I know, but I can't delete a post, only edit it into insignificance.

here's to the weekend!

Trex feathering spindle works great in the 450 and they are cheaper and you get 2 in a package

Well i do have to say that i now have the up-most respect for the Heli .. i was finally able to get out to a park and fly this thing .. the wind was blowing but i was able to find some tress that helped block 90% of the wind and for the other 10% coming back at me .. not bad . alot of Thrust and power this thing produces .. did some 360's / nose in and some side to side sliding both R/L .. flew around some power poles (never had a glitch about 70' away) i did run into a little issue when i got up to high and the Heli started to "ride" the wind .. was almost @ 1/4 stick and the damn thing keep rising up .. floated around for 30+ seconds and the control was very weak.. once it was back down to a safe height the heli came back to control .. that gets the heart racing .. i believe its a great Heli .. the weight is good .. i did bring my AXECP but it was just to windy for that to even fly ..

Ha, awesome, sammy64. I was flying mine in some honking winds a couple of weeks ago, and it was a LOT of fun . I have about 4 deg negative pitch in the collective to keep it down in the wind, or it would have been even more exciting.

Couple of other things of general note while I'm here:

Rollingball showed the align motor heat sink on his motor, and mine was getting a little toasty so I got one and put it on. It keeps the motor quite a bit cooler, and I like it. I have mine facing back into the cavity in the frame where there should be good airflow, and so it doesn't keep me from threading the battery leads back past the motor.

Tex-- got a couple of the GPMP0613 batteries, and they give the MX quite a boost in maneuverability over the 2100, more than I would have thought from the 50g diff in weight. It remains to be seen what the difference in flight times will be (I get about 9 minutes from the 2100 taking it easy) but so far, pretty good.

Last thing I've been messing with, only interesting if you're using Castle ESCs, is the CastleLink software and USB interface. It's around $22, and I wish I'd gotten it a long time ago. To start with, it gets you away from the $#@#@!! stick flipping to program the ESC. That was the one thing I don't like about ESCs period, and with the CL, you plug in the receiver lead from the ESC to a computer and then use the Castle software to pick all the settings in a Windows program (I don't think they have Mac software). Click update and all the settings are sent to the ESC. You can even save different sets of settings on your computer to switch between them easily, and the program will update the firmware in the ESC (the onboard software that runs it) as new versions come out; this was really nice for me because I hadn't gotten governor mode working on the 450, but with a firmware update it works now, and the 450 is flying a lot better (governor rocks!). If you're using the Phoenix and have a computer, get the CastleLink.

What is the website link so I can program my future Phoenix the easy way.

Ha, would have been smart to put that here, but you're dealing with me instead . Here you go: http://www.castlecreations.com/downloads.html. Tower has it for $21.99 here: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXGVR8&P=ML

[edit] meant to say that I didn't think to include a link, not that you should have put a link up. I just realized that could be taken either way. oops. [/edit]

This is great because I was flipping through the manual and MY GOD there are a lot of programming let alone all of the beeping to listen too and stick flipping. too get what one wants out of the ESC.

Another thing. I had no idea that and esc could be programmed via computer until today so with that said on the WL it goes along with esc and batts.

Yep. I didn't get the governor working mainly because I couldn't motivate myself to go through the whole process more times in order to sort it out! I like this a lot better.

I think the Align ESC is easy to program, only five steps and very easy to program modes.

I agree, I also like the CC link. I have a 5700kv and 7700kv system I use in my cars and being able to quickly program the esc is brilliant.(Link and software is included)

Osterizer, I have both the 1500Mah and 2100Mah packs and the 1500 makes the 450 tail heavy. I can get 12 minutes easy flying on the 2100 with an 11T gear/3550kv set up. I messed around with the radio settings and it's quite resposive now. I have a feeling I had my initial pitch set up wrong trying to chase the tracking issue.

Ja, I had to trim it forward a bit to make up for the weight loss with the 1500s, then back when I used the 2100s. It didn't seem excessive.

I was flying it, ahem, aggressively today so I was only getting about seven minutes per battery, but hovering and simple FF I only get about nine or ten-- I've never seen 12 mins on the MX. I'd guess that your Align motor is more efficient than the GPMM one? Both battery sizes were giving about the same flight time, but it seems more lively with less weight.

With either one, the governor makes it a lot more predictable. Even with a flat curve I've never been able to reliably take off smoothly, straight up. With the ESC governor on, I can consistently just lift it gently off the ground with no sliding. It could be I'm just getting better at it, but.... Takeoff is almost "stately" now and it's easier to fly smoothly, too. It's slow and deliberate if you fly it that way, but it still moves out when you don't. Nice.

Experiential note, the CC starts flashing the LED as it approaches cutoff. I kept going a bit too long after I saw that, and even though I have it set for soft cutoff, as I was approaching landing the ESC just cut the motor completely. I can chalk up my first auto in real life (though it's being generous since it was only from a few feet off the ground), but it surprised the heck out of me to have it cut out like that.

Whatever-- all's well that ends without needing repairs. My tails have a lot more grass stains on them, and I also learned that the MAH blades not only fly well, but they are great at slicing through dead bushes (with no leaves, I couldn't see them at a distance. The MX sliced cleanly through 1/4" of wood, and I mean cleanly-- sobering). Note to self: be even more diligent keeping heli away from body when spooled up or flying! The blades were undamaged-- wow.

Had a great flying day today, if you couldn't tell , and except for using it as a pruning shear, I still haven't hit hard with the MX. The crash, when it comes, is probably going to be impressive!

Ha, cutting bushes huh?

I got two packs in this morning and it really zips in FF. I really enjoy that, I am not much for 3D, but I do plan to do some inverted flight.

Ya, I just trim fore and aft when I flip packs, I rarely use the 1500 as I have two 2100s. I use the Align ESC and Align 430L...maybe more efficient, but I cannot prove that.

What I like about the Align ESC is the cut-off modes. There are three modes, I leave mine on the highest one to have more reserve power. Once it begins cut-off mode it goes into a cyclic throttle setting. Basically speeds up and slows down in fast repetitions allowing you to still fly it with control to land.

Hehe, just practicing for the inverted grass cutting .

I think we're proving the diff in efficiency. We're using the same blades, same drivetrain, and you're getting 30% longer flight times. What's left to prove? Whatever, yes, I'm really appreciating the MX-- it's very soft and docile sitting around in a hover, but #$!, tilt it forward and give it some up... I have zero TRex envy.

I like the bouncing cutoff, but I'm sticking with the Castle .

No doubt CC ESCs are quite good.

No Trex envy here either[8D]

Well...she's back in one piece. Still having issues with the slop in the swash...but the tail is AWESOME!!! The best example of quality I've ever seen! I should have bought the Align Carbons....instead I dump $50 in the Helimax set. Yeah...I needed the spindle too....but I had to buy it with a spare hub. The stability much improved and I hate the canope....should have stayed with plastic. I rattles and chips like a son of a gun. Anyway....hope ya'll are have a better week than me....two nicest days here in Jersey and I have to work Later...Chris

Two small o-rings on the canopy holders solves this issue. I would much rather have the Fiberglass canopy than the plastic one.

Hello all, it's nice to say I've joined the MX450 family. I bought one a week ago, took me a week to get the DX7 and the Heli all put together, and flew it for the first time yesterday. It flew amazing, a little trim adjustment, and she picks right off the ground and stays there stable. I used to have a blade pro, but this flys much nicer. I did change one thing on the build, i went with the tail mount servo, since the arm that came with the kit was too short. I've been reading nothing but good things about Trexes and I was worried about the MX not performing as well, but man I'm glad i went with this heli. The tail is a little sticky, so I might change that later down the road, but for now, its works good for my flying capabilities....

Good for you, chubs_m. Hope you enjoy it!

A lot of folks here (including me) have put a bit of TLC into the tail. It doesn't seem to come out of the box just right.

I have an update on the sticky tail pitch slide. I applied a small amount of Tamiya AW grease and it slides very smoothly.

AW is basically Anti-Wear grease and it is very sticky so it will not fling off. Also a very small amount is required so it will not atract dirt.

I use this on all my high rpm applications.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXWB00&P=7

Hey, welcome to the MX450 family. It's a great heli as you have already found out. It only gets better!!

Anyone else getting vibration from the horizontal fin.. about 3/4 throttle that thing has a lot of flex .. about a 1/4" to a 1/2" ... push it to full throttle ( about 98% ) and it goes away... bring it below 1/2 throttle and its gone also ...

No, not seeing that problem. Tails maybe out of balance?

Crashed the 450 hard doing some inverted. No one to blame but me unfortunately. Some how I spun the tail around and lost my direction and nose planted it. The frame is fine as are the electronics, but teh fiberglass body is toast.

Oh, BTW Osterizer, the feathering spindle is toast this time too...LOL

All in all it was a good day, just need a few....well, a lot of replacement parts.

I would agree that your tail is out of balance or your blades are too tight in the grips(tail).

should the blades be lose in the grips as to fall when sitting ?? or should they hold there place