no hesitation

Merry Christmas everybody! I am trying to decide between 450 or 500. If I go with the 500 what should I be aware of? I'm about to spend a bunch of money and I dont want to buy the wrong thing. I need to know which tail is more reliable as far as safety, belt/shaft? Shaft seems like the winner to me but I'm just guessing.

Magic Hook

Merry Christmas to you, and everyone.

I have the CF version, belt drive, metal tail unit. I have not experienced any static problems but I put a couple of drops of tri flow on the belt every flight and I live in Florida where there is plenty of humidity. I have a torque tube on a 600e that works well, but if I build another one I will not bother with it only because the belt works fine.

Hope this helps.

Rafael23cc

My Feedback: (6)

How often do you crash? If it is often, then you should pick the belt drive, they survive crashes a lot better than shaft drive. On shaft driven helis, if you bend the tail boom, you HAVE TO replace the shaft drive.

Will you notice the difference? Only if you have the skills of Alan Szabo or Curtis Youngblood.

Rafael

no hesitation

To avoid crashes I try getting things wired on the sim and dont fly out of my skill range. The belt still seems like the way to go but i'm guessing they have a lifespan. Do you know how often belts snap? When do you guys get a new belt? I just really dont want my heli going out of control because I fly in the front yard, local baseball diamond.

Rafael23cc

My Feedback: (6)

I have a 4 year old Raptor 50 I don't recall the actual number of flights, but if you figure about 1 to 5 flights every weekend for 4 years you can figure it out. I have only replaced the belt once, and it was due to a hard enough crash that cut the belt.

If your belt is able to survive enough time that the teeth start to wear out, or the belt starts to fray on the sides (fiber reinforcing) then it is time to replace. Depending on the frequency and severity of your crashes, most likely you will replace due to crash damage than wear.

Rafael

no hesitation

Thanks alot Rafael and Magic Hook. Between the 2 of you alot has been cleared up for me and maybe a few others. I guess when it comes to Align you really can't go wrong. I just wanted to see what kind of responses i got on this post because i saw 2 videos on utube about guys having small odd wobbles in their new 500 but maybe this is either rare or they did something wrong

RobBeach

Don't know how deep your pockets are or your skill level...
But a 450 is going to be cheaper to replace parts on... and you will
need less flying space to fly it.

I have a 450 (I am a noobie... just flying circles and figure 8's so far)...
and I just got a 500... only hovered in the backyard so far because I
have just finished tweaking it and setting it up.

Your batteries are going to be more expensive for the 500.. you may need
a 6 cell charger...

I don't know the Helimax axe cp... if it is close to the same size as a Walkera 22E
ie: 22inch main rotor... than you will be quite impressed with the size of a 450..
and a 500 may be too much.

no hesitation

You make a strong case for the 450. It's already a done deal, I went with the 500. The 450 no doubt is impressive and parts are easier on pilot economy. It was hard not to settle on the 450se at the lhs. Couldn't talk myself into it though after seeing some videos of the 500.
The axe cp taught me alot. it's twitchy, doesnt like wind and the gyro is like flying without one. That being said it's also a cheap way to learn and alot of fun. In the process of getting familiar with it, one will learn how to react when the heli goes odd on you. Between flying the Axe CP and Realflight Sim, I'm ready for the 500 I'm beyond ready and it seems like it's taking forever to get here.
I will have to be getting a new charger too. Anyone looking to purchase chargers right now should consider FMA. Just type FMA into your search engine, truly Awesome products. Ive decided to go with Outrage battery packs. Heres a great current article on getting the right pack for a 500:http://www.trextuning.com/Align-6S-2...P-2500-25C.php

RobBeach

Well while you are waiting...

It would be a good idea to go over Finless Bob's videos on the 500
http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=53304

and I would go and look at the 450 videos too...
http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=11373

I wimped out and got my 500 RTF... but obviously went back over everything double checking.
The ESC (ie BEC) was set on aircraft mode as compared to helicopter soft start mode...
and I would have been clueless trying to follow the directions for the unit without the videos.
The 450 ESC video and the 500 ESC video were a great help.

Since you are new to the larger sized heli's you might read this thread...
"Topple Over.."
http://www.helifreak.com/showthread....ghlight=topple
I was experiencing a little bit of topple over but it was just because the 500 is creating more
ground effect than the 450 because of the larger rotor blades.

And for the 500 especially this discussion on static electric build up and methods to eliminate...
http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=61205
At this time I am only spraying my belt with silicone spray and the nylon gears with Static Guard (fabric stuff from the grocery store).
But I will probably add a ground wire from the boom to the frame.

Also something that will you will notice is that the main gear has some vertical slop in it...
http://www.helifreak.com/showthread....r+loose&page=2

You will also want to be learning how to fly in Idle Up mode if you aren't doing it already.
The videos mentioned above will allow you to become familiar with your transmitter settings
for normal and idle up mode. Particularly the 450 set of videos.
And if you crash in idle up mode... REMEMBER that the helicopter isn't going to power down until
you switch to normal mode or hit the throttle hold switch.