Rideblue, The Titan is a fine heli, I have 3 and never had any real problems with them. Tell your buddy to get the upgrade tail hub, part # pv0499. Other than that he is fine to build it stock and add some upgrades later if he wishes. The tail hub is just a known problem, it's a $6 part and much easier to replace it during the build than go back and do it later. I have the GY401/9254, Hitec 5625's, hyper and either Mavrrick or Rotor tech blades on mine and they all fly great. I have the 611 gyro on my 90's and it is a great gyro, you'll be happy with that selection.