ALL Aluminum HEAD wanted/WILL TREX 600 HEAD WORK?

[aaronstomfoolery]

Would TREX 600 HEAD work/fit on HURRICANE?
I have seen the TREX 600 heads listed as an upgrade for the eRaptor 550. Priced at 99$ for complete TREX600 standard head, or 149$ for complete full metal TREX 600 head for 99$....
Both eRaptor and Trex 600 have 10mm main shaft

[Finless]

nope... main shaft is bigger on the Trex than the Hurricane.

Bob

[aaronstomfoolery]

Thanks Finless.

[Skaross]

The GAUI all metal head is a nice piece of work and is around $200 complete from most stockists. This even comes with a mainshaft and flybar pre-installed IIRC.

Do you dislike the GAUI head, or are you particularly after the TR600 head?

If you just want bling, perhaps go with the one intended for the heli :)

Kev

[pete47]

Am I wrong to assume that the TREX head is much cheaper than the hurricain head? does it make sense to upgrade the Gaui 550 which was supposed to be a good affordable Helli. Just for the hell of figuring out the total cost we have a new set of blades then there is the ESC and a motor because they are apparently inferior, esc failures motor underpowered blades for better handling and then we have the metal upgrades. sSo what wil the cost be? I havent bought one yet, but to date I am becoming disolusioned, if I want to pay a big price wouldn't I be better off getting a TREX where everything works properly. Please set me straight if I am wrong.

[dutch_anykey]

Hi Pete,

With some of the things i agree. With al the upgrades and bling it would be the same price or more as the trex600. (Stock 600 that is, keep in mind that there are a lot of upgrades for the 600 as wel....so that never stops).
My choice for the hurricane is based on the fact that i can use 2 x 3s lipo's on this thing. So i didnt need a new charger and the expensive 6s packs. That was the killer when i was calculating what heli would fit my budget.
But now my flying is improving i feel the need for an alu head as well to be on the safe site. Complete GAUI head is over 200$ , so there we go again lol.
This hobby just costs money, and you can take is as far as you want (or as the budget allows in my case)

I'm now lookig at the HDX500 alu head from helidirect. This could be a nice upgrade as well for the hurricane If it fits. Reaaly want to try it. I mailed Steve if he could give me some dimensions on this head since it doesnt tell anything on the site about it. I got a mail back that he will try it himself soon enough.
So fingers crossed. It might be a nice cheap full cnc head to fit here. Dont know about the quallity, but i own a hdx450 and that head is working fine, and is still flying without problems.

Maurice

[hopntod]

I s there something wrong with the Gaui alum. head upgrade?...todd

[dutch_anykey]

No,

No it's fine i guess (havent got one myself). It should be since it is specially made by GAUI for the hurricane. I fact i've seen Tom viper write in this forum somewhere that it is a great upgrade for the hurricane. It really improves the handling judging on his comments.

But you missed my point i think. I wanted to order the complete alu head from Gaui, but i havent seen them being sold in a complete set yet. If i order all parts seperatly i'm paying well over 200 us$. That's a lot of money in relation to a 350$ heli i.m.o.
But i dont want to complain about prices!!! if i could spent it i would buy it ..period.
But i can't so i'm looking at cheaper alternatives. And besides that...i'm just curious if it works...(i'm a technician and i tend to have a "Tim the toolman lets tweak it a little" way of thinking haha)

Maurice

[hopntod]

well im sure i saw the full head at flying hobby for $219.00...todd

[Skaross]

The whole head can be bought as one unit from Flying Hobby. It's not much cheaper than buying the seperate bits, but it is built I believe, and does come with main/feather shafts and flybar installed, and looks to have all the pushrods. If nothing else this means you can strip the entire plastic head off as one piece and put it to one side for a quick rebuild in the event of a crash.

On the subject of TR600 pricing, the current price for the 600 makes it very, very attractive. Were I buying now, and were pack price no object, I would buy a 600, although I joke with my friends that everyone has one and I hate to be a sheep :)

The Hurricane does benefit from cheaper packs, cheaper charger and I suspect a performance benefit over a stock 600 with only moderate upgrades (metal head, decent packs and a Z30). I feel the Hurricane on a Z30 and 6S will blow the 600 away until you add 10S to it :)

My Hurricane will have cost me around $1200 including radio (3 x DS821, AR7000, 401 and 9254), good packs (2 x 3S3300), Align ESC and Z30 and good CF blades.

This compares to my friend's TR600 which was nearer to $1400 with similar spec radio gear and 6S4500 pack. The difference in price buys him a superb stock 600, whereas I have a top spec Hurricane. Of course he has to spend about 50% more for each pack and needed a 6S charger... Schulze Cameleon's aren't cheap!

My power-to-weight ratio will make the 600 look tame, if, and only if, the Hurricane's drive train can handle it! At the moment, I doubt it can, but one more upgrade and I think it will be there.

Kev

[Finless]

FYI you really DONT need the metal head... The only difference is the screw on block is metal instead of plastic and it's only function is to hold the dampeners!

BUT I would reccoment the metal grips. Other than that the rest is bling.....

Bob

[hopntod]

Skaross, Do you have the Z30 and new motor mount already?I thought I read that Adrian was working on a gear set-up.Waiting to hear bout that.from what I gather, the 3cells that I have for my 450 are'nt gonna cut it with the Z30.I havent done the math but I figure with the head, motor mount,motor two new FP packs,servos,esc,bec,Ill have as much in it as my finished stock 600.the cool thing about this build is I already know what I need.(Bobs vids)I got my servos and raptor links,fiberglass lid and regulator so far but no kit yet.ordered 3 weeks ago.Do I understand correctly that the stock ESC is trash?....todd P.S.What is the last word on Flight Power packs to use?

[Skaross]

I have had the Z30 and motor mount for several weeks but was waiting for some packs before installing it.

Now sods law says I'm holiday just as I resolve the pack shortage... ah well, just have to do with flying a Raptor 50 slimer for the week I'm away :)

Kev

[pete47]

WOW, I did stir up a Hornets nest but that's not so bad, it doesgives me more info as to whyI should get the Hurrricain. I guess it won't be too long before they bring out a cf frame. I did read on another forum that the fame flexes and causes rubbing on the main gear but that is easily braced. if this unit can do everything I saw a the world champ do at a comp with the trex 600 then it is very appealing , all things being as they should, it would seem the 550 should be able to do better even if just because of the lesser weight. I am sick of little Hellis, I have a Walkera and a honeybee and they cost a bit to repair, example =main shaft $45 and its about 2 inches long with a threaded hole either end, these are made by the thousands and cost a few cents to make where wages are less than $10 a day, go figure. Australia is not the place for cheap replacements, I think the Asian guy who rips us off can do so because he is the only supplier Locally and the warranty runs out as soon as he has your cash.Now let me point out I am not racist as I am married to an Asian girl, Most are lovely people but in business some are real stinkers. I think so far I have trippled the cost of each Helli in partss, I did however reduce my incidents by using allign blades on the walkera and made other mods like the alloy head and tail around $180 which made it more stable and easier to control than with those crappy balsa blades that are supplied, at least they feel like balsa, sorrry if I sidetracked but the point being is that replacements for the 550are a lcheaper than for the little hellis.
I am still interested specially afer reading the comments, it is a nice bird. Thankyou people.

[dutch_anykey]

Thanks Bob,

That's good news ! Learning a bit everyday :D
I was thinking that the whole cnc-head assembly was needed baecause of the higher headspeeds. Going for the blade grips only for now.

b.t.w. just would like to know exactly... what is the risk of running high rpm on plastic blade grips? i mean why could they most likely fail? Because of the centrifugal forces? or the pitch changes during high load?

Thanks,
Maurice

[Finless]

T^o me the plastic grips are really thin in comparison to other helis I have built. It's just my opinion but I did nt want to trust them. I have heard of anyone throwing a blade yet but I am not sure how many people are running 2200+ with the plastic. Needless to say for me high performance means metal grips on just about any heli out there.

Bob

[Azzurra]

Hi,

be carefull with the plastic grips!!!

First, the bird of my dealer threw it's blades away, due to a broken plastic grip!
Second, I saw a picture on an asian website abut H550 with a broken grip.
Third here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=675990&highlight=Hurricane+550

This is a safety issue! I'd highly recommend replacing them, when using other than the original wood blades at head speeds well below 2000 RPM!

Regarding prices of spare parts: Look at the Mikado Logo 10; this is a compareable heli and you will see, that my people are stinkers as well!

Best from Lake Constance, Germany

Carsten

[Finless]

There you have it! Some first reports of the grips failing!!!!

I knew they were not thick enough to handle CF blades and high head speeds..... Now we have some first hand reports.

THANKS Carsten!!! Safety comes first man and I appreceate you taking the time to share this info.

Bob

[backman8571]

Bob.

We have run the 55o with plastic grip's until the blade holder srews bent well over 23-2400 rpm on the head.

And one other of my friends has close to 100 flights and he is running the head at 2000 or just above no issue's

The other guy was running the heli so hot so after 2 flights the gears where gone

So what they are saying way below 2000 is balone........

PB

[Finless]

Well in either case I prefer the metal for piece of mind. You have to admit the plastic grips are pretty thing and the bolt holes. So we have some success stories and some failure stories. If it were me and you want to run higher head speeds then go metal. They are not expensive and I think worth it for piece of mind and safety.

Bob

[backman8571]

I can aggree on that

It is a hit or miss on the holders, so i would say anything above 2100rpm on the head, i would recomend the CNC grips.

PB

[bclong21]

Bob,
On the subject of metal grips-
Does anyone know if the arms for these are sold seperately ?(as they will probably what gets trashed in a crash)

[Finless]

I dont know.... PM Broke-again (owner of subtrim.com) and ask. He would know.

Bob

[Tom Viper]

Well, I have been running mine with plastic grips for about 7 months now, with everything from stock woodies to carbon 550. I like the 535 and 515 carbon blades best. I am running a HS above 2000, my friend is running 2250 with 535 blades. Our grips are just fine after about 500 flights together. I saw some pictures where the grips had cracked, but that was beacasue of faulty mounting, the bolts where not in place and cracked the grip.

A blade grip can crack, you can read about this everywhere, and with all diffrent modells. I heard of Raptor and TREX 600 grips that failed as well. This is what happends in large amount of manufacturing. A small bubble of air in one grip and there you go...

If you want as a safety messure, always put you plactic grips in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and let it cool slowly. This makes all plastic pieces stronger. (I have not done this myself with my grips, but used to do it on the TREX parts, and it works well)

[BlenderPilot]

Hello Tom, did you get my email?

PS: Sorry for off topic