Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A New Era...

This is an extremely exciting time for the Blade team and our fans! We are about to embark on a new era that not only will change the face of Blade but will shake the industry up too! Although little information is currently available we urge you to join our Facebook page to keep up with the news about this new announcement. 

We will have another update about this new era for blade later this week, but for now we just wanted to let the world know that we have something up our sleeve! Keep an eye out for something cool from us in the very near future.

See you in Orlando!

Steve Petrotto
Blade Brand Manager

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Winners of the 500 X Invitational!






Congratulations to the winners of the Blade 500 X Invitational!

1st Place: Clay Payne
2nd Place: Jordan Horwitz
3rd Place: Sergio Marachilian

Thanks for all the applications and those who flew in the contest!

AMA Headquarters, Muncie, Indiana; Horizon Hobby and Blade helicopters are excited to introduce the winner of the Blade 500X invitational, Clay Payne from Dayton, Ohio. Pilots from around the world submitted YouTube videos for consideration and five finalists were selected and invited to compete with the brand new Blade 500X. All entrants were non-sponsored pilots who made their own way to the IRCHA (International Radio Control Helicopter Association) Jamboree, and had less than 24 hours to get the helicopter out of the box and find their comfort zone with it before the contest. The largest model aircraft event worldwide with over 1000 registered pilots, the IRCHA Jamboree attracts the best pilots from all corners of the planet for 5 days of intense heli action! Whether you want to fly with the best, go for a world speed record, or see the most impressive scale machines, IRCHA has it all!
With the flight line packed with Pro pilots from around the world, the intimidation factor was high for the 5 finalists who flew in the Blade 500X invitational. Each pilot was provided with a Spektrum DX18 transmitter and a Blade 500X to compete with, and the top three competitors took home impressive prizes. Top prize was a DX18 and a Blade 500X, second prize was a Blade 500X, and third prize was a DX18. All of the contestants put in great performances that made judging difficult and different flying styles also complicated the judge’s job.
Pilot order was decided at random, and Adam Lasker ended up with the honor and challenge of kicking off the contest. His flight was full of complicated pirouetting maneuvers, funnels and precision, with most of his flying done at a higher altitude. Next up was Clay Payne, and his flight really highlighted the 500X’s capabilities with edgy, low, aggressive performance. Sergio Marachilian flew some very difficult maneuvers including four point tic-tocks, pirouetting flips with reversals, and he finished the flight with an autorotation. Jordan Horwitz looked in his element with a big smile despite the nerves and good choreography to compliment his skills. Jordan did some ground hops to the music as part of his routine that made the mid-sized Blade 500X look like it was ready to pounce. Pete Guzewich finished the lineup with a flight that was off to a great start with backward rolls and some great looking piro maneuvers, but unfortunately Pete put his 500X in for a dirt nap at the end of a great looking flipping hurricane. Despite his crash, Pete had a jovial attitude and commented the only thing wrong with the 500X was himself. Don’t be so hard on yourself Pete, you were a great sport and put in a great performance!
In the end, Clay’s flight took the cake with his pop and lock style and low smack; his flight was well choreographed with different tempo music and his flying changed tempo to keep the beat. Clay can now claim he’s the champion of the Blade 500X invitational. This young man is likely to work his way into the contest scene, and now he’s got a brand new Blade 500X and a Spektrum DX18 to help him get there!

Friday, July 13, 2012

300 X shipping and Blade joins Facebook!



Happy Friday Blade enthusiasts!

Before we get into the rest of this weeks Blog post... THE BLADE 300 X IS SHIPPING!! Whew, had to get the excitement out somewhere. Look for them online or at your local hobby shops soon. Depending on your geographical location, you may even get yours for this weekend! Lucky!


On another note, 

Blade has been making some strides to help keep the lines of communication open for our fans, but we need your help! Just this past week, we launched the Blade Facebook page. This is the perfect place where we can keep in touch with what you guys need and what our of blade. We can't wait to start posting awesome pictures from the field, factory and everyday life at Blade. Also, we will be bringing you the most up to date information about new announcements, updates and tips from the experts.

We want you to add your photos of your fleet and post any comments or questions you have. We will do our best to answer them, but always remember our world class product support team is available at your convenience.The bigger our Facebook community gets, the better. So tell your friends, family and even your neighbors dog about it. Yea, he has a Facebook too. Be a part of the conversation and enjoy being a part of the Blade family.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/bladehelis

Until next week...

Keep em' Flying, 
Steve Petrotto
Blade Brand Manager

Monday, July 9, 2012

Introducing the Blade 500 X Invitational @ IRCHA 2012!



We developed the 500 X to be an all-out, ballistic, 3D thriller that was capable of any 3D maneuver you can throw at it. With its flybarless design, BeastX technology and incredible power system, the 500 X is everything you could want out of a 500 sized 3D machine.

Lately at Blade, we have been eager to see what the 500 X can do in the hands of some talented pilots. So we got together with Spektrum, and the great people over at IRCHA to create an exciting event. This year at the 2012 IRCHA Jamboree we will host the Blade 500 X invitational. The first event of its kind, the 500 X Invitational is designed to have 5 talented pilots fly the DX18 and the 500 X in a heart-throbbing 3D freestyle competition at center stage on Saturday at IRCHA 2012. Applicants should head over to the Blade website where they can find information about applying for an invitation and more about the 500 X.

This is the perfect opportunity if you have had your eye on the new 500 X and the DX18. We will select 5 talented pilots based on their video submissions to attend the event. Each pilot will perform a 3 1/2 minute freestyle routine to their own music using the 500 X and the DX18 to wow the judges.

Prizes Totaling $ 2600 

First Place: Blade 500 X & Spektrum DX 18
Second Place: Blade 500 X
Third Place: Spektrum DX 18

Do you have what it takes?

Best of Luck, 

Steve Petrotto
Blade Brand Manager


Monday, February 6, 2012

Blade 500 X Video is out!

If you think that Blade couldn't put together a bigger heli, well, you were wrong. Check out the Blade 500 X, the BeastX flybarless heli that our own James Haley is putting through the paces here at our top secret test location in southern California.