jerrymac

My Feedback: (2)

Well guys, this is my first year in the hobby and as I said before, it is very addicting. My first heli was a BH450 that I was learning to fly till the snow started fly here, so only flying now is on the sim. Since my eyesight ain't real good I sometimes have a little trouble seeing my heli when I get it far away so I was thinking about getting something bigger to build over the winter. I recently posted a thread asking for advice on a radio and most of the replies pointed me to the Dx7 so that will probably be my choice. I was looking at a Trex 500 as my next heli, but saw the Gaui 550 on Ka-planes and seemed like a good deal at $319 for the kit, and it is bigger than the Trex 500 . Now I have some jingle in my pocket but can't decide what to get. Is the Gaui 550 a well built heli? Metal upgrades for it seem to cost more than the heli if I want to upgrade it later. I do like the bigger size of the 550, since I don't really want to go as big as a Trex 600 in electric. ( Maybe in a nitro someday ). The quality of the Align brand seems to be pretty well known, but I don't here too much about the Gaui 550. I was hoping that some of you could share your opinions on this to help me decide. Ka-planes is having a sale over the weekend so it looks like it might be a good time to buy if I knew what I wanted. Your thoughts are always greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Jerry..

Edwinssiv

Hey Jerry...I just went through the same dilemma as you are a couple of months ago. I decided on the TRex 500 my self...and I have to say I love this heli! Super stable, the power to weight ratio is fantastic, I have flown 2-3s batteries in it and now I have 3-6s batteries to fly as well...I like how both set ups fly...the 2-3s has a better center of gravity higher up on the battery plate but the 6s has more power. I still fly both battery set ups.

The reason I decided to go Align over the Gaui is I preferred the direct servo to swash set up over the push/pull the Gaui offers and I preferred the direct pinion to main gear over the multiple gearing the Gaui has...I am sure both set ups has its advantages and disadvantages...After reading quite a bit, the Align set up turned out to be my preference because I am use to that with my TRex 450...Plus, my LHS carries Align parts so I have quick access to parts for repairs when I crash.

simmo8

T rex 500 would be my choice because of all the good feedback i have herd i have not herd much about the gaui 550 at all

Druss

I have both and they fly different. The Gaui is a nice heli, it does not have the power of the Trex 500 and has some issues that need work, then again so does the trex 500.

If you fly mostly scale and sport and want something bigger then the gaui is an excellent choice. If you want to fly 3D at some point in the future then the Trex is the better choice.

Just to add a bit on the design. For the servo design, a push/pull on a 550 and higher is the way to go. The direct to swash is fine and gives slightly quicker response but does not have the strength of a push/pull system. There is a reason why all the larger helis use push/pull and it's NOT about space. A bit harder to set up initially but once in place puts less strain on the servos.

The gearing is a little strange on the 550 but I've never had to replace a gear yet so don't know how much of a pain it is or not.

If you're budget conscience and want a larger sport flyer get the gaui, if you want a fast response 3D get the Trex. The Swift 16 is also and option in this size. Also in the 500 size look at the Hirobo Lepton EX.

Keep in mind that while Trex quality is good, they are NOT considered the best manufacturer, I'd definitely put Hirobo and JR above then and possibly Kyosho as well. Align does seem to have the best marketing department though...

jerrymac

My Feedback: (2)

Since I am 50 years old I doubt that I will be trying to learn any hardcore 3D , mostly sport flying, so I just decided to order the Gaui 550 from Ka-planes since it was 20% off this weekend. If I decide someday to try 3D I can always get a Trex 500, or something else then. Thanks for the replies, and Druss, if you have any advise on setting up the Gaui, I would appreciate your suggestions. I haven't bought any electronics for it yet, so any advise would be great. My budget might prohibit me from getting all the "top of the line" electronics, but I don't want to waste my money on junk either. Something that will work decent but will also keep the wife from throwing me and my helis out the door[X(].

Thanks, Jerry..

ea01bg

I've had my Hurricane 550CF for over a year now and love it! I also have a Trex 600CF and am still getting use to it. It doesnt see as much flight time as my Hurricane. I can get 8-10 min flights out of the hurricane on cheap zippy lipos from Hobby City and charge4 at a shot with my poly4 charger. I cant get away with that on the Trex.

Druss

I think you'll be happy with the Gaui 550, it's a great heli for the price. As for advise, here is a thread for the 550 in which many of us have discussed components and upgrades.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6730139/tm.htm

For the electronics, it will depend on your budget. I prefer something around 100 oz-in and under .15 for my servos on this size heli. The Futaba 9252 are a good choice if you can afford them. If not then we'll come up with something else.

For gyro, the logictech 2100t is ok on this size for sport/scale flying. The logictech 6100t w/ 6100g servo I've seen sell for $150 used, this is a great choice and great price for the performance. The JR 7703D is another great gyro.

jerrymac

My Feedback: (2)

Well, I read all 13 pages of that thread and there was some good info in there, but also now leaves me with more questions. The 9252 servos are a little above my budget at the moment. I was kinda thinking more toward the 3152's, but several people on that thread were using the DS821 servos that come in the Dx7 tx/rx kit. I didn't think these were recommended for that size heli and was just going to use mine to replace the towerpro 90's on my BH 450. Would the 3152's or DS821's be ok to use in the 550? Also, the logitech 2100 seems reasonaby priced. How does it compare to the GY401 which is only slightly more. I can get either one in a combo kit with servo, but then comes another question[>:]. Which would be the better servo for the tail, the 9257 or the 9650. Too many choices makes this hobby too confusing for new guys like me. Thanks for all the advise and patience to try to help me out.

Druss

Either of the servos you listed will work for learning and sport flying. The GY401 and Logictech 2100t are very similar in performance. Both would work in this application. Personally, I'd use the 9650 for a tail servo over the 9257. That way you don't need to use a voltage step down.

BTW, you can't use the 821's on the BH450, the 821's are standard full size and the sg90's are micro servos.

modelmanic

@jerrymac ive been using DS821 servos in my hurri for 12mths with great success i do think it helps with the heli using push pull on the collective the tail servo i use is a 9254 with a gy401 gyro

jerrymac

My Feedback: (2)

As always, I thank you guys for the help, and of course, have some more questions. The Dx7 I got came with a 1000mah 4.8 volt rx battery and the 550 ARF came with motor , ESC and seperate BEC. What would be the best way to power the rx? Use the BEC and a 2s lipo pack, or just use the 4.8 volt NiCd battery ? I realize that a lipo would last longer , but I can get extra 4.8 NiCd's for about 6 bucks each and the charger was included. That way I could still charge them while charging a pair of 3S packs for the motor. Does all this sound right, or is there something wrong in my thinking here? And all this time I thought helis were just hard to FLY!

Druss

Personally, I don't suggest you use those 4.8v packs. I hate those packs.

First I don't like nicads, second all your electronics run at the lower 4.8v settings instead of the 6v and third you increase your chances of a brown out. Considering the problems Spektrum had with rebooting receivers, I can't even figure out why they included 4.8v nicads to begin with. Not to mention how heavy they are.

My suggestion is that you use the bec with a 7.2v lipo or at the least use 6v nimh packs. The other way is to wire the bec in parallel with the esc and power off the main packs.