Hey....No prob...! The one main reason why I wanted to try and help, is I don't want everyone thinking that all Trex guys have that attitude... I feel we are still on the same team. RC-Heli's !!! I love them all... It's o.k. to debate, it's going to be expected with a new heli, but I see your frustration also if I was in your shoes, and I'am sure I wouldn't be to nice either on the bashing of your new heli... Enjoy the that thing !

Take care,


-- Jeff

It's all good here to.
I was just expecting tips and tricks and it looked as if it was turning into another "just get a Rex thread"
I responded before reading all the threads.
Didn't mean to offend anyone.....Sorry
I am totally impressed with my Blade 400. It does fly kinda soft, but is very stable.
I moved the rudder linkage to the third hole from the inside on the sevo and run the gyro at 73%-74% and the tail holds vey well flying backwards with the stock servo.

Keep the tips coming.....

Hi all

I flew a CX2 for a while and thought I was ready to step up to a Blade 400. The first crash broke quite a few parts, including some that don't seem to be available yet:

EFLH1440 - Elevator Control Lever Set
EFLH1423 - Flybar Seesaw Holder Set

These are shown out of stock all over the net, can't be ordered by my LHS and show mid-Feb availability from Horizon.

The elevator control lever can probably be glued, but the flybar seesaw holder is broken right where a control link attaches. Any suggestions for a substitute seesaw holder? I'd really like to take another crack at this thing before March! Any suggestions are appreciated. Please note that I am a newb and may require detailed explainations.

j-michael and kevintrl: "neither one's a gaui so the blade 400 and this trex thing must not be any good"


clump, i think everybody just broke the same parts - they'll come in sooner than march - my lhs is expecting another parts shipment in a few weeks - mine's still in one piece so far, which testifies to its stability


edge

call mikes hobby shop in carrollton, tx. I think I saw those parts in stock. In order to stiffen up the blade, you need to add shims to the dampening head, put true 325 blades on it, and ramp up your throttle curve. Its set pretty mild from the factory for not so skilled pilots. New servos help alot too.

I received a Blade 400 as a Christmas gift from my wife. My previous RC heli experience had been with a Blade CP purchased early Fall of 2006. I flew (well, emptied battery packs) that thing for about two months and kept a small journal of each and every flight (to include times, accomplishments, mishaps, repairs, goals, etc.). I had gotten to the point of hovering out a battery tail-in and side-in and was moving to nose-in before the 4-in-1 decided to go bonkers. So, I boxed it up and put it away. Now, more than a year later, the Blade 400 came in and renewed my interest in RC helis. Out of the box, I was able to comfortably hover (tail-in) as long as I wanted. I videoed this and the subsequent hovers. On my third battery charge I flew the 400 into a loaded trash bag (hovering in my garage with way too much stuff around) and now need to replace a few small items (definitely no big deal).

The reason I started with the bit of background is to illustrate that the Blade 400 is a fun and accessible heli for certain "pilots". I am DEFINITELY a beginner pilot and found that the Blade is a great match for me and should prove an able platform to grow/learn with.

As for my tip, I echo the others encouraging users to make a copy of the factory settings that ship with the DX6i. It is VERY easy to overwrite them when just goofing around with the radio. Before I knew it, my Blade 400 was a elevon-mixed fixed wing flyer! Now, I have both the Blade 400 and a YB-22 programmed correctly.

smackz, if you flew the cp even one pack, then you aren't a "beginner" pilot with 0 heli experience (not even a cx), which is what i was talking about


edge

Well, I just bought a 400.
Looks to be a reasonable price for what it is.
I have two Pros that fly quite well and I'm building a rex and this was in the store and it just flew into my hands together with two pair of blades.
The Pro flies well but this being a little more massive and flying a larger disc should provide more stability.
I'm not a 3-D person but my Pros have fun flying around the trees at about 6 ft. off the deck....don't need much speed to have fun.
OK...question...:
What RPM should I expect at the main rotor....I see nothing in the specifications regarding operating criteria.
No, it will never be a rex so don't bash it for that...if you want to, castigate the manufacturer for not going to a 450. Bear in mind the manufacturer has the market on spares too.
Let's see what the weekend brings.

Im no means a 3d flyer, but I did flip my blade grips and mixer assembly and it added so much throw that I had to turn down my pitch in the swash mix. Its snappy as hell now at -65 instead of the normal +75

uh...maxx...why'd you flip your blade grips and mixer assy? - wasn't it right from the factory?

edge

It looks to me that the Blade 400 has not filled the needs of the Heli fliers, let's start with those who think that this bird needs some upgrades.
Stock price around 480 dlls.
1.- Stripped servos in a mild crash, you may want to upgrade to hitec (100 dlls for 4 servos)
2.- Needs Better blades (You will need to upgrade to align blades at 16.00 dlls.
3.- Some want to upgrade to a Better gyro (Futaba gyro for 139.00 dlls)
4.- Some want to upgrade to a better Radio (DX7) (Around 350 dlls)

How much money do you have to invest to perform all those upgrades?

total investment: $1,085.00 dlls and still you have a plastic made mini helicopter.


Isn't it much easier if you buy a Trex SA (240 dlls at Horizon Hobby or less at ebay)
Buy Hitec servos 100 dlls aprox.
Futaba 401 Gyro (140 dlls) and a DX7 (around 350 dlls)
and a 2170 Flight Power battery (75.00 dlls)

Total invested $905.00
You do not need more upgrades and flies much better and stable than the E-flite blade 400.

Well that is just for thinking.

I just don't get why Trex owners and others go out of their way to come into an E-flite subforum and tell people to avoid buying the Blade 400. I've seen videos of the stock unit flying and it looks fine to me! Is it perfect? No. Is it adequate for someone new getting into the hobby? I think so. I spent a fair amount of time on a CX and it got pretty boring. I was about to get a CP Pro when I was told to hold off and wait for the B400. I'm glad I was given that advice.

I just started out, and I decided that the Blade 400 was a good choice because as an RTF, I'd see exactly how one was put together, and learn about it (my background is mechanical and electrical engineering, and an electric RC heli is a fascinating machine). I would have been lost buying a Trex and having to figure out how to put it together.

What you say in theory, though, is partially true if you take it to an extreme. But some people are forgetting that the Blade 400 flies ok for what it is, and requires no additional cost. Several people (mostly Trex owners I think) seem to skip to the end, where B400 owners have flown them and want to start making it better. However, that's the thing... They don't HAVE to buy better servos right away, as the gears for the servos cost $3 bucks. They don't HAVE to buy better blades, as the stock ones are "ok". You can get a Spektrum DSP75 digital servo for the tail for 20 bucks, and apparently that works just fine. And the DX6i seems like an ok radio for a beginner/intermediate user.

I'll admit, the "upgrade" bug has me... But I can spend money at my own pace to upgrade, and still be able to fly it immedately. I'm not laying out over $1000.00 dollar number that people seem to love to throw around to prove their point. I spend half that, and can fly right now.

I have no doubt that once I get better at this, that I'll wind up getting a Trex, since I like the idea of having a solid base to work with... but for now, I got in at a good price and it added another person to the pool of RC heli guys in this hobby. The more people spending money on mainstream products, the more 3rd party support there is. So people should be welcoming the new blood instead of potentially scaring them off, telling them they'd be better off spending twice as much immediately.

No, this is not meant to be a T-rex. Most people are going to buy the Blade 400 and fly it for a long while stock and get their money's worth out of it. It is a RTF helicopter for darn's sake. It isn't meant to be the best performing helicopter out there. Ya know what as a T-rex owner and a Blade 400 owner I have to say that each is aimed to do a different task. It is hands down good value I sure as hell know I could not put together a T-rex with a 2.4 radio for 500 bucks (less if you shop around)

Torquestar,

Very well said. I agree 100% with everything you stated above.
The Blade 400 was the perfect choice for me, my circumstances and what I wanted out of my first CP heli.

Why these guys (TREX owners) don't understand that just because something is good for them, that does not mean it's good for everyone else in the RC heli world.

The last three videos [link=http://www.runryder.com/helicopter/t394954p1/]HERE[/link] (First Post) are all stock except main blades and battery. Looks pretty good to me for a $500 helicopter.

EDITed: To get back on topic.
Here's a stupid little tip: Sand and round the ends of the canopy mount rod.
That makes it much easier to reinstall the canopy.

Wow awesome flying! I wish I can do that on my B400, so I am skipping TREX 450 all together!

I am sure gonna have fun learning to fly with my B400

Just for you Trex owners.... I have placed my order for the Trex500

Wolf... that wasn't a stupid tip, I did the same on mine.

I am wondering if a Trex canopy will fit my B400, does anyone know? I love the shape of the Trex canopies.

i have both a 400 and trex and don't take nothing from either.i enjoy flying both and can tell the difference between the two trex is much more stable but also over 2 oz's heavier.only mod i had to do to the 400 so far was 1 turn on the rudder linkage and bound to the dx7.and that alone was a chore.for some reason the swash mixing was different between the dx6i and the dx7 trex is still in the setup stage and have had for close to a year now.it will fly and seems to fly well but no way would i try to take inverted becouse i can't get the pitch right in st1 mode.and the gy401 gyro set up confuses me so i just keep it slow and low for now till i can get set up right.i think that horrizon has put out 1 fine product this time.i liked the cx2 but hated the cpp.e-flight does need to put out a fixed pitchlike the honybee for help with the transition from coaxil to single becouse it is a pretty big step from coaxil to colective pitch.got to say that i have had the 400 since dec24th and still all in 1 piece with no troubles at all not even a blade .i say if you are new like me to helis and ready for a colective pitch heli the 400 can't be beat!RTF literaly not saying it is setup perfect but it is flyable out of the box and parts are reasonable always a plus.if you have some extra cash and want to build a real nice heli buy a trex,if you just want a nice heli ready to fly buy the b400 either way don't think you'll go wrong

On topic

I have a 450 class machine, I find with higher head speed and less pitch curve it is easier to control. I tried dropping the head spead to get longer flight times but the machine reacts slower to cyclic inputs. 2600 RPM with 315 woodies seems to be a good combination.


Off topic - the great debate

The great debater, B400 VS trex450.
Simplified. There are many 450 machines (without any AL bling) for approx the same cost as the B400. Some are RTF. I think the Trex450SE V2 all AL owners get concerned when "their" machine is compared to a B400. Fair enough. This isn't apples to apples. When the AL upgrades along with better servos, carbon frame etc come out for the B400, when tallied up I am sure the cost will be very similar to the Trex450 SE V2. Why.......because that is how competition works.

I think the B400, and other 450 machines with the approx same trim class are a great choice for the mid level learning heli pilot (of which I am one). I have trex450. It flys very well, way beyond my current abilities. I got it long before the 400 was finally shipped. If the 400 was available when I purchased my Trex I would have probably purchased it instead. At the end of the day the value to the end user is in usability, parts support and technical support. I think the b400 will have all of these so it is a sound selection. I dont believe it is the only choice in this bracket at this price and the marketing of the B400 seems to insinuate this. At the end of the day we are all heli flyers trying to learn from each other. Any tricks, helpfull hints that apply to one 450 class machine may apply to another and learning from each others experience is a bennefit to all.

Good flying

here's why; The trailing edge control of the blade grips on the factory setup are really tame, that combined with the big ninja sword blades, soft head dampening, and the baby step throttle curves make the 400 fly like a big happy butterfly (not even to mention the suck tail servo and standard mode on the g-ro), All this done to tame the bird down to let the most unexperienced pilot get in the air. But If you do what I did, you can really make this thing scream. Flip the grips and mixer, and you get leading edge control, which is way faster and way more aggressive. Go to true 325 blades, and you get another step toward violent flight, add shims to the dampening, replace the tail servo with a metal gear digital, move the servo to the tail boom, switch the g-ro to digital and do a more aggressive thottle curve, and you will then see how you go from big happy butterfly to screamin eagle! But if you flip the grips, remember to reverse your pitch in the swash mix to -60% or so, because you will also gain in pitch throw few degrees and your controls would be reversed. The swash really moves a up and down on that shaft now.

lol 2600 would prolly melt the bearing holders on the 400 - leave that poor thing alone before you bowleg it forever

edge

yeah, its light enough to really hump at 2200. The motor will go, but the head wasn't made for all that

i'm setting the 400 up for scale and to get the 2degree max swash travel side to side and 5degree max front to back, i had to limit the aile and elev travel way way way down to 8 and 11% - i may have to go balsa lol and put in a bellcrank to get the resolution back up

i just wonder if anybody has tried 150% travel on the servos yet like we used to do on the cx2? - that should give it some stab !!!


edge

I am also using the DX7 and yes swash mixing is a bit different, the DX6i is not a bad transmitter in fact the gyro programming is better in the DX6i. I had to use ATV settings for the gyro on my on my DX7 because it tries to force me to use the throttle hold switch for the rate setting, I think thats kind of stupid. I also know you can set the gyro rate using F.mode which will tie the setting to the norm, stunt 1 and stunt 2 instead of the throttle hold switch, but for the sake of making it simple ATV'd it.

I am happy with the aileron and elevator swash mixing from factory setting because I am still learning, however I think I can just increase the mixing (increasing the mix values for elevator and airleron) to get quicker response when i get my skills up, I don't need a wild spontaneous heli at the moment. I did lower my midrange pitch setting to get higher head speed at hover and I have only tried idle up a few times on the machine, heck its only my 3rd week on helis. This is a great heli, I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't have a good heli radio or know anything about CCPM helis, I wouldn't recommend a TREX to anyone new unless you know someone who is willing to help you through the entire setup and flying. Maybe I shouldn't give advise because i am new to heli [&o]. I know a flyer at my field who has a trex 450 and he has no clue how to program his swash mixing and he has crashed many times because someone who sold him the Trex set it like a 3D ship, I dont thing that is helpful at all, been flying giant scale a long time now and yes my giant scale planes fly easier than my electric alpha warbirds, but its not about easier or smoother its more about CONTROL!

It fits! My Blade 400 Trex Poser

fw190,

Very nice, I like it. The TREX guys are going to hate on you.

Do you have the weights, or can you get them, on both canopies?

Why would they? My Trex 500 is on its way to my LHS.

The canopy is $9.99 it fits better as I have struggled putting the original canopy on because the battery leads get in the way. No major mods on that Trex canopy just opened the top for motor cooling and relocated the mounting holes. Does not affect the CG much still can fine tune by moving the battery.