david007

My Feedback: (26)

Hi all I've been thinking about getting back into heli's I use to own a raptor 50 and a predetor gasser, been out of heli's for about 3 years now and want to get back in, I just don't want the big expence of a nitro or gasser again. I know this is the t-rex forum but I'm looking for info on both good and bad. Do you think the blade will be good competition for the t-rex or should I just bite the bullet and go with the t-rex. the only thing going for the blade is it is rtr with raido and everything HELP PLEASE...........
Thanks David

stevennh

I don't think you'll hear much bad about the T-Rex SA's and SE's. They are solid performers. I have had an SA for over a year now with zero problems. I have not heard much about the Blade 400. I like choosing my own components. The biggest reason I have a T-Rex is part availability at my local hobby shop (even though I have not needed many parts).

Steve

savage 40

David, I friend of mine got a blade 400 friday. He brought it over and asked me to trim it and test fly it which i did.. I have to admit for the $ it is a good deal! That being said... I feel it lacks in comparision to a Trex sa or se for that matter. It took an honest 15 minutes to acclimate the gyro to the weather.. and even then it was still creeping.... for a first timer it is an excellent heli to learn on but the first upgrade i see is a better gyro ($120-$150) I did a mild left to right pass with it and it seemed fine I didn't have the time to fly it around .. again for the money it is a great deal .... the trex is a proven machine (even though i was ready to give up on trex a week ago, I had an XL HDE and bought a trex SA from amainhobbies.com and transferred the gutsand the sa put the XL to shame) ... my 2 cents...

rstroup

I cancelled my order for the Blade to buy a TREX450SE V2. I little more money, but really the only good thing about the blade package is the DX6i. I really do not think that E-Flight will keep up with parts demand for the 400, I see them catching up to the market no earlier then 6 months. Although you will see many 400 packages on the shelves. The big picture is a lot of people got into helicopters this last year. E-Flight did well in the entry market. Sales of the CX, CX2, and the their ccpm were great. Their problem was supplying parts. If you buy the Blade, mark my words, you will be caught up in the upgrade market and in the end have spent more money than you will want to admit.

Take a look at the TREX and the Black Hawk (BH comes in a package like the Blade) The BH has more quality parts for about the same money.

If you can afford a little more $$ the TREX is the way to go.

BTW their is a major discussion on this, just search on the forum.

lookyj

I don't think you can compare the TREX 450 to a Blade 400!

if you can afford it and have the know how to properly set up the TREX, then I feel that is the way to go.

J-MICHAEL

David007--

Wow....Your gonna start a war...Lol..! I just recently got a Trex 450 SA...I love it to death, and in time will move up to a SE V2, as soon as I get some more feathers in the hat, so to speak. What you hear about them is true. I'll never look back......

Good luck to ya,


-- Jeff

david007

My Feedback: (26)

Thanks for all the feed back guy's I think I'm going to get the t-rex. like I said I thought the blade could have been a good bang for the buck but I'm not against spending a little more money for a great ship so I wanted to ask the pro's. And I did'nt want to start any wars. but I love to light some fires lol.. I'll send some picks when I get it.
Thanks for all your help.
David

savage 40

rstroup, it's funny you mention that.. The main reason I did not take my buddies 400 for a spin was that I would've hated to crash it for some reason and have him mad at me because nobody has the parts..LOL!

p01rogue

Align part (pack of 3) cost $20 .....worth $20.

Same part,

E-flite (single part in pack) $20.....worth $4.

E-flite will eat you up in parts cost and lower quality.

IMO

david007

My Feedback: (26)

now that's it info I like to hear, If something is cheap just say it's CHEAP. Now I understand about the war I may have started. lol....

savage 40

war? just buy one and see what happens! We know where you live BOY! and we will come after you! LOL!

J-MICHAEL

Also there is a gent on the E-Flite forum that already stripped a gear on one of his DS75H servo's. No parts availability is what Horizon told him until end of January.... Bummer deal there...Lol.. For the Trex ya have upgrades and aftermarket stuff for miles....And already has proven itself.

Congrats !

-- Jeff

Savage-- Nice little critter ya got up there...Lol..

rstroup

Savage,

I would have been a little nervouse on the sticks.....
I played the game with E-Flight for a year and I am done with it. E-Flight has a great business model, "Get'em in cheap, bleed them out over time with parts costs", and in the end you still have a plastic toy. Excellent business model, but sucks for the hobbiest that are looking for new blood in the hobby/sport. The consumers think that this is what it is all about. The one thing that E-Flight does do for the main stay guys is "weed out all the non hackers", I know bad reference, but love the movie. If folks have purchased an E-Flight product and still want to move on...

PaulLee

i think the blade 400 is a $200 helicopter ( maybe) with a $200 radio for $469. it looks pretty good and should be interesting to see test result

BryFlyGuy67

I bet that you will see a "Blade 400 SE" or "V2" come out in the next 6 months...

rstroup

Just had a good look at the Blade 400 at my LHS and it looks kinda cheap. I think that anyone who buys one will be looking for upgrade parts sooner than later. I am soooo glad that I purchased a TREX over the Blade. I had the Blade on order for about a month and then cancelled. The MGR at the LHS said that they have sold out of the Blade already, just like I said on an earlier post, but they will not have parts for months. This is a bad time to buy the 400 if you are learning to fly, and moving up from another Heli. NEWBEES NEED PARTS, and lots of them. LOL

E-Flight has a market plan. You think that you are getting into 3D cheap, but the parts are where they are going to make all of their money. At the end of the day, you are not going to be a better pilot for the $$$.

david007

My Feedback: (26)

OK I'm goign to get my heli this week. NOW do I get the dx6 or the dx7????????

rstroup

If you have the $$ buy the DX7. It gives you more curve points which translates into greater control. Overall, the technology is advanced.

maxxteezyyy

I live in Dallas, and Mikes Hobby Shop has 6x the parts as he does helis. I haven't had to buy a single part yet. I did switch to trex blades, and I will be changing out the tail servo, but until the au parts come out, thats about it. Don't you trex guys always upgrade parts on ur helis? Carbon, au, servos? I just don't understand why its wrong to upgrade a b400. I know its not as solid as a trex, but I have one, and the trex guys flew it right out the box and said its good for the money. I think if your just learning, get the blade, if your seasoned on the sticks, get the Trex.

rstroup

If I had only a single point to make that was negative about the Blade 400 it would be that the parts are not going to be easy to get. If you are a new flyer you need to be able to put hands on parts.

BryFlyGuy67

Initially, yes, but E-Flite is represented by a HUGE network on online stores and LHS support as well.

The people who will suffer are those that ran right out and get one for Christmas. Yo may have a couple of months to wait before Horizon gets the parts distribution chain setup properly for the B400.

I can't WAIT to see how much they are going to charge for their parts, though!!! [sm=48_48.gif]

BryFlyGuy67

The bottom line is that is you have the money, put it into a nice TREX. You won't be sorry. [8D]

If you're just getting into single rotor and are on a budget, go for either the B400, HBK2, or one of teh many FP Helis out there.

oly_rcer

i have the rex sa but my friend has a blade 400 and it flies okay but i notice that the plastic parts all are loose after a very short time,not just a little loose but to the wear point that landing gear wont stay in holders fall off and all need replacement,the qc is just not there and the plastic is pretty cheap.also my lhs has all the parts i need for my rex

BryFlyGuy67

VERY interesting! It sounds as if maybe the predictions of low initial cost coupled with cheap(read: low quality), expensive parts may have been true...

For the sake of new B400 owners, I hope not! [X(]

fw190

My Feedback: (37)

Make it simple and just buy a B400 and a Trex