Any news on the Trex 500?

[erniefritz]

has anyone heard anything about the Trex 500 yet? I was hoping for some spy photos and such :)

[Bobbyk]

aren't we all?

[Finchwizard]

I'm really holding out too.

It would be the perfect size for me. As the Align 600 is a little too big, and want something bigger than the 450.

I would at least like a little bit of news if it's actually still coming out or not.

[Finless]

It's DEAD.... The 90 sized Trex700 is next

Thats my speculation anyway!

NO I was not told this.... This was not from Align.... It's just my speculation based on many factors I am seeing both at IRCHA, Buzzin the Border and other things I am seeing trends on....

Nitro has seemed to have a come back going on and this is why I say this.

Bob

[Mercuriell]

It's DEAD.... The 90 sized Trex700 is next

Makes sense - the 90 market has less around than the 500 esp with the likes of the Hurricane 550 and the 90 market could really do with a cost effective bird - apart from the Rappie 90 there's not much affordable or easy to get and there are an increasing number of 600N fliers out there who get off seeing the size grace and power of the likes of the Vibe and Aurora

[Anthony.L]

What is for certain the Trex 700 will take the 90 market by storm just like the 600N has done to the 50 market. You wait, the Trex 700 is released for $749.99 and they will sell like hot cakes.

[t-rexn8]

And all this speculation is based on what?

[Finless]

I could tell ya but I would have to kill ya ;)

No seriously here is what I am seeing.
Last year at buzzin the border for instance there were more electric helis flown than Nitro.... Trex 600e, leptons, etc... This year I saw one maybe 2 Trex600e's flying! WAY more nitro's flying. Same at IRCHA except for the Logo's. Hardly anyone flying Trex600E's. Yes there were a few Raptor E's but as I recall only flown by Raptor pilots.

I still believe there is a HUGE market for a 400mm to 500mm bladed electric dont get me wrong... But it appears to me that Nitro in 50 sized and up is having a come back! I think people were expecting to see continued growth on E helis 50 and even UP but due to pack costs and flight times this hasnt happened.
Again i still think Align is missing the boat not coming out with a 500 sized heli. I still think Align would sell MORE of the 500 sized E heli than the Nitro's especially the 90 since that is a commitment for a user. 450 users which is where Align has the best selling product, want a slightly larger park flying heli! Thus I believe the 500 would sell well for sure. But based on what is out now the Logo 500 is the dominate E heli in this size and I think the popularity of the 600 nitro is driving them to make a 90. Just my 2 cents. Also Krause is Align exclusively now and I bet he wants a 90 out! This is probably another BIG driver.

Bob

[DebianDog]

I still believe there is a HUGE market for a 400mm to 500mm bladed electric




I don't! There are enough out there already and you have a 450V2 that flies great as well as the 600e. If I were Align I would concentrate on getting a man sized helicopter out to the public.

90 sized = There is no substitute!

[Finless]

I don't! There are enough out there already and you have a 450V2 that flies great as well as the 600e. If I were Align I would concentrate on getting a man sized helicopter out to the public.


No argument there! 90 is a MANS sized heli and I will get one!
But 450 users want something a little bigger but don't want to spend $300 on packs for a 50 sized E heli!!!. There are WAY more users of 450's than 50 or 90 sized helis! Just look at the post stats here and anywhere else and you can see where the activity is. Ask any hobby shop and I bet they sell more small E helis than anything else. If you were running a business where would you focus? Where the BUYING IS...
I bet if they had a 500 out it would out sell the 600 E or N versions and for sure 90's......

Bob

[Finless]

Oh and also another reason the 500 may be scrapped... THEY DONT want to effect the 600 sales!!!! Which a 500 probably would do.

Bob

[TomC]

And all this speculation is based on what?

Probably mainly based on the sucess of the Trex600N. This heli has taken over the 50 sized nitro market in our local area, and I suspect many more areas as well. I'm sure that they will use this success to venture further into the 90 market as well (probably in early 2008). By the end of 2008 Align could dominate both 50 and 90 sized nitro markets.

Hopefully, Align will see the error of their ways in bring in an over-amped 6s 50 sized electric into the market and they will start to introduce better 10-12s alternative components (motors, escs, and maybe flybar-less systems) and maybe 12-15s components for 90 sized heli's as well.

As far as the 500 class goes, I'd say that the market is too flooded for them to jump into right now.

It's ALL speculation and whatever Align decides to do is anyone's guess imop!

Cheers,
Tom C

[kgfly]

Well I don't agree with most of the nay-sayers so here is my opinion, like it or lump it as you please ;)

500-class and 500mm blades are NOT the same thing
Folks seem to keep getting this mixed up. The 500-class is not 500mm blades (which is 30-size, over 2kg and 475-550mm blades) it is under 2kg and 400-450mm blades. That might sound like nit-picking but it isn't since it relates to overall heli size, weight and most importantly, how big the batteries need to be and how much sky the average Joe needs to fly it safely. So the Logo500 and Hurricane550 are NOT competitors for the 500 class based on size.

A distinguishing feature of the 500-class is that they can realistically be flown using two 3s ~2200mAh packs from a 450-class heli. Usually the sweet spot is more like 4s/5s 3300-3700 but 3s2p 4400 will be fine for learning and sport flying. This is a huge marketing advantage. The H550 tapped into this but I think experience is showing that other than for hovering and gentle FF, it really needs bigger packs, more like 6s 3300 or even 6s 3700, which once again push the cost of flying right up. The Logo500 won't fly on 2 x 3s 2200 packs so again, neither the Logo500 nor the H550 are real competitors for the 500-class space.

The 500-class has huge appeal because...
* Bigger = easier to see, easier to fly, easier to learn and is more stable in wind...
* ...yet still small enough to fly in a local park or even a yard
* Can be flown using 2 x 3s ~2200 batteries from a 450-class heli
* You can probably use the same charger/balancer setup as you do for yor 450
* Doesn't take up much room to store/transport or work on
* Total cost to get into the air (apart from batteries) can be much the same as for a 450
* Parts costs can be much the same as 450

The 500-class is wide open, but beginning to fill in
Until very recently the only choices were the Lepton (good but very expensive, about $600-$700 kit only, no electrics) or the QJ-EP8 (not widely popular, all CNC alloy, expensive parts).

The only other competitor currently in this space that is widely available is the new HDX500. Available in the SE (G10, all cnc alloy, painted FG canopy, FG 425mm blades) or SA (G10, cnc alloy frame blocks and swash, plastic head and tail, plastic canopy, FG 425mm blades). Originally a Lepton look-alike it has evolved somewhat and is attracting attention. The SE and SA frames are both G10+alloy blocks but very different designs offering the buyer a choice of layout to suit a wide range of motors, servos and batteries. Very clever design IMO. Cheaper than a TRex450, it stands out as serious contender as either a first CP heli or the next logical step for a 450 owner looking for something noticably bigger without having to rob a bank for new batteries and chargers.

The RCT500 is shipping first samples later this month. CF and CNC alloy and likely to also have aggressive pricing it looks promising. The SJM500 is due out a bit after the RCT500. A more exotic and very lightweight design it's likely to appeal to a niche rather than the mainstream.

The Dragonus500 is also due out before Christmas. Their 450 helis have a good reputation for quality and robustness so theirs should be an interesting offering.

Still right now the only choices are Lepton = too expensive, QJEP8 = too obscure and not a great heli or HDX500 = well priced, great looker and the design seems to be bedding down well (although there are some problems to be resolved with the plastic head on the SA model).

So IMO there is indeed a much larger potential market for a TRex500 than a 700 but if they don't hurry they will be fighting to build market share (although very well armed with their reputation and distribution network) rather than being the defacto standard which they could have been if they had launched it already.

More rumours
Finally to add to the rumour-mill I saw a post elsewhere claiming the initial "shrunken T600" design had been rejected by their consultant wizard pilot (?JK?) and a new design developed and this was what had delayed it by some months. The post went on to say that first protos were being tested and they were on shedule for a Q4.07 release. Time will tell.

[Big Fil]

I think Align would be making a better move by doing the 500 before the 700. They will lose a whole generation of 450 buyers looking to upgrade on the table for other companies to take. It's a double whammy too since many will sell their 450s to buy a 500 sized machine from another company. Not only do they lose the sale of a 500 but also lose out on parts for the 450s that many will sell.

As far as the nitro come back at recent events I think most at these fun flys are usually flying what just came out, especially the sponsored ones. Of course the Align pilots are going to be flying the newest bird in the fleet, it's marketing. If Align came out with a new E heli today, then by next year you'd see a bunch of people flying those at next years fun flys.

[warpspeed]

You forgot the Swift 550. (I know I know, I said the "S" word)

Personally I wouldn't mind a big man-sized heli, but why stop at a 90? Looked at the Rappy 90 at the LHS and it's really not THAT much bigger than the T600.
I think Align should build a gasser. Something big enough to drop cats out of.

BTW Bob, love the new avatar. Does this mean we'll have to call you Master now?

[Greybird]

. Something big enough to drop cats out of.

Now that's funny!

[jack726]

I do not know if this means anything, but 3 weeks ago Andy told me that all the parts have been manufactured for the 500.

Jack

[Finless]

Hehehe I heard that same thing in July ;)

Bob

[BarnOwl]

I found out overhere that a lot of people are reluctant flying a 50 size or bigger heli on electric as they see the investment in batteries as the big drawback.
I know, you can argue what you want but it seems people are always more interested in the short term investment of a nitro, look at the 600 nitro sales.
So that might explain the "comeback" of the nitro's in the 50 class.

I must admit I also was expecting to see a bigger pricedrop in big lipo's but unfortunately this doesn't seem to happen yet........

[Bobbyk]

Do you think Align is keeping quite this time, so the sale for the T450V2 and T600N sales will continue, what will happen if they start showing pictures of the T500, sales will stop because people will want to wait and buy T500 instead. I think it doesn't matter how long Align takes to produce the T500, whenever it's release they will still make a killing in sales.

Another thing in the 90 arena, if Align are able to release the 90 size ship before the Aurora they will get most of that sales. The T600N has prove that Align can handle the nitro arena well and are able to upgrade on faulty parts and improve design, by the time the 90 is release they will have got most of the issue on the T600N ironed out, and that will be a platform for the 90 to be build on.

I haven't been in this hobby long, but I remember the buzz on the T600N when it was being develope and now getting our hands on it, aren't we all pleased with it, yes they were some issue but look how quick Align has taken notices and rectify them and improving on the design.

Thanks

Robert

PS:. These are just "IMHO" have fun!

[Big Fil]

A little birdie told me Align was working on a Trex 700T!

[Laurens]

I don't think its a comeback, just not align nitro's that were flown because they didn't exist

[DebianDog]

A little birdie told me Align was working on a Trex 700T!

I heard about that in March at B-Ham. Bach then it was a Jan 08 release date. What does your birdie say?

[s9joe]

i am crossing my fingers that they will bring a 500E out i have been looking forward since the day i herd they might be one

[veegor]

With the success of Aligns many version trex 450 class helis and 600e & 600n class heli over the past few years . Wouldn't a smaller margin of proft still be made if align 500 class was released?

How much of a loss could really jeapordize the sales of one there number one selling heli ??

It will still carry the align quality?