L0stS0ul

This is a build/review thread for the $135 SNHobbies Flasher 450 SE V2 found here: [link=http://www.snhobbies.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_38_id=461]SNHobbies Flasher 450 SE[/link]

I saw the price on this kit and I just couldn't pass it up. Shipping was prompt and the heli made it's way to me in about 7 days from Canada. I purchased the kit with the ESC and Motor. The kit comes with a 13 tooth pinion which the manual recommends for 3D flight.

The kit is marketed as a 100% T-Rex SE V2 parts compatible. After tearing it down and looking it over real well I'd have to say this is an accurate statement. The only part I've seen that's noticeably different from the align kit is the head button.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvTJZX7h870[/youtube]

L0stS0ul

Kit Contents

The Flasher 450 comes about 70 percent assembled. All of the major components are complete including the tail, head, and main frames.

So the first thing I did was to tear down the main frame and look for anything out of place. The main frame is said to be made of carbon synthetic fiber but I do not know enough about frame materials to know if this is accurate. I can tell you that the frames are very strong and made of some type of weaved material.

Taking out the first screw I immediately noticed that there was very little thread lock anywhere on the lower frame screws and I would need to go thru all the screws on the frame and make sure they were all secure.

The bottom plate was also not fitting well with the bottom frame and I had to sand the frame halves a bit and clean up some flashing on the plate to get it all to sit flush without the frame warping a small amount.

L0stS0ul

Starting in on the tail

So once the frame was back together and everything was thread locked I decided to tackle the tail.

Make sure to check this assembly over for threadlock. The tail blade holders had a small amount of thread lock on them but they were quite loose. I also found that the pitch control arms required a little sanding to be free enough for my liking.

Other than that the tail looks to be in excellent shape and is nice and smooth. Overall quality and finish is very nice.

L0stS0ul

Installing the tail assembly and Boom

The kit comes with a Carbon Fiber tail boom. Installation was trivial. I used a string to pull the belt thru the boom and then installed the belt on the belt pulley. I then did the rest of the tail installation with the two fins, boom braces and servo mounts. This part went without issue.

I also installed the skids at this point as well.

L0stS0ul

Dissasembly and Installation of the Head

So next I decided to tackle the head. So far the kit looks identical to a Trex SE V2 and I must say the material quality is about as good as I've seen with align stuff.

Again, make sure to go over this part of the heli with threadlock.

1. I also noticed that one of the blade grip screws came off with only a few turns of the screw driver. So I pulled the grips and I found that I could not tighten down the grips without them binding. So I pulled all of the bearings out of the grips and went over them really well. That's when I found that one grip had the following setup:

bearing -> bearing -> bearing -> washer -> thrust bearing -> washer

It's supposed to be:

bearing -> bearing -> washer -> thrust bearing -> washer

I found an extra bearing in one of the main blade grips. Once that was removed the main grips went on without issue. So I've now got an extra bearing

2. I went through and also made sure all of the links were sized using a ball link sizer. This fixed a little of the stiffness that I had in the head.

3. The head was still a little stiff for my liking so I rechecked the washout and pitch control arms. In both cases I found that the reason for the binding was missing washers. There should be

washer - bearing - bearing - washer - screw

for proper mounting. If you are missing either of the washers you will bind the outer bearing when you tighten it down and that's what is happening in this case. I switched from blue loctite to red loctite so that I could only tighten the screws down to where there was the least amount of binding that I could without causing a lot of play in the head. I will need to get 4 washers to fix this in the future.

4. In the main grip assembly the o-rings used are V1 Trex style. They are meant for the 3mm spindle shaft. While you can use them, getting the spindle thru them while keeping the o-rings in the center hub is extremely difficult and I was unable to do it. I switched them out for some Trex V2 o-rings that are meant for the larger 4mm spindle.

5. Note: that inside the bag that had the head assembly there are 2 tiny washers. They do not show in the manual where these go but these are spacers that are used between the flybar cage and the flybar rocker. They are needed. I've included a picture to show them

L0stS0ul

Head Install

Not a lot to do here. First you install the main gear into place and then slide the pre-assembled head and main shaft thru the guide bearings. Lock the main gear with the set bolt and then tighten down the upper collar and you're done. Nothing complex here.

One thing to note is that the screws for the anti-rotation bracket were nowhere to be found in my kit. I just grabbed some screws from my parts bin but that is something to note. It would have been nice if there was a spare parts bag included with the heli.

I did find the only part that's not 100% identical to a trex. The head button is taller and smaller.

L0stS0ul

Component Install

Chosen Components:

Cyclic Servos: HS-65
Tail Servo: Hyperion DS12-GCP Digital tail servo
Gyro: G401B
Receiver: Spectrum AR6100
ESC: Jeti Spin 33
Motor: 500XH (3300kv) motor on the 13 tooth pinion
Battery: Evo Lite 2100mAh 11.1v

The frame required a tiny amount of filing for the HS-65's to fit smoothly. I probably could have gotten away without filing but decided to play it safe. I used some old servo arms I had laying around and cut them up to use as spacers for the elevator servo to get the proper geometry. I used the second hole on the HS-65 horns.

The rest is just simple component placement. No real issues here

L0stS0ul

Head Setup and Final Inspection

After completing the build I have to say I am extremely pleased with the heli. During final inspection I did find that the included main blades were warped but SNHobbies is shipping me some new blades for replacement. That happens. My Gaui Hurricane came with badly warped blades.

Only items I have to say to be aware of when building the heli are:

1. Those missing washers on the pitch control arms and washout arms
2. The small o-rings are hard to work with. I recommend getting o-rings with the proper 4mm ID
3. warped main blades but SNHobbies is replacing them.
4. I did find that extra bearing in the blade grips. I'm sure that was a simple mistake and my kit is unique in this.
5. I definitely recommend a tear down before flight if not for just the thread lock check.

Some other items to note.
1. The flasher paddles come in at 5.8g each. My align paddles are 6.1g each. They look nearly identical and work extremely well

2. The cheap G401B gyro seems to be doing quite well. I had some drift until I upped the gain. I think I'm at about 40% now. I see no loss of hold on pitch pumps with the hyperion servo. Seems to be a nice setup so far.

3. Flasher Heli weight with No main or tail blades, no motor, no electrics. Fiberglass canopy on: 358g (12.65 ounces)
That's significantly less than the advertised weight.

I am extremely pleased with this heli. It's an amazing value at $135 shipped. SNHobbies has also been a great vendor to work with.

I give this heli a Buy recommendation.

L0stS0ul

Flight Video

Here's some video of the maiden flight using some trex 325 woodies.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnF7PZ1k8Bc[/youtube]

Wnuk

Great review and flight video too!

I'm looking at the same heli. Did you buy the version with the motor/esc combo or was that something you already had. I'm wondering how the motor with the snhobby kit would preform. Keep us informed about it's habits the more you fly it.

Jim

L0stS0ul

When I bought my kit it came with a different motor than the one they are now selling. The one that came in my kit was some no name motor. I decided to use a motor I had used before in my Dragonus but as you might have heard in the video that motor is bogging quite bad.

I have bought the Flasher PE version to go along with my SE version and I have the ICE 3500kv motor that they now sell with the heli coming along with it. Once I have a chance to get that motor in the heli I'll be sure to update the review.

I have heard good things about the ICE motors but this will be the first time I'll get to use it.

L0stS0ul

Yesterday I got a package with the ICE 3500KV motor/speed controller as well as the MKS GY-293 Head Lock Gyro. Boy is that thing tiny. Smallest gyro I've seen yet.

I also purchased one of the Flasher PE kits. The mostly plastic kit. Here's my current findings:

Overall really nice. I've only torn down the frame and looked at the components so far. Compared to other helis in this price range the things that stand out to me are:

1. Nice strong frame. It looks like G-10. Very strong and rigid
2. Lots of metal on the head. motor mount, all metal swash, center hub, washout base, flybar rocker.
3. The plastic bearing blocks and boom block all have aluminum tubes molded in for mounting. Much better than screwing into plastic.
4. blade grips are the 4mm V2 style. This is a plus and minus. While I prefer the V2 design you can't go to the LHS and get replacement grips as Align never manufactured a plastic V2. If I do ever damage the grips I'll just upgrade to the CNC ones anyway.
5. Found a lot more threadlock on the frame than I did on my SE kit.
6. Bottom base plate fit much better onto the frame sides than it did on my SE kit. Did not take modification.

Some things I noted:
1. Frame was not assembled square from the factory. Had to tear it down and square it up.
2. I had 2 stripped hex screws.
3. I originally thought the ball links were backwards but after careful examination and comparing to align ball links I've found that they are actually reversed and the A should go towards the ball like it came from the factory.
4. Many of the links will need to be sized. The head and tail are quite stiff. Not uncommon though.
5. Mine still has the short screws for the blade grips. Will have to find longer ones. I've been told the next batch of kits SNHobbies gets in will have the longer screws.

So far I'm quite happy with the kit for the price. You don't normally find this much metal and such a rigid frame on kits this price.

dude7422

ITS FIBER GLASS ,,ALUMINUMIZED FIBER GLASS ,,CARBON FIBER IS NOT SILVER still a strong frame just not carbon fiber

L0stS0ul

I only posted what was in the ad for the heli and even said I don't know enough about frame materials to say if that's accurate or not.

dude7422

LOST where is snhobbies based out of ??

noobflyer01

canada

L0stS0ul

Yup, SNHobbies is in Canada. The free shipping and wonderful people over there make it a very worthwhile place to order from. It does take a little longer for stuff to arrive because of the distance. It took about 7 days to arrive once I ordered it.

gagt2nv

I just ordered the PE kit and delivery to my house which is by Cleveland Ohio is 6 days. Very very fast shipping

L0stS0ul

I got to fly the SE Flasher on the ICE 3500kv motor today on a 13 tooth pinion. I run a 90-100-90 throttle curve. Performance was amazing compared to the motor I used in the review video. I was able to bog the motor but I was really pushing it hard. I'd definitely say the motor is good for sport or mild 3D fliers. Amazing value for the price.

Wnuk

Was the 13T pinion included with the motor or did you select 13T for a reason. I hope to order one of these soon but am still debating about the Ice motor. Any negatives to it that you've seen thus far?

TIA

Jim

L0stS0ul

The kit comes with a 13 tooth pinion. I was looking for between 3000 and 3200 rpm head speed and that's why I geared it as I did. I've heard that the motor runs really well on a 12 tooth (2800-3000 rpm). An 11 tooth would get you around 2500.

What are you looking for the motor to do? Are you looking for extremely hard 3d like you see in videos by the pros or are you looking for sport flying where things are slower and smoother? I say this motor is excellent for someone that's learning to fly (using an 11 tooth pinion) and then as they get better and switch to mild sport flying (12 tooth) to finally more aggressive sport flying with a little 3D thrown in for good measure (13 tooth).

I've not found any negatives with the motor at this time. Quite a nice motor and I'm very happy with it for the price and what I was looking for. Comparing to my review video I found the motor a lot harder to bog than that old dragonus motor and the head speed was a lot more consistent. I was using a Jeti Spin 33 speed controller with it on my heli.

I do also have the MKS speed controller. I've not had a lot of experience with it yet. I have a lot more experience with the ICE motor. I've not heard any reports of any issues with the MKS speed controller. It has a pretty nice built in soft start that I've seen and it's preprogrammed out of the gate for heli's which is nice. I would probably recommend an external bec with this speed controller though if you are running spectrum and a 6100 receiver. I had what I think is a lock out when I tried to use the built in BEC that caused a pretty nasty crash. I had changed a lot of things on the heli though so it may not have been that. To many variables to determine the cause. I know that on my PE flasher I'll be using a ParkBEC with it. Not going to take the chance.

hope that helps. The motor is very good. Wish I had some video to show of it.

Wnuk

Thanks for the excellent information. What I'm looking for out of the motor is to be able to do some of the more demanding 3D stuff. Right now I'm sport flying (stall turns, loops rolls, flips) and just began inverted hovers. I'm taking my time learning new maneuvers while progressing to more demanding stuff. Next will be either tic-tocs or rainbows. I've got an align 430L in my B400 now running a 13T pinion. I know this is pushing it for a stock B400 head so I keep my throttle curve down to 90 flat in idle up. I am using the DX6i with 6100 RX but have an Align 35X ESC that put out 6V to all the electronics. Haven't had any issues with it but I don't know anything (yet) about the included ESC on the Flasher.

So my debate is do I keep the 430L and 13T with 35X esc and put it in a Flasher 450 without motor/esc or try the Ice motor. I think I'm leaning to going with the Ice motor at this point so was interested and your thoughts on it.

Thanks again for the info!

Jim

L0stS0ul

I've not tried it but I've heard that the 3800kv ICE motor might be a better option for you. Probably do that one on an 11 or 12 tooth pinion. That motor is supposed to be better for 3d.

For really hard 3d though I'd probably get the scorpion motor.
http://www.readyheli.com/HK_2221_8_V.../hk-2221-8.htm

A lot of people have been raving about this motor. I've not had a chance to test it myself but it's supposed to rock. I have a scorpion motor in my Hurricane and I absolutely love it.

I'd say try either of those 2 motors.

The heli kit itself is a great start. I'd probably pair it with some Radix 325 carbons and either of the above motors and I think you'd be happy.

Of course for rediculousness there is always the scorpion motor for 4 cells

gagt2nv

Lostsoul - Got my kit yesterday and I think it is great. Do you have a link to a build manual? This will be my first time assembling a kit and there are bags of parts in the box that I have no clue where they would go. I am just learning c/p and have a belt cp v2 that i can kind of hover till it starts to drift around. I think i need to set that head up a little better. But will the pinion that came with my kit be too high you think? Should I step down to a 11? or 12?

Mike

L0stS0ul

You can get the manual here:

http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=43239
The Align SE Version 2 PDF Manual High Rez (20 Megs) link.

I believe you got the PE right? Just be aware that since the manual is for the SE they tell you to glue bearings in and stuff. You don't need to do that when metal -> plastic. Only when it's metal -> metal.

I'd also recommend checking out Finless's videos.

The first group are for the V1 trex but there is a lot of common parts between the v2 and it's worth watching. There's also a ton of other videos on how to properly setup the heli.
http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=11373

This set of videos he talks about the differences of the v2.
http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=29182

If you got the 3500kv motor then I would step down to an 11 tooth pinion I think. You could go with a 12 tooth as well and max your throttle at around 75% too. You don't want to put your throttle much lower than 75% otherwise it could damage the motor.