A beginner's point of view

[chopperdudes]

here's the thing though guys, when your starting out, do you want to shell out 1000 bux for the SE? you wouldn't know what radio to get, servos, gyros etc unless you really do extensive research on the net. adn not alot of noobs do that. and you still don't know if you'll be in this hobby. yes, i agree, now, when you learn to fly the blade and have a trex, you'd say you'd get the trex if you were to start again, but remember how you thought when you first came into this hobby. another thing is that you will NOT know how to tune and adjust the links on teh heli before you got some prior knowledge, ie, with the blade as the rex is mroe complicated.


I disagree on everything being cheaper.

Main shaft and main gear have to be replaced as a single part - $5.99

Trex main shaft 3 for $7.95 or $2.65 each. Main gear 3 for $8.95 (new oe) or $2.83 each

Spindle/feathering shaft Blade - $4.99 Trex4 for $4.95 or $1.24 each.

Tail blades: Blade $2.99 Trex 2 sets for $4.95 or $2.43 per set, but they are individual

etc, etc.

I find that my Trex costs less pre crash than my Blade.

yes, but you also have to take into consideration the higher headspeed of the rex, which will do more damage than the tiny 370 on the blade. with the blade, some minor blade strikes for a noob will not cost them a set of new blades, not the same with the rex.

yes, in a SE, i doubt the metal will break, on crashes by a noob. but if on xl, it'll cost you mroe than the blade.

i have a blade myself and will get a trex SE soon. i can now almost invert hover my blade for real, i don't have a sim, and did start out with the blade. i got it last july, when i was 14, and learnt to hover it within 3 days and nothing was broken until i did fff. i know i still have a long way to go before outskilling the blade's capablities also. the rex i know will be a walk in the park, but would i've started otherwise? no, i dun think so. you can always get the equipment you need for you next heli on the blade first, i now have a futaba 7chp for my blade and am loving it, it was so well tuned taht it'llhover hands off for maybe 5 sec. and i don't use expo. i can land on a 30cm x 20cm pad, and nose down funnels.

so is the rex a good heli? no question about it. will it make a good first heli? depends on you, as bak in the days ppl started with 50 size nitro. will the blade be a bad first heli? no, if ur patient, you'll do just fine.

[triniheli]

hey octotus post that pic please

[Pinecone]

Actually a 30 or 50 nitro heli is still a good way to start. As is a larger electric heli than a Trex.

The Trex is just the middle ground between something like the Blade and what you really should get.

Yes, it takes more research to do one, but you get a lot more for taking that time.

Can you learn on a Blade, sure you can, but you would have learned faster on a Trex.

And yes, you can teach someonr to drive using a Formula 1 car, but it will not be the best way to do it.

[Jermo]

Actually a 30 or 50 nitro heli is still a good way to start. As is a larger electric heli than a Trex.

The Trex is just the middle ground between something like the Blade and what you really should get.

Yes, it takes more research to do one, but you get a lot more for taking that time.

Can you learn on a Blade, sure you can, but you would have learned faster on a Trex.

And yes, you can teach someonr to drive using a Formula 1 car, but it will not be the best way to do it.

:) some of us don't have the ability to use/store heli fuel or motors..etc that can leak in the house. Electrics work well for that.

Comparing the Blade CP/CPP to a T-Rex 450SE is not accurate at all. If you want to do a real price comparison then bling out the CP/CPP FIRST, then compare them. Compare repair parts..etc. You can probably get into the T-Rex 450SA with radio..etc for around $700-800 using all NEW and you end up with a radio you can use indefinately. With the CP/CPP you have to upgrade all the parts to AL and end up with a radio that's trash once you stop using the CP/CPP. Just my opinions.

If you want to just play with heli's Radio Shack has some 2-3 channel heli toys for under $100.
Jermo

[octotus]

hi triniheli,

this is the pic that i was talking abt.
the HB-v4 vs T-Rex 450SA.

btw, though the size doesnt seem very different in the pic, the Trex is way far more powerful than the HB.

if I were to buy a bird like CP or HB - i would not even think abt blinging it, coz at the end of the day, it is still a small heli with its own inherent troubles. just my opinion. However, i would have to accept that in a fully equipped T-Rex (GY401, S9650, HS65MG, metal parts + a 7CHP or DX7) the learning curve will be much much faster.

k

[triniheli]

Thanks for the photo Octotus :D .

[triniheli]

i think the HB and the CPP are about the same size. Is the 450SA and the 450SE the same size?

[ClayK]

I don't understand what the big deal is in storing them.... I plug the exhaust port with a paper towel and rest the model on a mat. I clean them by spraying them down with pressurized 70% alcohol. I don't have a drop of nitro in the house. It doesn't even leak out of the exhaust deflector. :dontknow

[kgfly]

i think the HB and the CPP are about the same size. Is the 450SA and the 450SE the same size? Yes. 450XL(HDE)/450XL(CDE)/450S/450SA/450SE are all the same size. The older 450X has a shorter tail boom.

[Jermo]

I don't understand what the big deal is in storing them.... I plug the exhaust port with a paper towel and rest the model on a mat. I clean them by spraying them down with pressurized 70% alcohol. I don't have a drop of nitro in the house. It doesn't even leak out of the exhaust deflector. :dontknow

I flew planks and was very clean with my stuff. Wife threw a fit..somehow her super human sense of smell is not accepting anything that uses liquid fuel in the house and I don't see putting $300++ dollar rc gear in the shed.

Jermo

[Pinecone]

Actually the best cleaner I had when I was flying nitro planks was a homemade mixture. I know it had a bit of ammonia, maybe some dish soap, and maybe a bit of alcohol. Cleaneed squeakly clean very easily.

Wish I knew where the recipe was.

[triniheli]

kgfly...

your pic under your name (avatar something), is that a 450? If it is, where'd you get the awesome canopy?

[kgfly]

Thank you triniheli, glad you like it :) Yes it is a 450SE with custom landing gear for tall grass (I've changed to gorilla gear these days) and the canopy is the stock plastic TRex canopy which I painted my self using Tamiya spray cans (the kind normally used for R/C lexan car bodies coz it's flexible).

[triniheli]

kgfly...

i really like it. I thought the landing gear looked higher. post up some pics of your 450 will you. I'm getting mine next week.

[kgfly]

triniheli - I am flattered :) I posted some more pics in my gallery (see the link at the bottom of this post.

Sadly, that canopy has now been crashed 3 times and although still (just barely) usable, is held together with packing tape and not so pretty as it used to be. I also made myself a super tough training canopy from a soda bottle. It's ugly but amazing tough (~12 crashes and run over once, still going strong) and highly visible.

[ClayK]

It's ugly but amazing tough (~12 crashes and run over once, still going strong) and highly visible.

I know I've been frustrated with my models sometimes but I've never run them over... :shock: :twisted: :lol:

[kgfly]

:lolol

[skunkworx]

As to Jermo's statement, 2-3 hannel helis are the biggest waste of time and money I've found yet! although the price tag is really tempting, you'll end up wishing that you bough at least a 4ch fixed pitch heli. I started out with the same probs. as the the rest of us, I wanna fly now! Of course the best thing to buy is a sim, or be a total cheap-o and spend hours @ the LHS and use their sim (like me!!!). I caught the bug back in 2000 and rushed out and bought a .46 gasser to start with. Amazingly with virtually no help whatsoever, I got it to hover, but not very well. After a few run-ins with some tougher-than-'copter objects, I sold my helo to pay for a boat. I spent well over $1800 dollars and ended up getting only $750 in return... :(
But!!!, The good news is that a buddy of mine happened to buy a cheap little 4-ch heli that resparked my interests. Also fun little guys are the PicooZ helis. Cheap,tough and well worth every penny! There are a bunch of cheap ($79-$90) 4-ch helis on X-heli or Raidentech that might fit the bill. These still need to be "setup" a little bit, BUT they are cheap and they DO fly!! I just ordered a Honey Bee IV ($89) today and will fly it until My SE is finished. If you don't believe me, check out the vids on Youtube.com. Search for; Honey Bee FP 2. The guy there has a cool song to go with it!!!! At worst it gets your feet wet and it won't cost $200-$1300. Another plus is that parts are CHEAP!!! You can get a barebones heli (no electronics) for spares only $39!!! (Helihobby.com>rchelectrichhelis>eskyhelis>kits) :glasses2:

I'll let everyone else know how it goes with mine. Hopefully this helps!! Happy flying and happy hunting!!!!

Also chevck out my other post in the main lobby; 4ch helis good or bad? I got a lot of good replies there.

[triniheli]

does anyone know of any 450SE vids other than what's on this site. Also, is there a specific website only related to the 450?

[skunkworx]

Google or Yahoo search might work...Good question though! There is TONS of info on these little birds. Dig and you will find. Let everyone know what U find :D

[kgfly]

http://www.trextuning.com

[octotus]

video.google.com has a lot of videos on rc helis - and quite some on trexes.

k

[Raysun]

Some thoughts...

I started with a CX last fall, and the FS-one sim. Very happy with both, then went the CPPro route, many crashes but can hover a pack out now, provided its trimmed right. Looped it last week at our club field...too windy though and landing was not pretty..disorientation the cause.

My conclusions.........

CX/CX-2 ( have both now) ..can play in your kitchen, practice orientation up close, and most importantly, get your friends hovering in no time...worth it.

CPpro...you'll learn to rebuild a heli very quickly. Everything from balancing, head parts, etc. Also can hover indoors when weather is bad. As an indoor funfly regular, when a Trex pilot saw me hover my CP, he came over and said, "hell if you can fly that, you can fly anything..and promptly handed me his TRex radio and said, just take it easy..WOW what a difference. I have an HDX 450 in build...
( Also have a HBCP2..got at good price...CPPro has a much better head design, HBCP head is very stick and pitch is hard to set up) )

FS-One sim....can't say enough good things. Any good sim worth its weight in gold. All the Eflite helis modelled (very accurately), and bigger gassers are so much more fun and stable than the teeny electrics.

If you start with the CPPro you will learn a lot, but could become very frustrated.

Bigger is better I think, but RTF gets you involved quickly.

Ray in Canada

[Raysun]

One more suggestion...look up Radds school of Rotary flight on the web....if you follow his method religiously you will save a LOT of money in avoided crashes early on.

Ray

[Raysun]

Oh yes, one more thing....

Get good tools. Proper hardened steel replaceable tip hex wrenches, ball link pliers, good small needlenoses, etc. etc. Much easier and faster to work on helis.

Ray