I am a begginer teaching myself to fly helicopters. Ive been looking into the T-rex 450 and have come across the T-rex 600. I was just wondering if the larger size of the 600 would be easier for a begginer? But if I go for the 450 should I go for the 450XL HDE(mechanical mixing), 450XL CDE(ccpm mixing) or the 450SE?

Ok the 600 if your just learning wont be impossible but it will be like most other 50 size nitro birds. It will be more stable than any of the others but the initial cost, is what is keeping me from it. about $2000.00 complete without a transmitter. I would suggest this if you have some time on a rex already not as a first heli. As far as the 450's go i would go with the HDE if its your first. or if you know someone who can setup ccpm go with the CDE. The SE is for a more advanced flyer. its more zippy and anglee twords aerobatics. I personally have a 450xl CDE and love it. if you go with this you'll need these two videos. they are from Fineless on helifreak(thanks bob) and he will show you exactly how to setup a CCPM heli. also you should check out his build videos of the HDE version. But if its your first heli stick with either the HDE or CDE 450xl's. check out www.helifreak.com and go to Finless Bob's Helifreak Tech Room. its the second subcatergory down. in there you will find everything you need to know about setting up a heli.


CCPM part 1 - http://video.helifreak.com/tmp/60dbb...?downloadmedia
CCPM part 2 - http://video.helifreak.com/tmp/9dc5d...?downloadmedia

I started with a Blade CP and making the jump to a rex was effortless. I would suggest mainly starting with this because its cheap and RTF out of the box. A rex RTF is around 600.00 w/o the transmitter while the blade is 200.00 w/transmitter. so this is a logical starting point.

but its up to you where you want to start.

I would recommend the T-rex 450 SE
It has metal parts, a simple servo setup, and will satisfy you through every stage of flight. I dunno what the big deal is about setting up eCCPM, I did it and I'm a noob, you just gotta tell the tx which swash plate and poof it's happy.
A 600 I think would be a bad idea for a beginner. The phrase "the bigger they are the harder they fall" will quickly come into play. The crashes my poor Trex CDE has gone through would've completely destroyed a larger heli, and time at the bench doing repairs isn't what you want!!! You can see the result of my most recent on my trex pic post ^^;.
And by zeh way, when you buy, I recommend Helihobby.com. They've got good heli/electronics combos at good prices. It's where I got my Rex from :]

HDE or CDE.............The SE is a waste of money for beginners !! LHS's love to push
SE's on unsuspecting newbies, convincing them that the metal parts make it more
" precise " and hence easier to fly.

Plastic is the way to go even for intermediate pilots. When the bird hits the deck, I
WANT the part to break. The last thing I want is hidden damage on a metal part, that
fails midflight the next time I take it up.

Plastic ROCKS !!! [8D]

I know i did it too then found finless's videos so it not hard but its nice to have some peace of mind that you did it right. and the only problem with the SE for a begginer is the price. notice how he said it was his first heli. i dont think he wants to spend upwards of 1000.00 to start.

this is another good point why not to get a T-REX SE. if you put it into the dirt(and since your a begginer you probably will) the metal might not break but it will stress majorly and could break in midflight. i've seen it happen.

this is somewhat true. here is a video of a 600 crash from a bad RX and a lockout. http://video.helifreak.com/tmp/ca7d4...?downloadmedia
he goes in sideway and almost nothing breaks. I doubt that a begginer that is hovering will put it in harder than that. and im sure crashing from a hover will probably do less damage. maybe just blades. but agian like the SE price is a big factor. but replacement parts for the 600 arent that much more than an SE or XL.


Actually im gonna correct what i said before about getting a 600.

If you have the money to do it right, get it. and get some tranning gear you will thank them later. but a good setup will set you back about 1800 - 2200. this isnt that bad considering other 50 size bird, mainly nitros. the fuel will eventually push the cost over that of the 600.

Not fair on that video, I had a WAY nicer crash and it stripped ALL my swashplate servo gears []

yeah i was supprised too on how little damage their was. this would be a heli i would like to learn on seeing how tough it is.

OK now the reason for this post. I did the math and heres a price and list of what i came up with. now this is the best setup i could find and have heard very good things about this combo. This also includes a TX. now this is IMO the ulitmate setup.

great now all need is 2376.52 more and im there[:'(][]

ok here we go:
-T-REX 600 Kit+600L+75G ESC+3A BEC - 619.95
-JR9303 Air R770 & No Servos - 499.95
-Futaba GY401 & S9254 Digital Servo Combo - 219.95
-3x HS-6975 Coreless Digital servos - 254.97
-Align 6S2P Li-Polymer Battery 22.2V 4200mAh 16C - 229.95
-2x VBLADES 600mm (Silver Flash) - 229.90
-Thunder Power 1010 Charger - 179.95
-Thunder Power Balancer TP-210 - 99.95

= $2376.52 [X(]

Thanks for the advice. Im going to go for the 450XL HDE. I live in the UK so cant buy from helihobby but we have some good dedicated heli model shops here. Ive found a good package on [link]http://www.modelhelicopters.co.uk[/link]

Now imagine if we heli nuts decided to save our money, we've got half a used car right there in a new heli!!! We'd all be rich if we weren't in this hobby!
Higgy 1541, goodluck, have fun, and hope to see another post of yours soon

This hobby is cheaper than other hobbies I'm into. I've spent over $18,000 on telescopes in the last 5 years. Although, I don't throw them into the ground and smash them into pieces, just so that I can spend more bucks on them fixing them back up again Us helinuts are a strange bunch......

Doug

actually you should try it sometime its a good stress reliever. jk. hey with that kinda money into telescopes what can you see?
and yesss Us helinuts are a strange breed. we put hundred or thousand of dollars into our helis then watch them become lawn mowers or lawn darts. the problem with this hobby is that its so addicting. if you like flight even just a little, once you see that heli lift off or those landing gear lift off the runway, your hooked. all you want to do is get better. these companies have a good business going. people spend 1000 on a helicopter then go back to them and spend 1000 more upgrading it.[X(][X(][X(]ITS A NEVER ENDING CYCLE[X(][X(][X(]

Actually you can see a lot with even a $1,000 telescope. But I spent a lot of money on cameras, a backyard observatory, and other accessories. You can check it out at www.dougsuniverse.net.

But to help with the original post on this thread...... I think Higgy is making a good choice. I started with a Blade CP and after mastering the fine art of crashing, I decided to go with the 450 SE. While it is a great flying heli, for the beginner, I think it would be a little too much. I've got about 70 flights with one minor crash on it. But if it was my first heli, I am sure I would have stuffed it into the ground constantly. It's a pretty responsive heli and the littlest stick movements translate into large movements of the heli.

Doug

yeah your right it is a good choice to go with the HDE version for two reasons. one its easy to setup and repair is cheap. two the SE is way more expensive, plus the all metal head like you said makes response very touchy which is not good for a begginer. if its your first heli i would suggest getting the ccpm version as the highest. not the SA or SE.

Say, eventually I wanted to get an SE.
But do you think I could just buy the frame and tranfer electronics and head stuff and tail boom etc? The CDE's not so direct servo to swash linking is killing me and it requires me to shred the canopy!

yes many places sell se frames and conversion frames for the XL to the SE. and you'll have to transfer the electronics, get the all metal head, and tail. pretty much that is it.

yeah this is the drawback to the XL CDE. the canopy dosent last to the first flight,

I am going to buy a T-rex 450 XL eCCPM, and I am wondering which motor to go with the Align 430L 3500KV or the Align 430L 3100KV.

hi everyone,
i'm a 14 yo blade cp owner . no aerobatics (maybe a stall turn?) and no inverted, but can do everything else including nose in hover and fff. i saw this deal at my lhs, everything's used, but it's really a steal.

it's a trex se with motor/esc
upgraded all metal tail system
spectrum dx6 with reciever,
3xhitec 56 servos,
futaba gy 240,
futaba tail servo 9650,
all for 450 CND!!!

wat i'm conserning right now is the cost of the repairs if i dumb thumbed it into the dirt, as u figure i dun have tonnes of $$$$ left if i actually ditched out 500+ (battery). i also have a blade cp that i need repair once in a while. i also have 2 tamiya cars, tt-01 adn tl-01. my 150ish monthly pay for delivering the newspapers might not be enough. so should i get this deal adn if so wat should i do afterwards?? fly the bcp until my skills surpass it's ability before i actually touch the se?

also, how much more resonsive is a se over a blade?

What does the governor in the ESC do?

it keeps your rpm constant.
ex.
if you increase collective only (without adding power), your rpm will more likely decrease because of the increase drag. a governer will add power to keep the rpm constant with teh higher angle of attack.

correct me if im rong

That price isn't totally accurate. You can get a T-rex 600 in the air for less than $1500. Your setup above uses alot of higher end things, such as the JR9303 and V-blades. While definately nice things to have, they are definately not absolutely nescesary. A 7 channel TX is more than adequate. I would definately NOT suggest v-blades for a beginner, expensive and would be a shame to destroy them from a newbie crash. You can get by just fine with simple helimax carbons or wood blades solong as you don't run insane headspeeds. Servos are also alot more than is nescesary. I'm using Hitec digitals and i've only got about $150 CAD in servos. (~$50 each). Also, i've seen the full 600CF kit sell for quite a bit lower than $620.

You can further save money by using your existing 3 cell chargers/balancers and simply use 2x 3S batteries connected in series rather than one 6S battery. I fly 2 3S1P 4400 mAh Electric Power batteries on my t-rex 600 and performance so far is excellent, and the batteries aren't even broken in yet . I also have the added bonus of being able to use the batteries in other models.

Your setup above would definately make a nice flying machine assuming you've got the money and the skill. But it is less than ideal for a newbie, I think. Granted, the T-rex 600 really isn't geared towards newbies either, but it would still be easier to learn on than a T-rex 450 would, or any small heli, for that matter.


Just gotta get over the intimidation factor .

Does anybody have a t-rex 450 Xl eCCPM V3? If you do what advantages are there to buying the V3 over the V2?

Hi guys!

I am still gathering parts for a T-rex 450 Xl eCCPM, and I am wondering what you guys think of my set up.
1. I have the new Align 430L 3500KV.
2. The align 35A speed controler.
3. Hitec HS-65 (3) swash
4. A 9650 Futaba for the tail.
5. The GY 401 gyro.

I haven't decided on the receiver, but I want to go with the hitec pcm receiver or the Electron 6 receiver.

hi every1,

i want to ask, what really is the performance difference between the SE and XL eccpm? will i be able to notice it or will only the extreme 3d flyers notice it? should i start out with the xl and then upgrade to the metal head when i need to... or should i start with the SE? and what tx will do the job for the t rex and the other heli's i'll have in the future? remeber, i'm only 14 and dont have a hell lot of $$$$, so i'd say anything below 500 cad.

thx