I spent 989 dollars total for my setup... So if you don't wanna spend OVER 1000, but are willing to spend 900, then go for a TREX.
but whatever you do, do not put any more money into your CP... waste...
I upgraded my CX2 with like 200 dollars in parts, shafts, booms, skids, blades, lipo alarm, wires, custom canopies, all this crap... spend like 500 - 600 dollars total on a useless CX2.
Then I got a TREX 450 SE v2 401 Gyro / 3 x 65MG servo's / 3153 digital tail / Spektrum DX7 controller
I wish I had my 500 dollars back to put into my TREX!!!!
as far as is it worth it to upgrade?? thats up to you?
I have never crashed my TREX. I do flips, loops, forward flight, nose in out side back, and a small amount of inverted hovering (practicing it). So if you think buying the cheap stuff and upgrading on a crash, well thats just more money than not crashing period... so I wouldn't bet on crashing.. get the setup you want, and plan to enjoy it.. you already have 8 months of flying a crappy helicopter under your belt, so the head holding gyro, and tail drive system is going to be insanely stable...
also, the metal parts break less than plastic.. but plastic parts react better to the force of the ground... so if you have plastic, it breaks, cheaper to fix but more parts capable of breaking at one time.. metal parts break less but your main shaft, feathering shaft, and sometimes your gear usually go out. and blades..
I'd go SE v2 because for me, it had all the upgrades done for you, it had better a better tail design, improved play in the head with better design.. gyro mounts underneath automatically.. basically everything wrong with v1 they fixed in v2.