Hey all,

I currently have a Blade 400 and I think it's great. However, I know that Align is supposed to be the better heli.

At my lhs, I saw the T-rex 450SA ARF for $200.00 I thought that was a pretty good deal
as I only have to add the servos and receiver.

I was thinking I could use my servos and receiver from my Blade400. Would that be a direct fit? Would I have to buy new
servo linkages, etc? I was hoping it would be a simple transfer and that I wouldn't have to modify the airframe in any way.

Do you guys even recommend the 450SA? I believe
it is being phased out. I'm somewhat concerned about parts availability.

Thank you
Damon

My first 450 was an SA. Bought it about 2 years ago. I have completely upgraded it to an SE V2. The SA is a great heli. It is exactly the same as an SE but with aluminum frames and some plastic head parts and a plastic tail case. All the parts from an SE fit the SA. Be aware that the SE V2 head block and main blade grips won't fit the SA unless you upgrade to the head block and grips at the same time. In other words, the V2 grips will only work with the V2 head block. This is because the V2 uses a 4mm feathering shaft and the SA and SE use a 3mm shaft. I don't know that much about the servos on the Blade 400 but I would think they would fit. Receiver should work also. How about a gyro? The SA doesn't come with one so you may have to use the one off the Blade. I have heard guys say the stock servos on the Blade aren't that good so be aware, if you put them in the SA it may not fly up to it's full potential. If I were to do it all over again and I had the money up front, I would have gone with the V2 in the first place because it costs considerably more to upgrade than it does to buy the V2 kit in the first place. Now that the 450 Pro is out, that's the heli I would buy today if I was looking for a 450 size heli. Alan

Thanks Alan,

Yeah, the stock servos on the Blade 400 strip easy. I was trying to save money by just transferring everything (including the gyro) over to the SA

Yea, I understand, but you really do need metal gear servos on any heli with CCPM mixing or you'll be replacing the gears all the time. I personally use JR ds285's with metal gear upgrade on my V2 and Hitec HS65mg's on my SE night rig. I bought one of the SA clones from Hobby City for $39 bucks that I'm going to put into an Align scale fusalage. I'm going to use Hitec HS65's with the Karbonite gears to save a little money because I'm not going to be doing any extreme flying with it and don't really expect to crash it. I think you can get the HS 65mg's for about $35 bucks each. Alan

Actually, I'm getting the EXI 450 Aluminum v2 which is a clone of trex 450se v2.

Everyone that has an EXI says it's great...

Here's hoping all my components transfer over...my main concern is the motor shaft and pinion length..

You shouldn't have any problems with the length of the motor output shaft as I think they are all standard, but the pinion for the Blade may not be the same tooth pitch as the EXI main gear. I think the EXI will probably have the same pitch as the Align T-Rex which is module .5. The Blade may or may not have the same pitch. Pinion length should be standard as well but I don't know what the shaft diameter is on the Blade motor, but it's probably 3.17mm. Just make sure if you need a different pinion it fits the motor shaft and has the proper pitch. Tooth count on the pinion should be 11 to 13 tooth. Alan

exi or copter x.... great helis for the price and all metal around which make them super, if you are planning to be the next champion of the world maybe you need something else, but i think you just want to enjoy this hobby.

Well, the blade 400 has only a 10 tooth pinion.

I purchased a 3.17mm 12 tooth pinion (Align) but the inner diameter if the pinion is too large for the blade 400 motor's shaft....

I'm also concerned about the motor mount screws that come with the EXI. The motor mount screws for the Blade 400 are Socket Head Button Screws M3x8mm. I'm not sure if the EXI motor mount screws are the same, I guess It doesn't matter as I could always dremel the motor mount on the EXI...

What motor comes with the Blade? Is it a E-Flight 420? If so, it has a 2.3mm shaft. I checked and the Blade uses a .5 module pitch pinion so you can order an 11 tooth for the Blade 400 from ReadyHeli and it will work with the EXI. If you want a 12 or 13 tooth you'll have to look around a little. Alan

you can check also flasher 450 ( it's a clone), or check the tarot 450 also a clone and it's a v2 set up, tarot is only $80 I believe.

Just a heads up, the motor from the Blade 400 doesn't work because the shaft isn't long enough.

I went ahead and got the Trex 450 SA...nice.


Getting my EXI today...it will be interesting to compare the rex to the exi

Hey Damon, if you need help in setting up your heli's let me know. I live in Orlando.

I also have the EXI 450, and just so happened to order another one on Saturday. You're going to be pleasantly surprise. It flys just as good as my trex 450 sa. the tail is weak the spot. and the horizontal and vertical fins really suck. but other than that its an awesome 450 for the money.


i also got the red lightning canopy to match with my trex500.

noob,

Cool, a local flyer.

Where do you usually fly? I could probably use some setup help with my rex...seems like the tracking is slightly off despite adjustments, could be the blades themselves...

I usually fly at the park over at Turkey Lake in Orlando.   If you have a nice field somewhere in your area i'm willing to drive over and help you setup your heli.  I'll bring my birds along for the new scenery.   there's a large field i also go to in Apopka.  The owner gave me permission to fly there anytime I want.   







what radio are you using?

There is a field less than a min away from my place that I sometimes fly...

I'm using a DX6i....I'd like to see the 500 fly

blades not tracking? sometimes if i swap my blades on the grips it tracks.

bad dampers, loose ball links, bent head block, bent mixing arm screws, bad bearings...just some of the things to check.and of course the usual suspect like the feathering shaft and the main shaft.

i measure my linkages with a digital caliper so i can get the them as close as possible.


Cool. i have the dx6i also.

Yeah,

well the rex is brand new, so it shouldn't be a shaft issue, somethings up because i messed with both the mixing arm and blade grip links...

you've got mail...

I would take the linkages off and measure them to exact lengths. usually when they're exact lengths tracking takes only one turn on one of the linkages.

i just found out that two ofmy video is on helihobby.com http://www.helihobby.com/html/rc_hel...rs_videos.html cool. my trex500 and gazaur poseidon are celebs. lol


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTyHA...e=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6Mz9...e=channel_page