cheyne

I started with a walkera 36 I believe and had nothing but problems. The electronics were too crappy to even use it on a test bench. I sold it and bought a HBFP, I crashed alot and finally can hover pretty descent. However, its been through so much that it wobbles all over the place and I cant get more than 10 feet off the ground before the batteries die out. I am looking at the blade 400 thinking that its the best on the market for the price. If I total it I can save the TX and get a t-rex.
Is this a save buy? They are only around 350 on ebay now. I have never flown CP before but I dont think it will be much more dificult than an extremely underpowered HBFP. I cant even get that thing off the ground at full throttle with the trainging gear on it.

Please let me know if there is a better RTF for under 400.

thanks

Crusader23

My Feedback: (1)

If you're on a limited budget, go for the B400; however, if money's not an issue, then I would build a TRex. I own a B400 and love it, but at the time I had limited experience and knowledge about this hobby. Have you considered a HBKII by any chance? I own one as well and I can attest to it being inexpensive bird to fly/maintain/repair. Good Luck and I hope that you get some good flying with your future CP.

Kenn

cheyne

The only reason I am looking at the blade 400 is because of size, stability, and radio. The radio alone is better than any other RTF bird is it not?

Missileman

with some experience, like you have, and basically starting from scratch I think the Blade 400 is the best way to go.
You are getting an cheap but OK heli with a great radio that can be used on other helis in the future.
By the time you wear out the 400 you will be ready to move into a better heli.

H3li

IMHO It would have to be a THUNDER TIGER - MINI TITAN.
True 450 class electric Heli. Greater build quality than a Blade 400 - More stable to fly too! Looks stunning! (around the same price for the kit).
Only downside is that at the moment the RTF kit comes with FM radio gear (not 2.4GHz / Spektrum). Check it out!

Being an E-Flite forum I will bite my tongue and say you still cant go far wrong with a Blade 400. [sm=red_smile.gif] [sm=biggrin.gif] Your money, take your choice.

Slyster

The RADIO is the key to why the B400 is so awesome! I got my new RTF kit for $350 free shipping on eBay. Can't say enough good things about it.. that's why I wrote the B400 bible... the Spektrum DX6i is amazing.. 2.4ghz... can handle up to 10 planes/helis so I will have it for years to come long after my blade is gone.

cheyne

Is there any reason to get a different radio that the DX6i if I am only planning on having a plane in the future and another heli? Is the DX7 far supperior or a JR or Futaba a better choice?

evdreamer

The features and style are some reasons for getting a different transmitter. Spektrum's and JR's 2.4Ghz technology is the same so you can use either one of their receivers and still have it work. The more expensive it is the more you can adjust with the programming, but all transmitters have the basics needed to fly. If you want to fly a Raptor then the Spektrum transmitters won't work because they don't have 4 servo 90 swashplate mixing. But the JR X9303 does. If you plan on doing 3D with a Nitro helicopter you won't be able to use a govenor with the DX6i because there aren't enough channels.

Nick

cheyne

So, If I plan to later get a larger t-rex, then this will be the TX that I need? Is there different balde packages? I want to get one that comes with the battery charger so that I am sufficient until I crash, which will more than likely be the first day. I also want to be able to upgrade the 400 with metal as I damage the plastic parts.

Is the raptor a higher quality than the t-rex? Why does the servo configuration change?

Thanks again.

Cheyne

evdreamer

Yeah the DX6i will work just fine with a bigger T-Rex. But if you plan on doing 3D with the Nitro T-Rex you should get a 7 channel transmitter to avoid having to buy two transmitters. But if you plan to do sport flying or mild 3D the DX6i will be fine. The B400 has a charger with it. If you add up the cost of the B400 plus the metal parts it will cost more than a T-Rex.

The Thunder Tiger Raptor is right up there in quality as a T-Rex. Actually I have heard that Align's first helicopter was based on the Raptor. Actually the 4 servo 90 degree swashplate gets rid of CCPM interactions that a normal 3 servo 120 degree swashplate has. But you can program the transmitter to get rid of most of the interactions.

Nick

cheyne

If I look for a T-rex that is ready to fly with a dx6i what model and info do I look for to make sure that its not out of date or a "dumbed down"version. I would like the ability to some extreme 3d even though its a long way off in the future. I dont want a nito bird though. I want to fly in my back yard and the nitro are two loud.

Thanks again for all the input.

Cheyne

evdreamer

There isn't a T-Rex that is RTF like a B400. They come in kits that you have to assemble and program the transmitter. But there are companies that sell the T-Rex with everything you need to fly, but you still have to assemble it. But I enjoy building helicopters just as much as flying them. Since you said you were interested in 3D and would like metal parts a T-Rex 450 SE or SEV2 would be the cheaper way instead of getting the cheaper T-Rex's with plastic then upgrading later. But the plastic parts work just as good for me. I am doing mild 3D with my CPP and the plastic head is doing just fine. And I have seen people do 3D with the plastic head on the B400. And to make your decision even harder there are more 400-450 sized helicopters coming out in the next couple of months.

Nick

cheyne

I hope I dont make a bad decision by geting a B400 because of its "readyness" and the radio seems like a good deal. Can you tell me where I can look at some of the new 400 450 helis that are coming out?

evdreamer

The B400 is still a good deal. Here are a few new helicopters that I can remember of:
-Thunder Tiger Innovator 3D EXP RTF 2.4GHz non programmable transmitter http://www.acehobby.com/ace/TTR4721.htm
-Helimax 400 RTF it has a 2.4GHZ programmable Futaba transmitter http://www.helimax-rc.com/helis/hmxe0800-index.html
-Rave 450 cool helicopter designed by Curtis Youngblood http://www.curtisyoungblood.com/products_view.php?id=35
-Logo 400 came out already http://www.readyheli.com/Mikado_Heli..._600_s/433.htm
-MA Furion 450 came out already too http://www.readyheli.com/Minature_Ai...r_p/1030-0.htm

Here are some companies I like and you can check out the helicopters that are already out.
www.helihobby.com
www.helidirect.com
www.readyheli.com
www.heliproz.com
www.grandrc.com

Nick

cheyne

The thunder tiger looks cool but I still think out of that lot the Blade has more in the package. You said you had one right? Have you had any issues?

Thanks again

evdreamer

I have a Blade CX and CP Pro, but I don't have the B400. I thought about it, but I had the DX7 at the time and I wanted a T-Rex, so I got one.

Nick

Crusader23

My Feedback: (1)

I do 3D with my B400 and the plastic head holds just fine. I replaced my main blades with align fiber blades, so that helps a bit. The B400 is not a bad heli by any means, but if you're going to build, have experience, and money is not an issue - start off with a better platform and TX. Don't be intimidated by ARF kits, they're not all that crazy to build and program. One more thing: you'll need a power supply with the included charger for the B400 RTF kit.

Kenn

cheyne

What kind of a power supply will I need? I have a JR x347 TX now and I need to find someone familiar with it so I can program a heli into it and decide what kind of electronics to get.

thanks

I may stick with the blade because the W36 was impossible to fly and the HBFP I can hover but everything else about it is too erratic. I think that the B400 is what I want to continue learning without spending a month getting all the parts ready for a good platform.

Crusader23

My Feedback: (1)

Something that converts AC to 12V DC with the positive (+) in the middle and that is at least 3A. Eflite sells one for $25, but you can go to your local Radio Shack and acquire one for less.

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=EFLC4030

Kenn