CX2 Performance upgrade

[Big Evil]

I have a CX2 and following a number of err....hard landings....My tail was completely thrashed and getting heavy from the tape repairs. I was considering one of the carbon fiber tail boom upgrades but being between 25 and 38 bucks for a fiber straw and fin I decided to find a cheaper way. I took a trip to the local hardware store where I knew they had a small metal assortment and purchased a thin wall aluminum tube, some of the thinest steel piano wire they had, and a thin aluminum plate. Using the original tail as a guide I cut the tube to size, drilled some tiny holes in it for the stringers and the tail and cut the plate slightly smaller than the rear servo face. I bent the plate to fit the tail boom and glued them together using general purpose goop (rubber cement on steroids.......fantastic stuff). I made both stringers out of a single piece of piano wire through the boom, drilled two tiny holes in the back of the battery tray and ended the stringers in tight "hooks" that grip through the holes in the tray. the plate with the boom was attached to the rear servo with some double sided mounting tape and the rear "fin" is a single piece of wire with z bends at both ends and bent into shape. The replacement tail is CONSIDERABLY lighter than stock and maybe even the carbon stuff as well (don't know for certain, haven't spent my money on one :-). As far as the performance upgrade? From the first flight the bird had a forward flight bias but you could dial it out on the remote, hit forward and it takes a huge lean and shoots off fast enough that if you're not careful you'll crash when you try to stop. To turn you could only be at 1/2 forward to make a slow turn and in neutral to make a snap...and I do mean SNAP turn. In a full forward sprint and trying to make a turn the bird will actually tilt far enough over that it'll actually lose lift and drop like a stone. So if your up for a faster, lighter, and more exciting to fly CX2....do it yourself for about 8 bucks and an hours worth of time. The following pics were taken with a Nikon D50 and yes the bird is IN FLIGHT

[jaydog3]

Great DIY mod!

I'm newbie to the CX (love it) ... had if for a month now and my latest crash will have me tearing it down to replace both shafts.. DOH!

During the rebuild I'm going to do a bunch of mods.
Is the tail on yours "open"?... is it just a piece of wire frame?
I thought the heli would need a solid tail to help it from being twitchy/drifty
Do you even need the tail or is it a safety and aesthetic thing?

thanx

Jay

[Big Evil]

It's definitely...quicker in its responses. The tail is completely open it's just a solid piece of steel piano wire bent to look like a tail. The stock tail as far as I can tell flight wise is simply there to balance the bird and provide wind resistance to slow down its maneuvers, this can be a bear since if you're outside or even inside and the ac is blowing the slightest breeze can crash you. Without the stock tail the wind has far less effect. The down side is you're going to have to adapt to it being a little lighter, maybe having a bit of forward flight bias depending on your construction and BE CAREFUL THE FIRST TIME YOU TRY TO TURN IN FORWARD FLIGHT. As I wrote earlier in a forward sprint and a quick turn, you will lose lift. Post a pic when you're done, I'd love to see what you come up with.

K