Hi!

My list:
HK600GT kit, $150
5000mah 6S 25c $59
Radio & Rx $40
Motor 1100kv brushless $39
Headlock Gyro $15
Still need an ESC,BEC and servos.

At one hobby store the guy there dropped on me for wanting a clone, then goes on to say "You don't have the money to put a helicopter in the air". He said it costs $3k to "properly" put a trex 600 in the air. So I asked, why so much and hethen shows me a $300 battery and a $300 motor and a $1k Futaba radio. I may want those things in the future, but for someone like me just getting the feet wet, $500 is easier to swallow than $3k. I'd gone there intending to buy a Phoenix sim and a DX6i radio. He made me so mad I'm getting the sim elsewhere and opted for an HK radio.

I got a copy of Ray's Authritative Helicopter Manual, and have read it cover to cover. I plan to assemble it using Ray's techniques for perfect set-up. My brother suggested I stick it together as-is without loktite to be sure everything fits and there's nothing missing. I'll probably start by doing that.

Good for you..

It really annoys me when hobby shops do that...

Here is my Clone... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNrafMSx_AU

you tell me if there is anything wrong with the way it flies??

Costs as follows..

Kit - $51
Motor - $27
ESC - $14 (Ebay)
Servos - $90 (good quality metal gear Hitech HS65 MGs)
Tail Servo - $25 (hobbyking)
Gyro - $14 (Ebay)

Radio - Futaba 6EX 2.4ghz ( already had this so I just bought a $100 RX for the Heli

Batteries 2200 Mah $11 each ( I have 6) - $66 (Hobbyking)

Total cost.. Under $400...(Aussie dollars)

Even if I had to buy a new TX also, the cost would have been around $450..

A Blade 400 RTF will cost around $500 here in Australia.

My Clone flys MUCH better and is smoother and sturdier than my Blade 400...

Hi, I just built the 450 Pro clone last night.. .it all went together fairly well, the only part I found frustrating was fitting the ESC (I used a large 40 Amp Hobbywing) and routing the servo wires clear of the main gear..

Here is the entire build caught on time lapse video.. I'd be interested in your comments as to how similar your Genuine TREX was during the build...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU4w7IT-1do

Cheers

LOL. You're absolutely right. I would never upset my best friend and I would never try to make a cop angry. Most of the time, a cop gets mad when he/she has a reason to do so

It's a dream job, Rob. You flight and you earn good money. Congrats!
(Remember a lot of folks could only dream to fly like you!)

Best,
Nick

Well since they are clones the build did gopretty much the same, except Itooka lot longer to do the build. On and off after work about 2 weeks.
Im also a beginnerpilot. I cant really fly too good and dont want to risk crashing so soon. Need to invest in a good sim.

The heli flew great well hovered Tail in great. I did go into foward flight but brought it back tail in.

Its cool seeing somthing Iput together hovering real nice.

Now Ijust have to practice flying.

That guy should go out more than me LOL.
Why didn't you dare him to build a heli for under $500 that can fly just as well as any T-Rex? I will try to build something for half that price because I don't have much money

Best,
Nick

Now one more inspirator
(I did tell myself that I should work with my Axe CP and HB King 2 first...)
It seems we need to form a "build cheap and fly well" club? Is that an idea?

Hi Guys,

I've been following this thread with interest and recently bought two Trex clones from the UK on a recent visit.  What I hadn't realised was they were both different, one was a HK 450 MT SE v2 and the other a HK 450 Pro.

  It is the first time I've ever built a heli from a kit. I've always wanted to own a Bell 222 so I also bought an Align Airwolf fuselage in Blue with the intention of installing the 450 SE into it.  However, when I'd finished the HK450 SE and took it into the barn to test hover it (the weather outside was raining/windy) I found it nice and stable which you can imagine after the Blade 400 and was excited that my first build had actually flew well, sadly I stupidly managed to crash it from only a foot high due to my thumb slipping off the cyclic increasing the forward motion resulting in a minor blade strike. Feathering shaft and blades being the only damage, so I decided to just swop over the head assembly from the other clone (450 Pro) which to me looked the same. It seemed to be OK.  After repairing the SE head etc, I swopped them back over to the 450 SE again ready for another test the following day. Off to the barn again (still raining) initial hover for 2 mins OK, then I was attempting a second hover when "BANG" the metal blade grips parted the head fortunately flying out sideways and hit the wall on either side.

My question is.  Even though I had thread locked the set screws in the feathering shaft the previous day, they still did not hold. Any ideas or thoughts on this please!  Could have it been the plastic links to the balls on the grips?

Sorry to rant on a bit guys! Thanks in advance for any help greatly appreciated.

Terry

I don't think it would be theplastic links to the balls, They don't really hold the grips they only change the pitch of the blades, it has to be the little screws that hold the thrust berings in. What actually broke and what was recovered? Look and you should see where the problem came from.

Did the feathering shaft stay attached to one of the blade grips?

Did one of the little screws snap off with the end still in the feathering shaft?

Were you sure to put lock-tight in the end of the feathering shaft, if you put it only on the screwit might have wiped most of itoff when you slid the screwthrough the blade gripinto the head.

Just a thought

Thanks Nick4622 for your prompt reply,

I recovered the blade grips one complete with FS and Blade attacthed but shattered, the other with just the thrust bearing and inner/outer bearing attached...No set screw, As far as I can tell, just one alloy spacer was missing, and yes! the FS stayed attached to one of the blade grips. There was no broken set screw left in the FS, that was the puzzleling bit, I am posative that Loctite was put on the screws as I always leave it for at least a few hours before flying the heli again. I learned that from repairing the Blade 400 LOL.

But as you said, I usually only put locktite on the end of the screw about 1 mm, never in the FS end, so maybe that could have been the cause.I'll make double sure next time to put it in the FS end as well..Good tip! thanks Nick.

Regards

Terry

That may have been due to residual lubricant in the threads. I was going to run all the metal parts from my kit through an ultrsonic cleaner to degrease them.

Nice heli. I hope I can fly like that some day.
That's also a great flying area you have.

I picked up Phoenix 2.5 today It installed just fine, but I had to order an adapter for my Tx. Only JR/Spektrum Txs are supported by the included USB adapter..
So I get to wait and see what 9.98L is in real money.

Rob,

Will you plan to post the normal version? Iwas a bit dizzy after the show LOL.
Anyway, good job! Thanks!

Best,
Nick

Thanks Moontan13,

I should have remembered that, it happened to a new Pinion gear I fitted after I had lubed the motor bearing on th B400 some time back. I suppose the memory begins to fade once you get past 65. LOL. Thanks for the reminder!


Terry

Ha ha.. I tried.. but Youtube wouldn't allow the 50 Gazillion Gigabyte9 hour video...

Yeah I guess. It's regrettable. Watching a R/C heli assembly process must be informative, especially for newbies like me.
I saw a lot of "tries and adjusts" in your video. That experience will save people's a lot of time. Thanks Rob.

Best,
Nick

wow guys! Lots of good information. I may even have to start taking a look at helis!
Best regards,
Bruce

You ARE looking at them

Yes, that is why it took so long.. the V2 and the 450 GT were much faster builds... I used 30amp ESCs in those, that were quite small..

I had pre purchased a 40amp Hobbywing for the 450 Pro as it was to me my "Masterpiece" but it backfired somewhat when I started the build as the frame was so narrow the ESC would not fit.. (I finally managed to make it fit by shortening the wires). Same deal with the Futaba RX.. it wouldn't fit flat as it did easily in the other 2 helis.. I ended up having to stick it in sideways and even then it barely fit..

This was the most frustrating part of the build and I had to walk away from it a few times for 10 - 15 minutes just to come back witha fresh perspective.. (though it only looks likel was away for a second in the video...)

If I build another heli it will be another GT.. as I think it strikes thesweet spotbetween quality and ease of build...

The tail servo turned up today for the Pro.. I bought a Futaba S9257... what a great servo.. fast, smooth and accurate.

Just a tip.. the Pro has a one size mounting frame for the tail servo so you must use a Futaba S9257 or an Align DS510 or similar size servo.. the GT you can use any servo as the mounting lugs are fully adjustable..

That was also a trap for me as I had again pre purchased a Turnigy DS480 which I use in the other 2 helis and they work great..

But kudos to Hobbyking.. I ordered the Futaba Servo on Monday night and it arrived today. all the way from Hong Kong to Australia..

That was very fast I am still waiting for the tail motor of my mSR mailed somewhere from Horizon (Illinois) since last week!

Now since you have built and flown all three helis, it seems you have the responsibility to right some sort of "report" for the community

Best,
Nick

I got my HK 6 channel radio yesterday, and it was DOA. Though I bought it from HK's US warehouse, I have to return it to china and pay shipping both ways. NOT worth it. It acts like there's a shorted connection so I hope I can find it. If I can't I'll be shopping for another radio.

I don't like that. Thanks for letting us know that.

To be clear, I read and understood HK's return policy for stuff from China, and realisethat it's sometimes not worth it to return stuff. I did not expect to return a US purchase to China.

I agree. I see it as a hidden cost. If HBKing does not fix this, I am very reluctant to buy stuff from them.