warpnine

Because it has been hinted that I'm likely to get a cash award at work sometime in the next few weeks (amount unknown), over the past few days I have been putting together a shopping list for a Copter-X 500SE - which looks like it would come in just under $1,000 nicely configured. Today I saw this ad from Xheli for a "EXI 450 Squadron" ARTF Kit for $60 (lists for $399 http://www.xheli.com/newbofrexisq.html ) through the end of the weekend and was wondering:

- Is this the same EXI 450 that some folks got around Christmas for $55, or a more cheaply made version?

- Is this a good deal, not so much about the price (hard to go wrong there) - but is the quality decent?

- Are the head and tail mechanics good? What components would I need to upgrade, besides adding the electronics?

- Any other "gottchas" that would make this a not good deal?

I'm not really sure how much difference there would be between a 450 and a 500 class helicopter, other than the 500 is bigger and everything seems to cost quite a bit more...

If I get the EXI, I would expect to configure it similarly to my HBK2 with:

- LogicTech 2100T + LGS-3100G digital tail servo
- Spektrum AR6200 Rx
- Brushless 4400kv motor or what ever Michael reccomends
- 40A HobbyWing ESC (even though the add on kit on the Xheli site only has a 25A ESC - seems too small?)
- the Raiden DMA016 digital cyclic servos (unless someone can recommend something better)
- a 2200mah Li-Po

All in all, $60 seems like a hard deal to pass up. Any thoughts and suggestions would be apprechiated!

Cheers,
Dave

noobflyer01

its a good deal man. dont pass it up. i suggest you go for this. http://www.xheli.com/tg-450-special-...opter-arf.html its usually $199. but now for $128. but the squardon 450 for 60 is a great deal.

bad400

i dont know some people are saying in other forums that their have reception issues with the metal and carbon frames

but if you mount the receiver under the heli or somewhere that you can have a good path to it then there not a bad heli
what makes it a good deal is the cnc head and tail

some of the cnc stuff can get pricey so it always seems to be worth it when you can get the kit with the cnc equipment included

it is a good looking heli i like the canopy

if the hitech 65md`s will fit i think that would make for a better responding heli
i just outfitted my blade 400 with hextronic`s hxt900mg`s, now im just really hovering in my house(cause its cold and a lot of snow outside) but i can tell a difference.their a little noisier than the stock E-Flite servos. but seem faster to me

DumbDawg

My Feedback: (3)

Hey Dave.. That is actually a rock'n deal... I bought the EXI 450 plain jane kit for $55.00 when they were on sale, actually I've bought three so far from XHeli... If these are that same or near the same as the plain EXI 450 and it looks very similar then its likely based on the Trex V2... Man... I'm chaff'n at the bit here cause I'd like to spring for one of these too...

The tail box may be a weak spot but theres a $20.00 metal fix at deal extreme which comes with metal blade holders and a belt too so thats covered in case... Also a couple people said the tail drive pulleywas a little weak, EXI 450 plain, but I so far haven't found that to un-experienced... knock on wood... Can't think of anything off hand just now, probably will later tho... as usual...

Heres the parts you have listed and I'll post a few I think you'll find better and cheaper...

- LogicTech 2100T + LGS-3100G digital tail servo
- Spektrum AR6200 Rx
- Brushless 4400kv motor or what ever Michael reccomends
- 40A HobbyWing ESC (even though the add on kit on the Xheli site only has a 25A ESC - seems too small?)
- the Raiden DMA016 digital cyclic servos (unless someone can recommend something better)
- a 2200mah Li-Po

Personally I bought Telebee's before but now I'm buy'n the G401B gyro from cnchelicopter because its a clone of the FuSTAByah gy401 gyro... but instead of pay'n $140.00 you can get it for about $42.00 delivered... Its getting some great feedback with very little negatives... in fact I haven't really seen anything negative yet... check out rcgroups thread on this gyro for more info...
http://www.cnchelicopter.com/servlet...o-G401B/Detail

You can also buy agreat motor from cnchelicopter too... TONS of power, 350 watts and runs great in a 450 plus heli... That'll set yah back $23.00
http://www.cnchelicopter.com/servlet...ss-moto/Detail

The 40A esc is a good one, IMO... or the EMax which is virtually the same but diff label... Just make sure it has the switching bec built into it so it'll run cooler...

For cyclic servo's I'd go with the Hitec HS-5's... either metal or karbonite... I bought the karbonite because they are just as tough and cost less than the metal geared ones....
http://www.t-rex-parts.com/Electroni...duct_info.html
http://www.centralhobbies.com/radios...c/hitec65.html <- still $19.99 here

For batteries I buy all mine at a place in HK... great batteries never had a failure yet... But with all lipo's they have to be pampered a bit... so well balanced and conditioned... Buy plenty for more flight time and so that you are not working you batteries as hard... meaning they will last a long time...
http://www.ecpower.com.hk/index.php?...roducts_id=189
http://www.ecpower.com.hk/index.php?...roducts_id=218

Two batteries for the price of one medium expensive battery and free shipping... The silicon filled batteries are the ones I use for basics fly'n... hover'n, FF, side-ins etc etc... the 1500 are better for stunting... But overall I've found this supplier to be great along with the batteries... hard to beat...

So there you have it... An inexpensive but solid way to go on a heli... quality without spending a lot of coin... hope something helps here...

happy fly'n

warpnine

Thanks for the feedback guys - and Dawg, thanks for the great upgrade shopping list! When I had first looked at the deal, I didn't realize that it had plastic head and tail parts - something that I'd definitely want to get CNC parts for. The $128 one that noobflyer01 suggested has that, which may work out better for me, but don't really know anything about the overall quality of that model either... Before I do anything though, I also have to get approval from "The Boss" too, who doesn't want me to get any new helicopter until I've crashed the original HBK2 more... I have to admit that I still haven't really had it off the ground much, since I'm afraid of crashing it - as I still do a lot of on the simulator. Not very good at gentle, controlled landings in the Sim yet - and haven't really developed a "feel" for flying the real thing - at all since I put all the upgrades on. Got to do it, I just don't want to destroy it!

For a new heli, another question is the size. Given that I can't do both, I'm still trying to decide if I should go the 450 route or use this once in a long while opportunity to go for the 500 (if my award money is enough? )? The 450's seem to have a rotor diameter of about 27 inches (sorry we still think that way down here) but the 500 has a diameter of 38 inches - quite a difference! Way more size difference than I would have thought for a "50" point difference in the class. What does the calss number represent anyway? The motor size? Based on the (much) larger size, I would guess that the 500's should be more stable to fly too, - where as the 450's only have a rotor diameter that is a few inches larger than the King2. Who has flown both, and could compare the flying experience for me? The 500 seems like it would be awesome to fly, but probably at a much higher cost than the 450 - so is it worth it?

I probably won't know how much my award is for a few weeks, so maybe the smart move is to sit tight till then - unless 500's are just too costly for the same experience? Xheli does have sales all the time, and it's probably more important for me to get something that is exactly right than just in the ball park. Aside from my Air Hogs, I never anticipate having very many different helis in my hanger... Still, seems hard to go wrong for $60!

(A confused and muddling it over)
Dave

DumbDawg

My Feedback: (3)

The differences in flight characteristics is huge between the K2 and a 450... Haven't flown a 500... yet... but I'm pretty sure it will be much the same... Larger, more stable and slower responses...

LOL... I think many of us started out pretty much the same... An AirHog... K2... EXI... and onwards... LOL It doesn't end, the more you get the more you need... Thats why its a HABIT!!! And not a hobby... The sims don't fly as well as the real thing either... I'd prefer to fly and crash the real thing as opposed to the sim... When I was fly'n the sim, last spring, I'd crash it on purpose as that was the only fun part of it... A little different with the real thing... I find it wants to crash on its own... against my insistance to NOT crash... heh heh

But at $69.00.... wanna lend me some money!!! lol

happy fly'n

donations are still being accepted too... :P

noobflyer01

warpine....if you can wait for the 500 i highly suggest you do so. a friend of mine allowed me to fly the trex 500 esp and wow man its a whole different ball game. grandrc has the kit for $560. its steep but look what it comes with.
CF frame, full metal head and tail, torque tube, motor, esc, 3 cyclic servos, 425mm carbon fiber blades, special fiberglass canopy. all you need is gyro, tail servo, receiver, 2500mah 6s and your set. believe me man once you fly a 500 size heli, you'll be craving for it. super stable, and the power is amazing. and the cool part is its so easy to see.

joshseigler

check this out for $499 trex 500GF with everything you need but tx and rx

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...B:FSEL:US:1123

warpnine

Thanks again for all the feed back!

Dawg - The only time I've flown a Belt CP is in the flight sim, and I was surprised about how slugglishly it responded compared to the HBK2 in the same sim. Took darn near full throttle to even get it off the ground, which I attributed to the model parameters not being set quite right. Interesteg to know that the minor size difference is enough to make the flight characteristics so different. Slower response may be easier to fly, since in my first series of wrecks I was doing the typical over-responding to everything and (before Radd's) was throwing the helicopter all over the sky - usually for about 15 seconds before the ground found it anyway. I have not gotten my King2 in the air since the Dx6i, motor upgrade, and HH gyro - so the hope is, it should fly much more easily than the poorly set up (mostly still the RTF set up) - but darn, I just don't want to wreck it!

noobflyer01 - Thanks for the input! That's just the sort of feedback I was looking for! I think the last heli that Michael brought over here to hover in my front yard was an HDX-500 and it looked huge compared to the HBK2 for sure! Why is a "500" so much bigger than a "450", when there is relatively little difference between the "300 class" HBK2 and the "450"s?

joshseigler - Thanks for pointing me to that! Much better price than I would have guessed, I saw a different T-Rex 500 version for between $1,300 and $1,500I - so never even considered a real T-Rex anything (since the Copter-X is usually so much less expensive). I did a search to see what a T-Rex 500GF actually had with it, and found this too for $469 to $458: http://www.hobbyzone.com/rc-helicopt...-kit-combo.htm When I had configured the Copter-X 500SE kit, I had also rolled in a bunch of spare parts and all the electronics as follows (the links below each line are the place where I priced it):

Copter-X 500SE Shopping List

ï‚· $249.99 Copter-X 500SE
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6193
· $59.99 Copter-X brushless motor w/70A ESC
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6356
· $79.99 AR6200 Rx
· https://www.ushobbysupply.com/produc...63020130d54fb0
· $158.99 LogicTech 2100T w/LTS-3100G tail servo
· https://www.ushobbysupply.com/produc...63020130d54fb0
· $2.87 Copter-X tail linkage rod
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6642
· $12.72 Copter-X feathering shaft (4)
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6145
· $4.72 Copter-X tail boom
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6230
· $3.79 Copter-X tail boom brace
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6154
· $8.41 Copter-X horizontal stabilizer mount
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6153
· $47.79 Copter-X 425mm carbon fiber main blades
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6538
· $17.33 Copter-X stabilizer set
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6152
· $3.18 Copter-X tail rotor blade
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6139
· $14.56 Copter-X main gear set
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6226
· $103.18 Copter-X 25c 2850mah Li-Po battery
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6351
· $78.56 Copter-X 25c 2200mah Li-Po battery
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6350
· $3.18 Copter-X fly bar rod
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6134
· $4.41 Copter-X fly bar paddle
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6133
· $8.10 Copter-X linkage rod set
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6211
· $3.18 Copter-X linkage ball set
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6250
· $3.79 Copter-X drive belt
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6135
· $4.72 Copter-X main shaft
· http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_...oducts_id=6144
· $70.00 HiTec HS-81 servos (4 + 1 spare gear kit)
· http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXN676 source 1
· http://www.rctoys.com/rc-toys-and-pa...EC-SERVOS.html source 2


Total: $943.45 (US)

One of the reviews that I saw of the Copter-X 500SE said that it came with a few things that were better than the corresponding stock parts on a T-Rex - so I probably have even more research to do, to try to sort it all out! I don't want to get a 500 heli, and then not be able to afford a new set of blades for it - which is sort of Align's reputation. Maybe it's not that bad after all?

Fun to think about, if my "award money" ever comes through - and is more than what a hamburger costs!

Thanks again everyone! Let me know if you have better suggestions for my list above (no matter if it is T-Rex or Copter-X), and I'll update my "wish list"!

Cheers,
Dave

magicfly

Hey Warpnine,
The bird that noobflyer01 is suggesting really does sound like an great deal, but take a very close look: it comes TOTALLY unassembled. The others they claim come 95% assembled.
So if you don't know about assembling, this might not be a good deal.
Just a heads up.

joshseigler

the one i pointed out had all servos HH gyro also and i know what post you are talking about where the guy said the the copterx has better parts than the trex but he was talking about the trex that come with plastic head but the one i pointed out has all metal you just need to know what to look for just like you said you need to think about it

warpnine

None of the descriptions of the T-Rex 500GF combo kits that I have found mentions anything about CNC head or tail parts, so I assumed from that and the build report on the Copter-X that I read (here: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8241601/tm.htm ) - that it did not come with them. Where did you see the T-Rex 500GF described in enough detail to know about the head and tail parts composition?

Both look like very nice kits!

Thanks again!
Dave

DumbDawg

My Feedback: (3)

What about THIS heli...

http://www.rc-tek.com/us_store/sjm43...esc-p2022.html

mmmMMMMmmmm.... SOOOO many choices so little money.... lol

happy heli'n

funflier

Dawg.. IF god reeally wanted you to fly he would have given you unlimited funds.

DumbDawg

My Feedback: (3)

Fun... That or someone tore a big hole in my money bag... I'm the obstinate type and will try to prove God wrong on this whole fly'n business.... I'm still try'n albeit a lot slower now tho... lol :P

happy heli'n