My first collective pitch heli was the Heli Max Axe CP. Very hard to fly, I spent months just learning who to hover tail in. That was a little over 2 years ago. I still have it but I don't fly it anymore. I did fly it once after I got my 450 and the difference was night and day. I also have a T-Rex 600nitro Pro and a T-Rex 500 GF along with a Blade CX/2 and a Blade mCX. So I have plenty to fly if one is down for repair. By the way, that metal tail pitch slider comes with a plastic control arm. All my helis have the plastic arm and I have never broken one but they have them in metal now. I don't think metal is really necessary but metal parts do look nice. I'm not going to upgrade to the metal ones because I believe it's a good idea to have it as a "weak link". I would rather break the arm than a more expensive part. But if you want to go with the metal one, http://www.readyheli.com/HS1295_Trex...t_p/hs1295.htm is the part you want. Good luck, Alan