RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro  
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RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 12/28/2005 3:04:03 AM   
leejax02


 

Posts: 324
Joined: 6/29/2004
From: jacksonville, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Here are my experiences:
1. Blade CP is great heli because it forces you to fly the tail with a non headhold gyro, repairs are cheap and a smaller bird is always harder to flywhich makes flying a larger bird easier

2. Mx400 is a good heli, but does not shine as bright as the T-rex. Upgrade the tail (boom,belt and tail assembly) from a T-rex or a"stretch kit" to allow for 325mm blades which GREATLY stabalizes it. Get the CCPM conversion kit and in the future get a metal head when you outgrow the stock head assembly. Had one and it seemed a bit more stiff in the drivetrain than a Rex. If that is what the lhs stocks, then go that way.

3. T-rex is the best I have flown in micro period. In my Raptor 50 and 60 experience, this comes real close to that experience. It loves a higher headspeed to allow heli to do its thing. The Rex had a different gear ratio than the MX400 which is where it takes advantage of the head assembly. The 325mm blades will make you feel more comfortable. I am on T-rex #3 which is an SE and suggest you start with a CDE, had 2 and it actually flies as good with some basic hop-ups as my SE like the metal head/tail and frame, but then you could sell your Xl and get the SE cheaper.

No matter how you do it, you will probably end up with some form of a T-rex with either a T-rex/Mx400 hybrid or an Xl or a 450SE. Just depends where you want to go in relation the parts availability. If you can hover well with a Blade, you will do great witha a T-rex.

(in reply to BobH)
       Post #: 26

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 12/28/2005 6:35:10 AM   
hdoc


 

Posts: 428
Joined: 11/28/2005
From: Roslyn, NY, USA
Status: offline 		Leejax02:

Yes, the Blade is really a great machine----After about 4 or so weeks, after perhaps 7-10 repairs, anything from a new Mainshaft to a total rebuild from scratch, it's all coming together. Time & cost of repaits are really nil compared to a Nitro-- Maximum time for the "Total Rebuild" (Frame & all) was about 2 Hours. It has been a wonderful learning experience, and I can finally hover well, (not tail out yet), but feel fully confident, finally, that I'm in control.

I think I'm convinced that the Trex SE is my next step. (Yes, I feel I'll outtgrow the Blade in about 2 Mos--Sure I won't be ready for 3-D, and as I advance, the repairs will be considerably more expensive & slower. Assume parts are easily obtained. My LHS claims they can't get them--Though they are a very well stocked place. I do have a Fut T8HUB S Xmitter which should fit the bill well.

To AL (AWS) -- Got the RealFlight G3 Flt SIM today, with the realization that certainly has to help with coordination especially with the ability to feed in all sorts of adverse winds, failures, etc. Was surprised that I could hover perfectly, but can also deteriorate gyro & overall performance abilities to match the "real thing".

Lloyd

(in reply to leejax02)
       Post #: 27

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 12/28/2005 2:14:41 PM   
fxstbi


 

Posts: 220
Joined: 1/13/2002
From: quincy, IL, USA
Status: offline 		This is what swayed me to get a T-Rex. There is a bazillion T-Rex's out there and a hand full of MX400's. Do the math............

(in reply to hdoc)
       Post #: 28

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 1/3/2006 4:54:56 AM   
aws23


 

Posts: 41
Joined: 5/27/2003
From: Kansas, IL, USA
Status: offline 		Believe me I am not standing up for MX400 over a Trex but I do at least think they are equal. I flew 3 different Trex's over Christmas, the first that I had really flown. None of them came close to flying as well as mine but I set mine up. I think I have mentioned that set up is the whole thing and I have flown mine lone enough to have it set up perfectly-----for me?????Two of the fellows flew mine and both could not believe how stable it flew and yet is very very quick in idle up 3. I know if some time were spent on the Trex setup they would have been fine. fxsti, as I understand it the Trex has been out for 2 or 3 years (someone correct me if I am wrong) and the MX400 has been out for about 3 months. This could possibly explain the higher number of Trex's. Also with the Trex being such a great little machine I can see why the MX400 may take off a bit slow. And the MX has had a problem or two, center hub, slow on parts. I understand the first Trex had some problems also. I understand from your different posts that the MX400 is quite a bit cheaper and this could be a plus. Yesterday I put a set of 325mm carbon fiber blades on my MX and what a difference! Today the wind was gusting to 15mph and I flew it several times. It was a handful but very controllable. Again, I am not at all critisizing the Trex, I just think the MX is at least equal----

_____________________________

Al

(in reply to fxstbi)
       Post #: 29

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 1/3/2006 6:35:54 AM   
leejax02


 

Posts: 324
Joined: 6/29/2004
From: jacksonville, FL, USA
Status: offline 		The MX Pro as compared to the SE is not as well equipped out the box. You lose a total metal head, stretch kit including longer boom and blades, all metal tail, carbon fiber frame and argueably better electronics. Price/quality vs. price/quality and the T-rex comes out on top. The MX400 has been out for a few months, but the Ark x-400 has been around far longer and the x-400 guys still use T-rex parts. The Mx400 is a rebadge of the x-400, infact the serial number on my Mx400 read x400---------(forgot the rest).

No one is taking anything away from the Mx400, but compared to the T-rex, it is a good 2nd choice.

< Message edited by leejax02 -- 1/3/2006 5:03:47 PM >

(in reply to aws23)
       Post #: 30

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 1/3/2006 8:11:12 AM   
Kalock


 

Posts: 5
Joined: 1/3/2006
From: Sammamish, WA, USA
Status: offline 		I have actually in a way followed the complete path of this thread.

I started with a Blade CP which while fun was certainly not "that" fun. Especially since the 4in1 was bugged and it had a nasty tendency to attack the area within which it was flying. After trying to take out the X-mas tree it was relegated to the junk heap. I talked to Horizon and a couple of LHS and they were all aware of this issue happening in some cases (4in1 initializes then immediately goes full throttle and no radio inputs work, I verified there were no other freqency users in the area with a channel checker).

My next heli, after the blade tried to kill me, was an MX-400 because thats what the LHS I was buying from carried. I thought it was incredible compared to the Blade. So much more to tweak and learn and manage. Yet it sadly never flew. I spent HOURS getting some s75 servos mounted using those @#*&@^*# plastic nuts and a VERY long pair of needlenose pliers. I also put in an Align 420 motor with a 35AMP ESC with governor. This was followed by a flight test. Everything looked great as the heli spun up slowly (Funny slow start really does work). Blade tracking was perfect from the factory so I put her light on the skids to test mechanical zero on the 201 gyro setup. As soon as I put an input to the gyro I heard a buzzz WOOSH. The buzz was the T/R blade grips coming apart, the WOOSH was the blade buzzing my ear. I was a bit miffed at this and went to the LHS the next day to ask what happened. They looked at everything and asked if I followed the addendum that came with the manual, the one that tells you to disassemble the tail grips and rebuild them with loctite. Well I would have except it appeared someone removed the addendum from my box before they sold it to me. Apparently another customer had lost it and they gave him the one from mine then forgot to remove it from the shelf. I was also politely informed that they only carried replacement blades but they could order the parts the following Monday (It was Wednesday) and I would have them the next week on Friday. Being a more instant gratification type I declined their kindless and went looking for the parts myself.

After noticing the MX-400 was an X-400 and they shared tail systems with the T-Rex I found another LHS that carried T-Rex parts. Sadly he was out of the blade grips as another customer had just bought them. I asked all about the T-Rex while I was there and was very impressed with its much more substantial build. All linkages in the heli were ball on socket type versus z-bends so there was much less play on the owners completely stock 450. Also the links were a much higher grade of steel as they were unbendable with moderate force (I bent the swash links a couple of times on the MX-400 just picking it up. They are scary bendable with the longer links). I decided right there, while staring at a wall of spare parts and upgrades to get a T-Rex and trash the MX-400. I could never be happier with this decision. Since then I have pretty much taken my 450XL to the point of being an SE bird. The first add on was the CF frame with eCCPM. To those of you who think eCCPM is more difficult I suggest you may need to get your heads checked. I spent hours trying to get the mCCPM set up to where the servos were at 0 sub trim and everything was aligned. It took me less that 15 minutes to do this on teh eCCPM setup. Also with 3 servos managing the load response times are a lot faster even with cheap little S75 servos. Other upgrades have happened since then and the little thing flies like a dream. its twitchy and I have added a lot of exponential to tone it down for hovering but it is very stable.

I have since given the MX-400 to a friend in exchange for flight lessons on my new Raptro 50 and he is setting it up. Can't wait to talk to him tomorrow and see what he thinks considering he sold it to me in the first place

(in reply to leejax02)
       Post #: 31

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 1/3/2006 5:09:59 PM   
leejax02


 

Posts: 324
Joined: 6/29/2004
From: jacksonville, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Only reason it seems that the MX400 is getting so much attention is because it seems to have a better distribution company as the x-400 was the same heli.

(in reply to Kalock)
       Post #: 32

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 1/3/2006 6:34:35 PM   
aws23


 

Posts: 41
Joined: 5/27/2003
From: Kansas, IL, USA
Status: offline 		Hi all, all of my posts are just my thoughts that have been accumulated over 35 years experience with helis. I felt that some of the new people might appreciate this. I have certainly benefited from this type of thing. I was going to try to explain "Collective Cyclic Pitch Mixing" in detail and the pros and cons of each, mechanical and electronic-----however----- I decided not to due to the condition of my head. Type "CCPM, explain" in google, the first article is "CCPM" open this and you will find an excellent explanation----- and lots of help in other aspects of proper setup of heli's.

_____________________________

Al

(in reply to leejax02)
       Post #: 33

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 1/3/2006 8:09:02 PM   
cptsnoopy


 

Posts: 540
Joined: 2/26/2005
From: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		For those who have not flown helis and do not have a computer sim, the blade cx or hirobo xrb are excellent helis to learn hovering. That is tail in, nose in, left and right. For those who have a computer sim and or have fixed wing rc experience then the blade-cp is a very good choice for a first heli. Once you have the hovering mastered in all directions, some simple turns and figure 8 patterns then going straight to the trex 450-xl or better is most likely the best cost/performance ratio that you can get. Parts are inexpensive and the 450-xl seems to be more stable and less snappy out of the box than the x-400. Plus, the trex has fewer parts and takes less time to set up. just another opinion.

(in reply to BobH)
       Post #: 34

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 1/3/2006 10:13:10 PM   
hdoc


 

Posts: 428
Joined: 11/28/2005
From: Roslyn, NY, USA
Status: offline 		Al--And All--

Your 100% correct re set-up. I'm well experienced with multi,multi years of model building, electronics & Computers and am now learning to fly Helis. I have been meticulous at "repair" & set-up of the blade, and can almost get a hands off Hover----Well, not really, must fly the tail muchly, but it can hold in a very small area with minimal cyclic commands. Will get a HH Gyro for the Trex. My big problem is the small garage and occasionally the Blade is sacrificed to a Wall or garbage can when it comes after me. Too cold & windy in NY at the moment for outdoor flight.
To other novices in Heli flying (I still am after 6 Wks) DO NOT ACCEPT COMPROMISE in repairs or set-up. A Heli is a tempermental beast at best, and any compromise will make flying all the more difficult.
Al, I'm using the Sim and must admit it was a great investment. Building up the confidence & coordination well. even tried inverted flight last night--After 20 attempts finally got it right & hovered for a while. "I Was impressed"--Wow, the time & money I saved on repairs!!!!

Got my LHS to set up an account with the Trex people so will be getting it thru them.

As for the Blade--it's been a great learning experience. Should be doing Tail out Hovering soon, at which time I'll launch the Trex SE.

Lloyd

(in reply to cptsnoopy)
       Post #: 35

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 1/4/2006 12:21:26 AM   
aws23


 

Posts: 41
Joined: 5/27/2003
From: Kansas, IL, USA
Status: offline 		hdoc, I sure am glad the sim is working for you. It has to be the best $200.00 you will ever spend for helis or planes.

_____________________________

Al

(in reply to hdoc)
       Post #: 36

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 1/4/2006 2:02:45 AM   
leejax02


 

Posts: 324
Joined: 6/29/2004
From: jacksonville, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Just thought the question was about the T-rex SE vs Mx400 Pro quality and bang for the buck.

Certain things are implied when questions are asked dealing with machines of certain skill level. Both are not toys and require some previous experience either from planes, other rc's, SIMS or lesser advanced helis. All advice given is given with that to be understood.
I started off years ago with a Kyosho Nexxus and getting that off the ground was too much for me as I knew nothing from air models with experience only from surface models.
Like the guys previously said, a SIM would be great. My first was a G2 and I enjoyed it. Taught me alot.

(in reply to aws23)
       Post #: 37

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 1/4/2006 3:10:29 AM   
aws23


 

Posts: 41
Joined: 5/27/2003
From: Kansas, IL, USA
Status: offline 		Leejax02, I guess I do get off on things that do not pertain to this thread. Sometimes the money people have to spend is just so much and I just want them to get as good as they can for a given amount of money. This I am sure is wishful thinking when heli's are involved. I think I have discussed this before but along with all the experience with lesser heli's, planes and work on the sim, the MOST important thing is help with setup. Nothing is more important than this----- If you look over the posts and see all the different helis that we all know will fly really well being downgraded, thrown away, traded off and their only problem is setup----The best most expensive nitro heli will not fly improperly setup. There is certainly nothing wrong with trading up and improving but lets give each heli a fair trial so we won't mislead someone else. Again, just my thoughts

_____________________________

Al

(in reply to leejax02)
       Post #: 38

RE: T-Rex 450 SE or MX400 Pro - 1/14/2006 5:47:59 AM