Cx2 to CP Pro: Good Idea or Disaster Waiting To Happen?

[bobby619]

I thought the HBK2 was a cheap economical heli to fly. Until I saw the price of the Mini Titan here...

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/cPath/2_382_383/products_id/10639

$129 for the bare bones kit!

[txflyer]

the e325 is a awsome heli from what ive heard, i have the rc heli mag with the review of it.. one thing tho, you should REALLY REALLY upgrade to the kasama head for the mt.. get a nice set of align cf blades. then have a blast. they are way way easyer to work on then a trex. i also think it might be an inch or bigger then the trex..

also id get the align cf boom for a 450, im pretty sure you can use the trex tail. if not then get a cnc tail for it..

[BryMeister]

Again, thanks to all for the recommendations!:noteworthy

[borocouncilman]

The nice thing about the $70 Honey Bee King 2 ARF is that the price includes motor. By moving my electronics over to the HBK2 from the Blade CP, I spent less than $100 TOTAL. All I had to buy was the ARF airframe, ESC, and tail rotor servo. Receiver, Gyro, Servos, and Lipo all moved over without a hitch.

If you're going to step up from Micro to Mini, don't mess around with a Thunder Tiger or a T-Rex copy. Get an Align T-Rex 450SA. The bare bones kit is $199 and you can get it with a motor/esc combo for $269. For that price, you're going to get a well-engineered machine with a strong after-market and great parts availability. Of course, the expensive part is always the battery and electronics, but if you're going to spend several hundred dollars anyway, why not put that stuff into a decent helicopter.

[kgfly]

Actually there are a lot of 450-class helis to choose from:

TRex450 S/SA/SE/SEv2 - available many places
Dragonus II Plus/Elite/Pro - http://www.hobby-lobby.com/dragonus.htm
HDX450 - http://www.helidirect.com/index.php?cPath=29
RCT-450 Phantom/Diablo/Skyshark - http://www.rc-tek.com/us_store/450-class-electric-helicopters-c14.html
Phoenix 450 - http://www.heliwarehouse.com/
3DX450 - http://www.cnchelicopter.com/servlet/the-CNC-450-helicopter/Categories
Copter-X - http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/index.php?cPath=173_174&osCsid=a1ba6ae89a426272499d25be30366759
GL450SE - http://www.bananahobby.com/1239.html
EFlite Blade400 - http://www.e-fliterc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=EFLH1400

Most have their enthusiastic followers. No question that the TRex450 is the most popular, most widely available and most widely supported. The miniTitan e325 has a reputation for having persistant tracking problems sometimes even after upgrading to a metal head. The Dragonus has a reputation for good performance, good quality and robustness and now that it is supported through HobbyLobby should be widely available in the US. The Diablo/Skyshark look pretty good value, are well supported by RC-Tek in the US and have about 80% parts compatibility (including all the bits you would normally damage in a crash) with the TRex450 which is very convenient.

However, the red hot exciting newcomer is the EFlite Blade 400. This could well be your best choice as the most logical next step from a BCX2. A 450-class heli complete with DX6i (upgraded full-range DSM2 version of the DX6), full brushless setup, digital servos, gyro, lipo and charger all for MRP $469. Due out real-soon-now. We have not yet seen and end-user hands-on evaluations but they will come out in the next month or two and expectations are high. Well worth considering. Lots of discussion here: http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=42504

Bigger = easier and often costs no more than a T450SE to get in the air and keep there. The Hurricane550 is amazing value and a great heli to learn on. Parts are the same or cheaper than a TRex450! Then there is the HDX500 and in Nov the TRex500 will be out with the Dragonus500 not far behind.

So many good options and good reasons to forget about the BCP/BCPP ;)

[txflyer]

ya the h550 is a great deal. for the price of new trex 450se v2 you can get a h550 still have close to 150 left over.. doesnt the se v2 go for something like $ 450 - $550 ? i cant wait for mine..

[joehelicopter]

Parts,parts,parts,parts.........
Whatever you decide on I would go with the one your LHS has support for---
I can tell you all about the CPPRO-----
THE TREX 600 IS EASIER TO FLY!!!!!!!
But it is a lot bigger:smokin:

[txflyer]

i dont support my lhs anymore, so it doesnt really matter what heli i go with. but i am gathering the needed stuff for a h550 build..

[BryMeister]

if you take the time to do a GOOD setup on a trex learn to hover is going to be super easy..
last week i redid my entire head and got it setup perfectly. a few minutes into the test hover i lifted both my thumbs off both the sticks for about 9 seconds before i corrected for the drift, the heli only drifted maybe a foot in the entire 9 seconds.

i liked my pro but wished id have started off with the trex..

building them is fun but for me its buying the upgrades and installing.. you get to see how the heli changes and at times feel the difference if you can in what each upgrade has changed.

i might end up getting the b400 but theres a few other things in front of it. like a hurrican 550 and a good 3d plank with a big wing span..50 to 70 inches..
How much time did you put into your initial build? Going to start mine soon.

[txflyer]

i really couldnt tell you, i didnt keep track. but it was a sa , i ended up returning it back to a kit and rebuilding it. i built it and did all the electronics install and setup fairly slowly to make sure it was done right.. it was some what fun, a few times tho i wanted to give up. but i stuck in there and now she is up and flying pretty damn good.

[rabidguineapig]

I got mine done in about 2 weeks, which I had off at the end of the summer. I had most of the parts already when I got the kit, the cyclic servos, and a battery on top of the piece of crap in the kit. I had a lotta fun with my build, and can't thank Finless enough for the vids.

[txflyer]

buy the best right off the bat... pulling servos on a trex isnt as much fun as you would think.. thats why i went 65mg's on the cyclic from the start..

[Surfrjeff]

Well if you are looking for a Mini and still fairly cheap, you might consider the new Hurricane 200, look in the Helifreak video forums, Kyle stacy is flying it.

[BryMeister]

I decided to go the TREX V2 route. I also bought the Spektrum DX7 with the microlite servos. I am running the typical setup for the Gyro and tail servo.

I am starting my build this weekend! :smokin:

[carlo_the_wonder_frog]

After you have mastered building a T-Rex, a whole new build from a kit only takes a 4-5 hours now. Add another hour for setup and voila..up and runnin.

[BryMeister]

Excellent! I have the upper head ready to go except for the flybar (doing that tonight). The frame is next and then the head should be ready to go into the frame.

Guess I should really post this on the TREX thread, huh? :lol:

Going to get a Blade 400 when they come out also. :smokin: