DumbDawg

My Feedback: (3)

I ordered another two from Xheli... That makes three now that I'll have.. These are great machines for the price... Esky's entry market heli's in the 450 size... they have done a fine job with this heli but there are a few weak points to be aware of.... The tailbox being the most prominent of the problems... Its very weak so plan on getting a replacement tail unit for backup.... I bought an aluminum tailbox from $20 and it works fine and comes with a belt for a backup too...

For an extra $100 on top of the price I have one EXI thats near fully aluminum head and tail.. the only things I need now to complete the head are main blade grips and a flybar ends.... But these can wait as they are not as crucial to the heli's performance... They fly pretty sweet without the aluminum but its even smoother now with better responses... gotta luv it... That and the fact that parts are available from other sources than Align make this a cheap, well flying heli... you can't go wrong...

happy fly'n

Friday_2006

I had this heli too, and did everything wrong with it, until i got it retired. I wanted to stay low on cost. For this reason everything was cheap on it. It cost me 200$ to get it flying. BUT... I had this severe problem with the tail case which didn't want to stay put, always making the belt loose. I changed that with the metal align one, but then i couldn't make the tail hold. I had a real pain in the ass trying to fix that, but with no success. I retired it and keep on flying my Mini Titan. I also have a Beam E4 now, which is a great quality heli. Now, with a litlle more experience on helis i would say that my EXI had an issue with the tail belt, i don't know if i am 100% sure, but i guess belt was the problem for not holding the tail.

Anyway... I think EXI would make a wonderful birthday present for a friend ;-)

Keep Flying

noobflyer01

the exi i have has the metal bushings on the boom mount block. i had no issues with locking the boom so my belt stays tight. since its metal to metal contact did you loc-tite the screws?
My EXI had no issues whatsoever from the first time building and setting up. Followed finless bob videos on the trex450v2 build made it real easy. i even bought the exact same gear finless bob was using in his build.

what were you using for gyro and tail control? check out page 2 of this thread and you'll see i discuss about what electronics i put in it

sonicj

My Feedback: (2)

my dad gave me one of these to build up and most likely quickly smash. i want to build it up on the cheap! heres what i have access to:

exi 450
align rce-bl25x
mystery red bl motor, unknown kv (came from a 400 heli)
telebe gr201
spektrum AR6100e
zippy 2200 3s 20c
dx6i

im considering hxt900 servos all the way around (plus some backups) since they seem like the best bang deal. not taking into account the unknown motor size, does this setup sound adequate for a noob learning to hover? thanx!

DumbDawg

My Feedback: (3)

sonic... yah ur style'n on that... its cheap but not so cheap you won't be able to fly it...

Friday... did you try putting some loctite on the boom itself??? This is a cheap and easy fix too... the loctite sets up and hold the boom pretty good... what I do is scuff up the boom and block a bit with sand paper... I go circular which is opposite the slide direction and then use a little loctite to really hold it... Or do what others do as well... use some boom servo clamps and clamp it right at the block to hold the boom from slipping... same issues with the K2...

happy fly'n

noobflyer01

sonic, that setup is a bit weak but i guess for hovering purposes it would be ok. i can tell you that the tail control is going to be a concern. you will constantly adjust and readjust. you'll need a better tail servo than the hxt900. since it works the hardest if you can get one good servo put that sucker on the tail. for cyclic should be fine but they will strip in a crash. you can change it but its a pain in the butt. i love my hs65mg's. in fact everybody who has ever gotten them has like them. you will not hear one single negative about it. these things are tough!

your power train should be fine for hovering and a little beyond. watch your headspeed. you need to find out what kv rating it is for the motor. also the max watt.

and use this calculator for headspeed. http://dhrc.rchomepage.com/calc.htm too low of a headspeed makes the tail weak and hard to control.

sonicj

My Feedback: (2)

thanx for the great info guys! im familiar with the 65mg... they are a popular upgrade for the buggies i run. if i can swing it, i'll put one on the tail. i think its going to have to wait though as i believe the esc has some sort of issue. it powers up and programs fine, but when i bring up the throttle, the motor acts like only 2 legs are attached. it spins backs and forth with little to no power. i don't kow if the esc is under warranty or not...

i tested the motor on my car esc and all is well with it. i can't seem to find any info on it though... my dad says its a "cool red" from hobby lobby, but again, i can't find it.

is there a decent, cheap esc and/or motor from hobbycity?

DumbDawg

My Feedback: (3)

You could check out dealextreme as they often have motor\esc combo's cheap and work fine...

good luck on send'n anything back to hobby lobby... Also if you want a place to order some 65hb's for $20.00 let me know and I'll send yah the link...

cheers

FlyRC4aHigh

My Feedback: (6)

Hello, Lets keep this thread going. I did something really stupid. but I guess it worked out. I'm into the Hirobo Shuttles. But I wanted a small electric to fly in the back yard. So I've been looking at the HK450 by Hobby King and thought it would be a cheap start. Well the other day I came accross a 450 which Had an orginal Align canopy on it new and had blades and motor . Well the price was great so I jumped on it. Well later while looking for servos ,esc , battery, I found out I was stupid and earlier did not look past the canopy other that the nice aluminum frame. To my suprise I BOUGHT A CLONE. it was an EXI 450. Well I think i broke even but didnt get the real bargan I was hoping for. I did discover that this EXI 450 appears to be a lot better then the HK 450. So right now I'm in the process of still finding servos, esc , batteries etc for it. Any current advise out there , Love to hear it.

noobflyer01

The EXI450 is a great heli. I just bought another one last week and having a blast flying it.  

Are you looking for servos to get you by or something a performer that's going to last?

cheap option:  tower pro SG90 for cyclic servos.  $5 each at  http://www.xheli.com/topromisesg9.html.  g401b (futaba gy401 knockoff)  $36 at www.xmseller.com,   get a nice quality tail servo like the futaba 9257 for $60 at helidirect.   hobbywing 40a esc http://www.flyhelirus.com/servlet/th...ess-ESC/Detail,  and a flightmax 2200mah 3s lipo  http://www.flyhelirus.com/servlet/th...Ah-3S1P/Detail

if you want something with a better performance and durabilty then change out the SG90 cyclic servos for Hitec HS65Mg servo  http://www.helidirect.com/hitec-hs65...tor-p-2280.hdx

the cheap gyro should be fine for you to start with....but there are lots of really high end gyros you should be upgrading once you get the hang of things.



   

noobflyer01

Here's some pics of my EXI450 reborn.

noobflyer01

YeeHAW!   Just came back flying my EXI 450.        What an awesome flying machine!   Forgot my camera so didnt get any video of it.   Batteries are charging now and will defintely do a video tommorrow.   Still tune folks....video to come soon.  but here's more pics for now.

noobflyer01

enjoy

noobflyer01

alrighty lets talk about my settings on the dx6i for this bad boy.

but first list of equipment:

JustGoFly 500TH w/ 13T pinion, Align 35a esc,hs65mg's on cyclic, gy401+9257 on tail, flightmax 2200mah 25c 3S, align 325D carbon fiber blades.

according to the calculator i'm getting 2935 rpm on headspeed with the throttle curve a flat 100% on idle 1.

swashplate mix for the pitch is at 75% for -10,0,+10(edit) i just measured with my pitch guage and itsactually -11,0,+11
swashplate mix for the aileron and elevator is at 75%for +9 degrees of cyclic. so swash mix is 75,75,75.

normal throttle curve is at 0,70,80,90,100
pitch curve normal is at 42,46,50,75,100

stunt mode throttle curve is at 100,100,100,100,100
pitch curve for stunt mode is at 0,25,50,75,100

no weights are used on the flybar.

please note that these settings are for more advanced flying. you may need to change your settings for a more mild ride.

S_Mackey

My Feedback: (1)

Hm. Ijust received a DX6i and which trigger is used for stunt mode? Can you give me your base settings. This is my first time flying an EXI450 or any CCPMfor that matter. Iam not looking to do any 3D for a long while. Just use it as a park flyer for now and learn how to fly it well. Ireally don't need anything really agressive for flight.

Ipurchased.
EXI450 standard (Here)
HXT900x5 1 Extra (8/4?)
Volcano 30Aesc (8/4)
Exceed RCAlpha 400 Brushless(3500kv) (8/4)
G401B Gyro (Here)

Radio System
DX6i (Here)
AR6100E (8/6)

Batteries
2x XMHobbies 2200mah 11.1 18c/25c (Here)
Thunder AC6 Charger (8/4)

Is the HXT900 usable at all for the rear tail if I am just using it as a park flyer? If I am going to have problems I can switch it but I would really like to get this flying by next weekend. And I would like to fly with what Ihave now. Also is there any extra parts I need?Ibought these general parts above but is there anything else misc Ineed?

Ihave a Falcon40 and I thought it was a good time to step up.

noobflyer01

Mack, the switch that activates the stunt mode is the on the upper left side of the tx. Its the one label 0,1and F Mode on it. 0 is normal and 1 is idle up. Look at my pictures above. the front servos goes in from the inside. the front left servo I used as the aileron servo(ail). and the front right is the pitch servo (aux). these two are interchangable and can be programmed either way. The rear servo is the elevator servo, mounted on the outside of the frame and must go into the elevator channel (elev).

the tower pro servos may run in a different direction then my hs65mg's so use your reverse channels accordingly to get them go in the proper direction.

while the sg90 is good enough on the cyclic for the beginner its not nearly enough as a tail servo. you may find that using this servo for tail may results in unwanted drifts. This is where you going to have to spend some money. Get the futabas9257 and you'll be pleased.

use the same pitch curves i listed above. use the same throttle curve I listed for normal. When you are ready to fly in idle up mode set your idle up curves to something like 100,90,85,90,100.

Use your flybar weights to slow your cyclics down. try a 11T pinion for a lower headspeed. move up a pinion as you get more comfortable.Note that as your headspeed isincreased so is the responsiveness of your heli.

try a swash mix of 70% on Pitch, 60% on elevator, and 60% on aileron. as you improve increasing these values will increase the amount of cyclic degrees and pitch degrees.

noobflyer01

my brother went with me to the park and shot a video of the EXI 450 today.   Sadly i'm still trying to figure out a way to convert  VTS and VOB into mpeg4.  [:@] I wonder if videmo supports my format?    anyone with any ideas?   

noobflyer01

I just got it all figured out on the video conversion. here's the link for the video of the EXI 450 in action.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30czT9h-558&feature=channel_page[/youtube]
the first 4 minutes is theEXI and the next 4 minutes is the trex500esp

S_Mackey

My Feedback: (1)

Did anyone have an entire extra bag of screws after building the kit? Some of the parts in the kit weren't the best fit. The paddles weren't the best fit. One side seemed to be tapped wrong and did not go on straight.

noobflyer01

yes, i also had a bag of screws from the exi kit.   I'm using the stock paddles on mine.   while screwing the paddles in i made sure that they went in straight.   but a new pair of paddles is very cheap.   There's more slop on the EXI than a  Trex....but nothing bad at all.    I'm using the stock frame and head.....everything else is align.  

Mack, Its very important you tear down the entire heli.   My head came out of the factory with 2 washers on one and none on the other.[:@]

 Check and  make sure they install the thrust bearings correctly too.  Put grease on the thrust bearings and loctite.  Do go over the tail assembly as well.

S_Mackey

My Feedback: (1)

Yea Ifigured it could have been my fault the paddles didn't go on correct. Iam usually good with this stuff. Idid check a bunch of other stuff and found the pitch to be at -4 or -6 at what was supposed to be 0 pitch.

Ihave to tear down the entire head?I wanted to get this flying today. Which thrust bearing are you talking about?Not the one way bearing. Idid a quick once over to check for loose parts but i did not check the tail yet.

Which washers are you talking about?

noobflyer01

Yes Mack, the head MUST be taken apart and reassemble.I have included a picture of the thrust bearings. you have to grease the middle bearing , put grease on the side that is concave. i just used white lithium grease since that's all i could find. you can buy them ata hardware store. they must be reassembled correctly as they are each different. Do the same thing for the tail. but the tail will be easy since you only have to check the screws holding the tail rotor grips and the one set screw. all must be loctited.

noobflyer01

I went to my LHS and got some goodies for my EXI 450.  picked up a pair of light align paddles, 14T pinion, and a new dampners.   

the headspeed is absolutely insane!  [X(]  will do a video this weekend with the new setup.   Headspeed calculator is giving a headspeed of 3279[X(][8D]

FlyRC4aHigh

My Feedback: (6)

Hello, Still looking for servos etc for my EXI 450 a couple of questions?

Told an HS-81 would be a good tail servo, would it be a good servo for cyclic etc?

Want to mount gyro under tail boom, possibly a 401 , 500t, or a telbee, looking at it the tail rod may be to long, and might interfer, is it? how do you adjust it?

Hoping to go to IRCHA this week to check things out

Fleet
EXI 450, nothing instralled yet
Hirobo Shuttles, Senior Telemaster,T-28,Hanger 9 Miss America,Harrier 46 3D(For Sale)

grawyl

Hi Guys, Its been a while but I'm back. I have been going through some personal $ht and had to let the heli's sit while I straitened things out.

The last time I touched my EXI was months ago and right after I got a really hot Kv3800 motor and crashed on a side in landing. Anyway, I went to Xheli and it doesn't look like they sell parts anymore for EXI. I can get a whole new heli but not just the parts to fix what I need to fix. I will most likely get a bare bones $29 version but I am wondering about the plastic swash. My existing swash is showing signs of age and not as precise as I like it.

Has anybody used the new plastic/metal swash on the cheep version of the EXI? This may have been covered erlier in this thread or in Crash's thread but I am feeling to lazy to search.