REVIEW: Heli-Max Novus 125 CP

CSpaced · 03-10-2010, 05:28 PM

REVIEW: Heli-Max Novus 125 CP 2.4GHz RTF Brushless Sub-micro Collective-pitch Heli

REVIEWER: Chris "CSpaced"

The latest addition to Heli-Max’s fleet is the Novus CP 125, a “sub-micro” collective pitch heli. What do they mean by “sub micro”? Well, their Novus CP is designed as an indoor flyer that could possibly be flown outside as long as there is no wind. The Axe 400 is definitely an outdoors flyer that can be flown in large indoor arenas. This new CP 125 is designed to fill the gap in between, a heli that is small enough to be flown around your living room yet powerful enough to be flown outside.

The CP 125 comes in a smart looking box, with just about everything you need to get flying right away. The included 2.4ghz transmitter sports a nice backlit digital display, a marked improvement over the dip switch programmable transmitter that comes with its smaller sibling. 2.4ghz is the new standard in R/C, and ensures safer flying without the possibility of being “Shot down” by someone on the same frequency. This new transmitter also has dual rates programmed in, which I’ll talk more about shortly. The transmitter is powered by eight “AA” batteries, which are installed into the battery cage that’s plugged into the transmitter’s battery bay. It’s plugged in, which means it will be real easy to replace it with a rechargeable battery down the line sometime.

The heli itself is loaded with cool features. The head and blades are basically the same head as the Novus CP, with 120 degree eCCPM, but everything else about this new heli is different. As with the CP, the head is very well made, and free from any slop. It has a bigger main frame, with sturdy injection molded landing gear. This new version also sports some nice carbon fiber boom supports for added stiffness with fiberglass horizontal and vertical fins. The model uses three Heli-Max SX4000 digital servos with one SX450 servo on the tail. The servos are very precise, and center real well. The all in one receiver unit also houses the heading hold gyro and powers the brushless motor. The brushless motor provides a lot of power, with a KV rating of 10,000. The tail differs greatly from the CP, it is now a variable pitch tail rotor which is driven by a torque tube through the boom. These are great features on the tail, and give it a much more locked in feel. The mechanics of the tail are really cool too, with the bellcrank for the tail pitch slider mounted on top of the tail housing, with the pushrod also mounted on top of the boom with a guide on top of the horizontal fin. Just like the head, the tail mechanics are nice and smooth with no slop at all. I’m very impressed with the tail over all, particularly the torque tube – those gears are tiny! (don’t worry – it comes with spares!). The heli is powered by a 600mah single cell lipo, which gives me about six to seven minutes of flight time.

In the box is the included AC wall charger, spare blades, spare gears for the torque tube, and a small screw driver for maintenance. The wall charger is the same that comes with the CP, and employs red and green LED’s to let you know when the battery is charged. A full charge takes me about an hour. I was a little concerned that with all the included torque tube gears I’d be breaking them frequently, but they are very strong and I think it will take some abuse to actually strip them. I have more than a dozen flights on it so far, and it isn’t showing any sign of wear.

Flying

The sequence to power up the heli is straight forward. You plug the battery into the heli and sit it on a level surface. You then power on the transmitter, the transmitter beeps and then runs through its power up sequence. Once it has finished the heli will initialize (illustrated by its servos moving back and forth) and then the gyro initializes (again you can see the tail servo move). All of this takes only a few seconds. The transmitter has dual rates programmed in, which I didn’t think I would actually use, but end up using all the time. In low rates, hovering around the house, the heli is very stable and smooth. The gyro functions great, and I didn’t have any drift. Flying back and forth in my living room and performing lazy pirouettes is a lot of fun, and the low rates really tame down the heli for close quarters hovering.

I’ve been dying to get the heli outside, but it has been unseasonably windy here this year. After getting out to the field I decided to give it a go despite the 14mph gusting winds. That’s right, 14mph gusts! High rates really wake the heli up, and it becomes super responsive. Combined with the brushless motor in idle up mode and I had an awesome performer that could power through the gusts I was flying it in. The gyro was simply magnificent in those winds, and it didn’t take long for me to start flying it around and trying some flips and inverted flight. I was pleased to find that it flew a lot like my TRex 250, it felt like a much bigger heli. It was actually kind of funny to see the guys with their 90 size nitro heli’s battling the wind while I was flipping this 3.2oz heli around in the same wind! I ended up having a blast with it, and can’t wait for some calmer days so I can bring it in low and try some different 3D moves with it. The battery I had lasted about six minutes or so, and I was eager to keep flying it, so I figured out a way to charge the battery out at the field (see the video below).

This is definitely a keeper, with the size of the heli you can literally take it everywhere; keep it in your truck or your briefcase. You can't beat the price either, for a heli ready to fly with this sort of quality is hard to beat. It totally feels like a bigger electric, it’s stable, smooth, powerful – everything you would want a heli to be. The only thing I would like to add to it is more batteries!

Specs

Rotor Diameter: 12" (305mm)
Weight: 3.2oz (91g)
Height: 3.9" (100mm)
Length: 11.2" (285mm)
Width: 1.6" (40mm)

More info available here:
http://www.helimax-rc.com/helis/novu...-cp/index.html

CSpaced · 03-10-2010, 05:29 PM

Pictures:

CSpaced · 03-10-2010, 05:30 PM

Video - click the vids to watch in HD:

http://www.vimeo.com/10074733

This is just a short video explanation on how I charge the Novus battery out at the flying field.

http://www.vimeo.com/10077167

Sleepyc · 03-12-2010, 10:01 AM

Chris, nice work.
I have one of these as well, and I have to say it is the most fun I have ever had with a micro heli.
Also, it is STABLE! I have flown it 5 times so far and it is still in one piece!

CSpaced · 03-12-2010, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sleepyc

I have one of these as well, and I have to say it is the most fun I have ever had with a micro heli.
Also, it is STABLE! I have flown it 5 times so far and it is still in one piece!

Nice! Its awesome how stable it is in low rates and then how wild it can be in high rates.

jbourke · 03-12-2010, 12:15 PM

Nice videos!

Jim

CSpaced · 03-12-2010, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbourke

Nice videos!

Jim

Thanks, though I have to give credit to my buddy Jeff for filming the heli outside - that sucker is hard to track!

Stpeteflyer · 03-12-2010, 08:51 PM

I have a couple buddies that have this heli. It looks like it flies quite well, im definitely going to have to check it out.

nexgen · 03-14-2010, 07:20 PM

They are pretty cool, I'd buy one in a heartbeat if my lhs sold them. The original, Walkera 4G6 has been out for some time now, and is a few versions ahead of this, with many improvements to the tt, and tail assembly, also the servos and motor. it is a more stable/agile flyer. Novus stuff are clones of walkera stuff, and helimax seems to stick with the v1 version of the walkera original of the same model

CSpaced · 03-15-2010, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nexgen

They are pretty cool, I'd buy one in a heartbeat if my lhs sold them. The original, Walkera 4G6 has been out for some time now, and is a few versions ahead of this, with many improvements to the tt, and tail assembly, also the servos and motor. it is a more stable/agile flyer. Novus stuff are clones of walkera stuff, and helimax seems to stick with the v1 version of the walkera original of the same model

From what I can tell the only difference between this and the 4G6 is the all metal head and slightly bigger motor - the tail appears to be the same. When you buy the Novus you're not only get a great model, you get Heli-Max's support to back it up.

Sleepyc · 03-15-2010, 12:04 PM

Chris.. HIGH RATES?!?!? ARE YOU CRAZY? I like this thing! You have obviously never seen me fly a heli... They call me Sleepy "Low Rates" C

JTS · 04-01-2010, 09:52 PM

Just bought one, but I'm no where ready for it yet! The videos are AWSOME!!! Home to be in your league one day. Stay aloft!

-wetcrewman

CSpaced · 04-02-2010, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTS

Just bought one, but I'm no where ready for it yet! The videos are AWSOME!!! Home to be in your league one day. Stay aloft!

-wetcrewman

Welcome to CrackRoll! Its a really fun heli to fly, and with the low rates setting it is very forgiving while you get used to it. Glad you liked the vids!

donaldjeo12 · 06-29-2010, 11:29 PM

Thanks for you on posting this information....

Helicopter-addict · 07-12-2010, 09:34 PM

Chris, It sounds like it was a bit windy outside but tracked well...how was it in the wind?

03-10-2010, 05:28 PM	#1
CSpaced Spam Killer! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oak Ridge, NC Posts: 965	REVIEW: Heli-Max Novus 125 CP REVIEW: Heli-Max Novus 125 CP 2.4GHz RTF Brushless Sub-micro Collective-pitch Heli REVIEWER: Chris "CSpaced" The latest addition to Heli-Max’s fleet is the Novus CP 125, a “sub-micro” collective pitch heli. What do they mean by “sub micro”? Well, their Novus CP is designed as an indoor flyer that could possibly be flown outside as long as there is no wind. The Axe 400 is definitely an outdoors flyer that can be flown in large indoor arenas. This new CP 125 is designed to fill the gap in between, a heli that is small enough to be flown around your living room yet powerful enough to be flown outside. The CP 125 comes in a smart looking box, with just about everything you need to get flying right away. The included 2.4ghz transmitter sports a nice backlit digital display, a marked improvement over the dip switch programmable transmitter that comes with its smaller sibling. 2.4ghz is the new standard in R/C, and ensures safer flying without the possibility of being “Shot down” by someone on the same frequency. This new transmitter also has dual rates programmed in, which I’ll talk more about shortly. The transmitter is powered by eight “AA” batteries, which are installed into the battery cage that’s plugged into the transmitter’s battery bay. It’s plugged in, which means it will be real easy to replace it with a rechargeable battery down the line sometime. The heli itself is loaded with cool features. The head and blades are basically the same head as the Novus CP, with 120 degree eCCPM, but everything else about this new heli is different. As with the CP, the head is very well made, and free from any slop. It has a bigger main frame, with sturdy injection molded landing gear. This new version also sports some nice carbon fiber boom supports for added stiffness with fiberglass horizontal and vertical fins. The model uses three Heli-Max SX4000 digital servos with one SX450 servo on the tail. The servos are very precise, and center real well. The all in one receiver unit also houses the heading hold gyro and powers the brushless motor. The brushless motor provides a lot of power, with a KV rating of 10,000. The tail differs greatly from the CP, it is now a variable pitch tail rotor which is driven by a torque tube through the boom. These are great features on the tail, and give it a much more locked in feel. The mechanics of the tail are really cool too, with the bellcrank for the tail pitch slider mounted on top of the tail housing, with the pushrod also mounted on top of the boom with a guide on top of the horizontal fin. Just like the head, the tail mechanics are nice and smooth with no slop at all. I’m very impressed with the tail over all, particularly the torque tube – those gears are tiny! (don’t worry – it comes with spares!). The heli is powered by a 600mah single cell lipo, which gives me about six to seven minutes of flight time. In the box is the included AC wall charger, spare blades, spare gears for the torque tube, and a small screw driver for maintenance. The wall charger is the same that comes with the CP, and employs red and green LED’s to let you know when the battery is charged. A full charge takes me about an hour. I was a little concerned that with all the included torque tube gears I’d be breaking them frequently, but they are very strong and I think it will take some abuse to actually strip them. I have more than a dozen flights on it so far, and it isn’t showing any sign of wear. Flying The sequence to power up the heli is straight forward. You plug the battery into the heli and sit it on a level surface. You then power on the transmitter, the transmitter beeps and then runs through its power up sequence. Once it has finished the heli will initialize (illustrated by its servos moving back and forth) and then the gyro initializes (again you can see the tail servo move). All of this takes only a few seconds. The transmitter has dual rates programmed in, which I didn’t think I would actually use, but end up using all the time. In low rates, hovering around the house, the heli is very stable and smooth. The gyro functions great, and I didn’t have any drift. Flying back and forth in my living room and performing lazy pirouettes is a lot of fun, and the low rates really tame down the heli for close quarters hovering. I’ve been dying to get the heli outside, but it has been unseasonably windy here this year. After getting out to the field I decided to give it a go despite the 14mph gusting winds. That’s right, 14mph gusts! High rates really wake the heli up, and it becomes super responsive. Combined with the brushless motor in idle up mode and I had an awesome performer that could power through the gusts I was flying it in. The gyro was simply magnificent in those winds, and it didn’t take long for me to start flying it around and trying some flips and inverted flight. I was pleased to find that it flew a lot like my TRex 250, it felt like a much bigger heli. It was actually kind of funny to see the guys with their 90 size nitro heli’s battling the wind while I was flipping this 3.2oz heli around in the same wind! I ended up having a blast with it, and can’t wait for some calmer days so I can bring it in low and try some different 3D moves with it. The battery I had lasted about six minutes or so, and I was eager to keep flying it, so I figured out a way to charge the battery out at the field (see the video below). This is definitely a keeper, with the size of the heli you can literally take it everywhere; keep it in your truck or your briefcase. You can't beat the price either, for a heli ready to fly with this sort of quality is hard to beat. It totally feels like a bigger electric, it’s stable, smooth, powerful – everything you would want a heli to be. The only thing I would like to add to it is more batteries! Specs Rotor Diameter: 12" (305mm) Weight: 3.2oz (91g) Height: 3.9" (100mm) Length: 11.2" (285mm) Width: 1.6" (40mm) More info available here: http://www.helimax-rc.com/helis/novu...-cp/index.html Attached Thumbnails __________________ Chris Mulcahy Shhhh....I'm a planker too..... <-----click! Last edited by CSpaced; 03-11-2010 at 04:36 PM.

03-10-2010, 05:29 PM	#2
CSpaced Spam Killer! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oak Ridge, NC Posts: 965	Pictures: Attached Thumbnails __________________ Chris Mulcahy Shhhh....I'm a planker too..... <-----click! Last edited by CSpaced; 03-10-2010 at 07:54 PM.

03-12-2010, 10:01 AM	#4
Sleepyc Crackroll Staff Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Chagrin Falls, Ohio Posts: 605	Chris, nice work. I have one of these as well, and I have to say it is the most fun I have ever had with a micro heli. Also, it is STABLE! I have flown it 5 times so far and it is still in one piece! __________________ Get the most current up-to-date R/C modeling news: www.flyinggiants.com www.rcgroups.com www.crackroll.com www.rccars.com

03-14-2010, 07:20 PM	#9
nexgen the smaller the better. Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 304	They are pretty cool, I'd buy one in a heartbeat if my lhs sold them. The original, Walkera 4G6 has been out for some time now, and is a few versions ahead of this, with many improvements to the tt, and tail assembly, also the servos and motor. it is a more stable/agile flyer. Novus stuff are clones of walkera stuff, and helimax seems to stick with the v1 version of the walkera original of the same model __________________ maybe I should quit playing lawn darts with my heli Gaui 550, Gaui 200, Walkera #52, Walkera 4#3

03-15-2010, 12:04 PM	#11
Sleepyc Crackroll Staff Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Chagrin Falls, Ohio Posts: 605	Chris.. HIGH RATES?!?!? ARE YOU CRAZY? I like this thing! You have obviously never seen me fly a heli... They call me Sleepy "Low Rates" C __________________ Get the most current up-to-date R/C modeling news: www.flyinggiants.com www.rcgroups.com www.crackroll.com www.rccars.com


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03-12-2010, 12:15 PM	#6
jbourke Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 3	Nice videos! Jim

03-12-2010, 08:51 PM	#8
Stpeteflyer Coaxial Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: St. Peters MO Posts: 14	I have a couple buddies that have this heli. It looks like it flies quite well, im definitely going to have to check it out.

04-01-2010, 09:52 PM	#12
JTS Coaxial Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 1	Just bought one, but I'm no where ready for it yet! The videos are AWSOME!!! Home to be in your league one day. Stay aloft! -wetcrewman

06-29-2010, 11:29 PM	#14
donaldjeo12 Coaxial Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 2	Thanks for you on posting this information.... __________________ Post by: Donald

07-12-2010, 09:34 PM	#15
Helicopter-addict Coaxial Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 8	Chris, It sounds like it was a bit windy outside but tracked well...how was it in the wind? __________________ RCHelicopteruniverse.com

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