Exceed Blue Ray 450PE
04-29-2010, 11:22 AM
#1
Exceed Blue Ray 450PE
This is mostly a thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouth ankyouthankyou 
to Exceed for making the Rx ready version of this machine available. There will also be some useful info for those who might be considering one. I'm a real noob, so take what you find here with that in mind.
Some general observations:
I've had mine since about last September, after giving up on a Blade CPP2 and a Helimax Axe 400. The Blade was never anything but squirrely, and the Axe had a bad gyro right out of the box. I must point out, tho, that I did learn to hover on the CPP2, and crashed that turkey about a zillion times in the process.
The 450PE is a very high quality machine. All you have to do is look at it to realize that. This is in comparison to some other 400/450 size machines I've seen and heard about that got loose after not too many flights, and the owners are looking for something better as they don't want to put money into a sub standard heli. This includes one guy with an older TRex 400 or 450 electric. I have at least 300 flights on my 450PE, and the control linkages are all as tight as the day it came out of the box. I'm running the factory 1800 pack, an Electrifly 2000 pack, and I have a couple of Zippy Flightmax 2200 (25C). The heli balances dead center on the flybar with the 2000 and the 2200s, but it was necessary to add 1/2 oz of lead to the very front (nose) end of the factory battery to get it the same.
The one thing I didn't do was buy the Esky cheap simulator when I bought my heli from xheli.com. I got one a couple months ago and it has really helped. The "3D" helicopter on the simulator almost perfectly matches my 450PE. After doing nothing but hovering in the driveway for 8 months, I was able to fly my bird around in circles at the field today, something I've been practicing on the simulator.
I use a Futaba 6EX system, and I have set the throttle/pitch curves mostly as shown on the programming sheet that came with the machine. Some of the other stuff, tho, I found confusing, so in case others do too, here is the complete programming setup I used for the 6EX:
Normal/Reverse: 1R 2N 3R 4R 5N 6N
Dual Rates: set to 100% on all three on dual and normal, and to +10% Expo on all 3. This makes the machine considerably more responsive, as in, you move the stick, you see the heli move right now, not after a lag, which was causing me all kinds of problems. (I came from flying high performance fixed wing RC birds, like Shrikes, Wonders and Arrows)
EPA: 100% all channels
Trims 1: 0; 2: -68; 3: +4; 4: +36; Yours may be somewhat different. I find the swash plate needs a slight right tilt for stable hovering. Always, always zero the rudder trim before plugging in the heli battery, or you'll end up running out after two or three flights.
Normal Throttle: 1: 0%; 2: 32%; 3: 65%; 4: 85%; 5; 85% I limit headspeed to 85% to prevent vibration and tail wagging when the battery is fresh.
Normal Pitch: 1: 45%; 2: 47%; 3: 50%; 4: 75%; 5: 100%
Idle Up Throttle: 85% all 5 points
Idle Up Pitch: 1: 0%; 2: 25%; 3: 50%; 4: 75%; 5 100% This gives about 10 degrees collective - and +. In order to check it, it is necessary to unplug the motor leads so that you may safely switch to idle up with throttle hold off. With throttle hold on, the blades will not go negative collective.
Hold: Ch 6 (towards me ON, away OFF) I use that switch religiously for safety reasons. I leave it on all the time (when not flying) so I don't forget, and always turn it on after landing before going to retrieve the heli.
Revo: inhibited
Gyro: Ch5- Up(on) +43% Dwn(off) -60%
SW-T: (swash throttle mixing) I have it on and set to 30% for A and E. Haven't noticed that it actually does anything, tho.
SWSH A: -50%; E: +50%; P: -40% It took a lot of experimentation with these to find the right combo. The instructions are no help.
This bird is stable, predictable and forgiving for the beginner. It is also reasonably priced. Enjoy!!
to Exceed for making the Rx ready version of this machine available. There will also be some useful info for those who might be considering one. I'm a real noob, so take what you find here with that in mind.Some general observations:
I've had mine since about last September, after giving up on a Blade CPP2 and a Helimax Axe 400. The Blade was never anything but squirrely, and the Axe had a bad gyro right out of the box. I must point out, tho, that I did learn to hover on the CPP2, and crashed that turkey about a zillion times in the process.
The 450PE is a very high quality machine. All you have to do is look at it to realize that. This is in comparison to some other 400/450 size machines I've seen and heard about that got loose after not too many flights, and the owners are looking for something better as they don't want to put money into a sub standard heli. This includes one guy with an older TRex 400 or 450 electric. I have at least 300 flights on my 450PE, and the control linkages are all as tight as the day it came out of the box. I'm running the factory 1800 pack, an Electrifly 2000 pack, and I have a couple of Zippy Flightmax 2200 (25C). The heli balances dead center on the flybar with the 2000 and the 2200s, but it was necessary to add 1/2 oz of lead to the very front (nose) end of the factory battery to get it the same.
The one thing I didn't do was buy the Esky cheap simulator when I bought my heli from xheli.com. I got one a couple months ago and it has really helped. The "3D" helicopter on the simulator almost perfectly matches my 450PE. After doing nothing but hovering in the driveway for 8 months, I was able to fly my bird around in circles at the field today, something I've been practicing on the simulator.
I use a Futaba 6EX system, and I have set the throttle/pitch curves mostly as shown on the programming sheet that came with the machine. Some of the other stuff, tho, I found confusing, so in case others do too, here is the complete programming setup I used for the 6EX:
Normal/Reverse: 1R 2N 3R 4R 5N 6N
Dual Rates: set to 100% on all three on dual and normal, and to +10% Expo on all 3. This makes the machine considerably more responsive, as in, you move the stick, you see the heli move right now, not after a lag, which was causing me all kinds of problems. (I came from flying high performance fixed wing RC birds, like Shrikes, Wonders and Arrows)
EPA: 100% all channels
Trims 1: 0; 2: -68; 3: +4; 4: +36; Yours may be somewhat different. I find the swash plate needs a slight right tilt for stable hovering. Always, always zero the rudder trim before plugging in the heli battery, or you'll end up running out after two or three flights.
Normal Throttle: 1: 0%; 2: 32%; 3: 65%; 4: 85%; 5; 85% I limit headspeed to 85% to prevent vibration and tail wagging when the battery is fresh.
Normal Pitch: 1: 45%; 2: 47%; 3: 50%; 4: 75%; 5: 100%
Idle Up Throttle: 85% all 5 points
Idle Up Pitch: 1: 0%; 2: 25%; 3: 50%; 4: 75%; 5 100% This gives about 10 degrees collective - and +. In order to check it, it is necessary to unplug the motor leads so that you may safely switch to idle up with throttle hold off. With throttle hold on, the blades will not go negative collective.
Hold: Ch 6 (towards me ON, away OFF) I use that switch religiously for safety reasons. I leave it on all the time (when not flying) so I don't forget, and always turn it on after landing before going to retrieve the heli.
Revo: inhibited
Gyro: Ch5- Up(on) +43% Dwn(off) -60%
SW-T: (swash throttle mixing) I have it on and set to 30% for A and E. Haven't noticed that it actually does anything, tho.
SWSH A: -50%; E: +50%; P: -40% It took a lot of experimentation with these to find the right combo. The instructions are no help.
This bird is stable, predictable and forgiving for the beginner. It is also reasonably priced. Enjoy!!
05-01-2010, 12:23 AM
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RE: Exceed Blue Ray 450PE
Very nice summary, glad you like the BlueRay. I've had mine since Christmas but have not had nearly the stick time you have due to weather, etc. I believe you about the quality, it seems to be built very well.
07-16-2010, 09:13 PM
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RE: Exceed Blue Ray 450PE
To follow up (and not start another thread) I thought I'd just add to this post...
... I've been flying my BlueRay 450 a couple of times per week recently and have been having a blast. This is really one nice helicopter. I've got the blades tracking perfect and the hover is very smooth. Also, it took some adjusting (and research) but I finally figured out the gyro and got the heading lock to work which makes nose in hovering much, much easier. Anyway, just thought I'd share some good news.
Happy Hovering
... I've been flying my BlueRay 450 a couple of times per week recently and have been having a blast. This is really one nice helicopter. I've got the blades tracking perfect and the hover is very smooth. Also, it took some adjusting (and research) but I finally figured out the gyro and got the heading lock to work which makes nose in hovering much, much easier. Anyway, just thought I'd share some good news.
Happy Hovering
