Blade 400

[DCHEEZELOG]

Just saw the blade 400. looks pretty cool. anyone had a good look . or actualy seen one . Iv been planing on getting an mx 450. But now i have another heli to consider. E-flite parts are so much more available . & they dont cost much more than cp parts. Let me know what you think. thx

[txflyer]

can you post a link


but odds are the trex is still the better heli, i mean main shafts come in packs of 3 or 4 for cheaper then a stock main gear and shaft, feathering shafts are 4 for like 7 bucks.. if this is going to be your first real heli. then get the trex other wise im pretty you will regret it..

http://h1072014.hobbyshopnow.com/products/description.asp?prod=EFLH1400


it says it still uses s75 servos. thats weak, you gotta think man its eflite against align.. id only get this heli if i didnt have anything. like a radio or nothing. and even then it would mainly be for the radio it comes with and just soemthing to screw around with.. i dont think this thing could even hold up to a trex in the slightest amount... id get the trex hands down...

[DCHEEZELOG]

www.e-fliterc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=EFLH1400. i hope the link works . last one i tried didnt. if not go to e-fliterc.com its under new releases

[DCHEEZELOG]

That was kinda my impression. E-flite is nice but seems to be a lot of hassle involved .Never just baught & flown one allways upgraded. Thanx for the input.

[L0stS0ul]

Well there are a number of things here:

1. It comes with a 2.4ghz DSM2 6 channel computer radio with 10 model memory for use with other helicopters. That's a huge deal.

2. Completely brushless setup with speed controller, 3800kv motor, and 1800mah 3 cell lipo with balance charger.

3. All new heading lock gyro. Nothing is known about this gyro yet or what performance it will have.

4. the servos are NOT standard S75 servos. These are all new Digital servos. A completely different beastie all toegether.

5. The design is quite different. No closeup pictures of the tail setup yet but the head design looks solid.

6. All of this for $470. Not bad at all.

I think this looks like a great entry level 400 size helicopter.

Oh by the way the t-rex sucks lol. Dragonus for the win. :P All kidding aside I would definitally recommend a dragonus over a t-rex any day for anyone beginner to advanced. The Dragonus SA is a great entry level heli and the Dragonus SE is the true T-Rex killer.

I'm actually quite interested in looking at e-flites new offering. It looks really promising.

[txflyer]

dont get me wrong, im interested in it. but i think this is the first belt driven heli eflite has put out. so there might be some bugs and crappy designed parts. we dont know yet, with it being so new, unless i got to sit down and take a good look at it. i wouldnt buy it. the radio and brushless setup yes is a HUGE selling point, and awsome there is a kit that comes wtih it. but based on eflite's other helis i wouldnt go out right and buy this as a starter heli. i'll admite it has to be better then the pro.. still even if they are digital i dont like s75 servos. i put 2 in my gws slow stick plank. they sucked even for that thing. it could ahve been the 370 bl setup in it. but climbing sucked. the controls where slow and felt mushy..plus i wouldnt trust eflite to put a heli togather. i mean ive some some cp's and cpp's come out of the box in the worset setup i have ever seen a heli in. paddles on the wrong way, the flybar wasnt center. the head was just nasty...if i ever bought one, id prolly end up using the radio on my trex if it is better then the dx6 in terms of setup options and stuff like that. i wouldnt upgrade it. but its just going to take some time for me to think that in the long run this heli woudl be worth it..


every one has there own thoughts about helis. i have a trex cuz its the parts that my lhs has, there is a big following and the trex has been in play along time. i dont know anything about your heli, my lhs doesnt stock parts for it. i honestly wanted a e325 mini titan over a trex.....

[rabidguineapig]

For the price it would attract a lot of people, don't get me wrong, E-Flite makes good stuff, but I'm tired of they're pricey a$$ parts. I'm defintaly gonna go with a T-Rex

[txflyer]

after reading more about the radio, i like the looks of it. i would sell my dx6 and use that dx6i radio. i like the looks of it and the screen...id be willing to give the heli a chance but it also seems to be that it uses the stock eflite cp and cpp canopys.. i hate those canopys i stopped using mine a few days after i got the pro. then i trimmed down a trex canopy to fit it

[rabidguineapig]

If I'm gonna sell my DX6 I'm gonna buy a DX7 not a DX6i

[txflyer]

the dx6i is pretty much a dx7

is full range, servo sync, model match. dsm2. its just styled differently. i like it..

[rabidguineapig]

I don't think you can get a DX6i separately from the Blade 400... unless I didn't look hard enough

[txflyer]

nah i looked. but that might change once the 400 is released... but ya from what ive read its pretty much just a differently designed dx7... im sure once my lhs gets some in i can go in there and ask them to pull the radio out and the heli so i can take a closer look

[L0stS0ul]

Very little is known about the heli that is for sure. There is a video of it now posted on e-flites website. It looks like a pretty good performer stock. The gyro is definitally holding a lot better than the crappy G90 gyro so that's a plus. It looks rock solid in the stationary flips. I did notice some points where the tail seemed to bounce a lot possibly due to the setup. I'm definitally keeping an eye on this one.

I'd not count the DS75's out just yet. Yes I completely agree that the analog s75 servos are junk. I replaced them in my bcp very quickly with hs-55's. they are not very good servos. But digital servos are a completely different technolgy. I'll hold judgement on them.

Canopies are something that's always personal preference. The number of helis I've swapped canopies on cause I didn't like how they looked... well every single one of them so far :)

I'm definitally digging the new DX6 radio they are including. Airplane/Heli support, DSM2 technolgy, Updated programming capabilites, 5 point pitch and throttle curves, and a much nicer screen. I've been waiting to go to the 2.4 radio systems as I love my Futaba radio but I've lost to many planes to interferance and getting the radio system with a heli, well, that sounds slick to me. :)

I'll definitally hold judgement on the heli till I can see it but I won't be calling it crap until then. There are a lot of promising features here and while there are a few things I don't like about the design that I can see already I don't know any heli that I've seen that there hasn't been one thing I didn't like. Even the Dragonus has a few items I'd like to see changed. Even my SJM400 I'd like to see a few things changed as well.

[borocouncilman]

Wow. $469 is huge deal for the package. This is going to be hot-seller. To put together an equivalent T-Rex, you're spending $600-$700. I don't think there is any RTF equivalent at the price point.

[rabidguineapig]

I hope the quality is not the same as the price

[txflyer]

i just want the radio...

[F1Atom]

Looks tempting. But for that kind of money why not a trex. But then again hmmmm.

[txflyer]

because for the price of the 400 you couldnt get a rex in the air. if you have to buy everything including the radio

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

I say RUN the other way and get a Rex or Mini-Titan.

[txflyer]

or buy the heli keep the rx and tx, then put it on ebay

[kgfly]

When that DX6i becomes generally available it will really wipe the floor with the 6EXH/FASST and possibly the 7C/FASST if it ever comes out too. Looking forward to seeing some performance tests on the DX6i and end-user assessments of the quality of the B400.

[kgfly]

I say RUN the other way and get a Rex or Mini-Titan.
I cannot understand how you can prejudge it like that ? Perhaps by extension from experiences you have had with the quality/performance/pricing of the CP/CPP ? I thought the key problems with the CP/CPP have been:

* too small = too unstable
* weak servos and gyro
* expensive parts

So the B400

* Is bigger
* Has new servos and gyro (quality and performance TBD)
* Parts pricing TBD, if EFlite are smart it will be competitive

I think given their market presence and distribution channels and that pretty damn good looking DX6i radio that this new bird will make a big splash in the marketplace and probably be a good low cost entry point for many. Time will tell how the heli holds up compared to a TRex450 but this is a far more important announcement than the one from MA about their me-too Beam400.

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

I cannot understand how you can prejudge it like that ? Perhaps by extension from experiences you have had with the quality/performance/pricing of the CP/CPP ? I thought the key problems with the CP/CPP have been:

* too small = too unstable
* weak servos and gyro
* expensive parts

So the B400

* Is bigger
* Has new servos and gyro (quality and performance TBD)
* Parts pricing TBD, if EFlite are smart it will be competitive

I think given their market presence and distribution channels and that pretty damn good looking DX6i radio that this new bird will make a big splash in the marketplace and probably be a good low cost entry point for many. Time will tell how the heli holds up compared to a TRex450 but this is a far more important announcement than the one from MA about their me-too Beam400.

After toying with the quality of a Blade CP for over a year everyday and it costing me as much as a T-Rex or Mini-Titan to keep in the air I don't have very high expectations. After paying MORE money for their crapy main blades than cheaper and far better Align Pro Woodies I have little faith in them wanting to help the heli community. They are after one thing and that's lining their pockets with green stuff and leaving the costomer out to dry with very poor quality. Come on you have to admit they gouge the costomer bad on low quality parts.

One thing you got down solid is they have market presence and distribution channels!!! I'm sure they will make bank and a lot of it too.

On a positive note... I'm sure it will provide a cheap plateform for new heli enthusiest wanting to get into the hobby. A better plateform than their current offerings..... I hope.

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

OH one more thing.... the radio is nice. But then again Eflite doen't make it, Spectrum or is it JR does.

[kgfly]

Quality is on this new product is TBD but I understand where you are coming from. Parts pricing isn't too bad: http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/RelatedParts.aspx?ProdID=EFLH1400&Category=Parts%20Listing

For example, wooden main blades are ~$12, same as Align Pro but again, quality is currently TBD.

The radio is indeed a Spektrum product. Given the whole package can be preordered for $399 and the lipo, Tx and Rx together are worth around $250 we are not being asked to pay very much at all for the heli+4 servos+gyro+motor+esc !

Likely to be a big hit for Xmas I suspect.