment by detecting current flying conditions, allowing for consistent pirouetting rates during chaos or other demanding 3D manoeuvres.

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It also comes with the DS650 tail servo in this great value combo package.

It's definitely super-combo week as far as Align goes!

First we have the Trex600 ESP (Electric Super Pro) Super Combo in blue. This new version now includes the new 600M Motor, 3 x DS610 Servos, the brand new GP780 Gyro and DS620 tail servo. It also includes Align 600D main rotor blades, an RCE-BL100G 100A Brushless ESC, RCE-B6X External BEC and a 1900mAh 18C LiPo - in fact, just add your receiver and main motor LiPo, and away you go! All metal parts are anodised in blue.

We also have the same Trex600 ESP kit but in black, where, rather unsuprisingly, all metal parts are anodised in black. Everything else is the same as listed above in the "blue" version.

Then there is the brand new Trex500 ESP Super Combo which now includes the new 500M Motor, 3 x DS510 Servos, the newly released GP780 Gyro and DS520 tail servo. It also includes Align 425D main rotor blades, an RCE-BL60G 60A Brushless ESC with a built-in 5-6V step-less adjustable BEC.

Aren't they all rather super! Smashing!

We've also had yet more spares for the MicroHeli Vortex 200 PRO delivered this week. If you haven't already got one of thse super little heli's, make sure you head on over to this page and remedy that situation today! Go on, you deserve it!

Finally

We must bring your attention to the three fantastic special offers running right now. You really shouldn't miss these if you're looking for a bargain brand new electric helicopter!

First and second is the Trex 600 ESP Kit Combo in black and the same Trex 600 ESP Kit Combo but in blue anodised metal parts. Both of these kits include all the aluminium and carbon upgrades, also the carbon main and tail blades and paddles. The 650L motor, 100A ESC and regulator.

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Third we have the Trex 500 ESP Superior Combo which includes a tube driven tail, all aluminium extras, carbon paddles, tail blades and main blades, and the new designed canopy. It also includes the Align 500L Motor, Align 60A ESC and 3 x Align DS510 Digital Servos.

Stocks are limited on these special offer kits so don't delay!

That's it

The weather was kind enough to let us get out there and do some more flying last weekend. Even if rain stopped play a little early.

Further experimentation with the Align flybarless system on my 600 has yielded great results and I'm really liking how it feels very much like a flybarred helicopter to fly.

It's looking like there might be a breezy weekend on the way, but if you get a chance to fly, don't pass it up!

Until next time, have a week!