nissanlove

ive given up on smaller scale and have decided to build a 450 clone, i have settled on an exi >http://www.xheli.com/18h15-cf450-v3-kit.html
my question is if this is a good choice from the exi lineup and are all trex parts interchangeable with this model? it seems to be the only one that doesnt say wheter its compatible with the trex
oh and before i get flamed i know thers an exi thread but its 145 pages long and dont have the time to read it all, thanks and in advance

nissanlove

can anyone answer these questions and/or point me in the right direction, thers so many exi models to choose from and am so lost
or maybe recommend a heli forum thats more nub freindly lol

nissanlove

3o something views and no replies, woooo! guess i picked the right forum to ask for help, theres only like half a million registered users, guess no one can help

augerin2

Sorry, I fly all Align stuff right now, but I'll try an answer some of your questions. I've read that the Exi450 is a decent kit. I believe again from reading the forums that the majority of the parts are interchangable, I'm using some Exi parts right now on my Trex 450 since I dumped it the other day ( Pitch servo went bad in flight ). And a friend had some spares that he no longer wanted. I'd say give it a try, & keep us ( me)posted. Hope this helped a little. When you get the kit & start building it if you have questions I'll try & help. Fairly new to this hobby myself only 2nd year at it LOL
Good Luck !

nissanlove

thanks for the reply dude, i just ordered the exi v1 standard kit cant wait for it to come in, when it does ill make a "build thread" and keep it updated with my progress

augerin2

Good for you, & congrats & welcome to the addiction LOL. Make sure you check out the 450 V1 build video's on helifreak. It's directed at the Trex 450 but most of it should be close enough to help. The kits look very similer on line.
Jimmy R,

lje553

My Feedback: (1)

Welcome to the Heli addiction. I have heard that it is not a bad kit but try to use good electronics. Good gear can make a crappy heli fly great. Bad gear can make a awesome heli fly like crap. As for reading the 145 page forum. Just skim it. When I started out in helis I had to read bazilions of pages to find answers. The search function helps some too. Best of luck.

ATVAlliance

I have the SE V2 of the EXI and so far so good. A couple of differences I see right off are the skids are 1 piece (cheaper) and the boom mount is not there, but rather a servo mount inside the rear of the frame for your rudder. Otherwise the head and tail look very close to what came on my SE V2. Actually the head looks as if it has a couple plastic parts in place of CNC ones on my V2.

If you are a new helipilot you should order up some spare parts/tools. Here is what I would not be caught dead without in my parts box.

main shafts
feathering shafts
tail shafts
flybar
main gear
tail boom
main blades
tail blades
tail drive belt
spare servos or servo rebuild kit
pitch guage
allen wrenches/ball link pliers/etc (EXI has a very nice toolkit that includes everything you would ever need to work on a 450 heli for about 35 bucks)


Im still very much new to heli's and its even worse for me because I am the only one in our club that is into helis so I have no one to draw any advice from. And there is so much concerning setup that needs to be exactly right or you will have a long hard time just getting the heli off the ground without trashing it.

A good piece of advice....download the Align manual. These EXI kits dont come with any documentation on setup. Also...read read read and read some more. Be sure to get your linkages on the head right. Also you should need a pitch guage if you dont already have one to set your rotor blade pitch.

Also, aswash leveler is fine...but I prefer to use a micrometer and the Align manual to set each linkage...then fine tune from there. I bought a leveler just because it was cheap...and found that my setup with the micrometer was pretty much dead on and I had my head exactly where it needed to be on the main shaft when done

nissanlove

thanks guys, GREAT info, and im deff addicted lol, pretty sure u ment calipers not micrometer, like these http://www.google.com/products?q=dig...ed=0CEUQrQQwAA
and from what i understand there should be the correct measurements to set up the head properly in the align manual? im looking for it now so ima read it anyways

ATVAlliance

yes...thats what Imeant. calipers (durrr @ me!!! lol).

And yes...the 450 manual will give you all the lengths of the linkages in mm's and Ithink even inches too. If you follow that it will put you darn close. You could then use the leveler to fine tune with (although I dont think its a must have item). Then lastly you will have to tweak the links to one or both blade holders to get your blade tracking spot on.

Good luck and enjoy!

nissanlove

ok just to confirm, ther are 3 linkages right?
a= 18.55mm
b= 23mm
c= approx 41.5mm

choppersrule

Nissan,

Here's some good calipers at a good price. I have had this one for 4 years or so, and it works great.

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-...per-47257.html

Dave

choppersrule

Nissan,

There are 4 sets of linkages.

1. From the cyclic servos to the swashplate.
2. From the swashplate to mixing arms.
3. From the mixing arms to the blade grips.
4. From the wash out control arm to the flybar cage.

I guessing you overlooked the servos to swashplate.

As far as the measurements for the linkage, I believe it may vary depending on which model you downloaded.
Here's a link for a Trex 450 Pro and some of the linkages aren't the same as you posted.
http://www.heliproz.com/images/Trex450ProManual.pdf

The linkage measurements in the manual are a starting point, and will very from model to model.
Here's a link that has most of the TREX 450 manuals, but you have to be a member to download them. It's free.

http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=43239

nissanlove

good call, i deff overlooked the swash to servo linkages, there labeled as d,e, and f and taking note of ther meas.
as far as the manual im using the trex 450 sport manual as its the closest if not exact what i have, the frames are stacked, servos mount in the same place as trex and so on

ATVAlliance

When you are done and have the head reinstalled.  Make sure the swash doesnt "bottom" out on your frame in extreme control throws.  If it does...you may be looking at the wrong manual.  The swash shouldnt touch the heli frame in any combo position of servos.

choppersrule

Nissan,
No problem, if you run into any troubles, give us a shout. I've built many helis and planks too.

Dave

nissanlove

read thru this earlier http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=34727, deff something to keep in mind when working on and flying these things, i think all nubs should look at it so they can develop some kind of respect for thes flying lawnmowers lol