Is this a dumb idea??
 

Ok guys so I'm getting tired of breaking my wee little Honey Bee King and having to wait for parts since no local hobby shops carry parts. I'm getting ready to make the jump into a T-rex. I can get a 450X for $140 or a 450XL for $160 barebones kits. I was doing some looking and it looks like I could possibly take all 8gram servos, 3100kv brushless motor, 1500mAh batteries, 25A speed controller, gyro and reciever from my Honey Bee King II and put them in one of the T-rex kits. I know I would be underpowered but would it work at all for even a couple months before I could upgrade parts? I'm only flying circuts.....no 3D yet so I'm not pushing any of the components.

O and should I even bother with the 450X? and is $140 and $160 a good deal for the kits?

Thanks,
-n00b

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

It would work. One of the guys here has a HBK and put an Align 430L 3550Kv in it and it was still docile.

You learn on that set up, but once you get past you basic flight expect to upgrade all of it.

You might want to think about the SA for $199, it's a great heli and you can upgrade as you gain experience.

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

I agree with Tex here on the SA kit.

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

Ok. Thanks for th info guys! Is the SA a slightly smaller heli than the 450's? I tried to cross check some weight spec's and it looks a little bit lighter. That would go better with my smaller components.

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

Its lighter because its mostly plastic as the 450 Se v2 has lots of alluminium

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

I do not think you are going to be happy using all of those components on a T-Rex.

I do not know which brand of servos you are using. Do you have more information that 8 gram? Most people agree that for the T-Rex 450, you want a very good cyclic servo. Hitec HS65 (or HS56) is the norm.

I believe that the SA comes with a motor and ESC. It is pretty well matched to the requirements of the T-Rex, so you would be well off to use them.

I do not know anyone using a 3s 1500mAh battery for their T-Rex. 2000-2100mAh is the norm.

What gyro do you have? A decent head hold gyro is a huge plus. Futaba GY401 is the norm.

The 450X and XL are older models that have had missed out on many improvements tht went in to the newer kits. SA or SE would be a better choice.

Vince

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

If cost is an issue and you don't care about doing hardcore 3d then the parts you have will help to feed your itch to fly a rex. I've got a cheap-rex (SA w/ hs-55 servos and mediocre align gyro) that I keep around as a spare copter and building an Airwolf body for it. For just simple flying around it's still pretty good. But I can promise that you're going to want to upgrade as soon as your skills progress. I haven't tied a battery as small as yours in it, so watch the cg since it may make it tail heavy.

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

i have both the 450 sa and the hbk2 the sa for 199. does not come with esc or motor but from horizon hobby you can get the sa with esc and motor for 269.00 as far as the servos and gyro the servos are kinda weak on torque for the cyclic and tail for the 450(heck i even thought they were weak for the hbk2)and the gyro is very unstable in a bigger bird and is tail lock only. i also agree with vince about the batteries you want at least 2000 and a 15-25c rating.also if your thinking of using the stock esky trans and rec i would think again they will work but very iffy on smooth and constant control.if cost is an issue fly the hbk2 while checking on ebay if you wait you can usually get parts at a good deal.i picked up the sa with esc and motor for 170 and got the rest at some good prices.i really like the 450 much more stable than my hbk as for the copter x i think the hdx 450 would be a better deal,maybe mike from us hobby supply can give you some prices he's got killer deals oly

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

:D That's where I am getting mine, Michael from www.ushobbysupply.com has some great deals on the HDX450!

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

Get the SA, or if you want to do some "put together", get the S. All Align 450's are the same size except for the earlier XL which had a short boom I believe. The S kit is $229 from about anywhere and comes with the motor and ESC. Can't go wrong there. DO NOT put that junk from the HBK2 in the 450! You will be seriously sorry later, I promise! Go with the standard, Hitec HS 65's, LGT 2100 gyro and a Futaba digital tail servo. That's it. ;) Dave

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

actually just one correction, the xl was the long boom but i agree that you don't want to put the kings electronics onto a trex 450. i suggest that if cost is a factor just keep flying the king2 and buy the parts as you can afford them. make sure to get at least the 450S as the X and XL use a different swash from the S (A or CF), SE and SE V2.

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

So if I get the S kit, the motor and esc wont have to be upgraded for my future needs of 3d? I am thinking of the S kit because I want to put it together myself. Would a futaba gy401, Spektrum 6, with the HS 65 all the way around work fine? I can use the receiver that comes with the Spektrum TX right? Is this all I need other than batteries?

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

Also while researching the GY401 I see it comes with a servo, it this servo used for the tail? is it good? will it fit in the T-rex? I am going to leave this to show my Stupidity, I asked the question too soon, as I read on it says..."for the T-rex 450" lol...

RE: Is this a dumb idea??
 

it depends on which servo it comes with, the S9650 is the futaba servo that most ppl use but I hear the 3400g is also a great one (faster time on 60 deg). The S kit is fine if you're looking to build yourself but it will cost more to upgrade compared to just getting the SE V2 right off the bat.

I don't know that you want to use the spektrum dx6 though, it's strictly for park flyers and doesn't use DSM2 like the DX7 does. you might want to look at the DX7 or DX6i and yes the receiver it comes with it fine. I think the S verson comes with the 430L 3550kv motor unlike the SE V2 which comes with the 430XL 3700kv motor.

if you're really interested in figuring out how everything works you could just get the SE V2 kit and take it all apart to see where everything goes, the manual it comes with shows how to build it from scratch if you need to.

make sure you watch the finless videos on helifreak showing how to build and configure the heli, even has one on setting up the DX7.