TRex 450SE V2 or Blade 400 for 1st Heli?

[ptc]

i hope it doesn't do the same thing. save the aggravation, and buy a trex, and be done with it.

The RTF Belt CP arrives today. I'll be flying/crashing TODAY! :banana

And I've got the Honeybee to fly while waiting on parts for the Belt CP.

If bought the Trex I'd have to wait two or three weeks or however long it takes to build it before I could fly/crash.

-- Phil

[Bullfrog]

This thread is exactly what I've been looking for. I bought a Hummingbird a year or two ago and had no luck with it at all. It came as a package and came with what I think? is a pretty decent radio a Futaba RD6000. I got the bug a couple weeks ago and thought about buying another heli and was leaning toward the T-Rex. Went the LHS and he no longer stocked the T-Rex but had a B400. He explained to me how he could not understand why anyone would by a T-Rex when they could get this RTF for $439.

He had me pretty well convinced until I came to this site and started reading. If I do decide to take the plunge and try heli's again I will buy the T-Rex SA from Horizon for $199, Gy401 for $139, 3 HS65MG servo's, lipo $70 and Tail Servo $55 and use my RD6000 radio. I will be in for over the $439 but after everything I have read I'll have a much better starting platform. Thanks for all the good input on this subject!

[Timpanooke]

I bought a Blade 400 PNP (I already have a DX7 Radio and Receiver) and after seeing the servos, I knew I'd upgrade them soon. Also, the plastic head and other parts would be quickly replaced. So I packed up and sold the Blade 400 PNP.

I added up the cost of the upgrades and compared to a TREX 450 SE V2. The TREX was still a lot more.

Then, I found a guy who sells TREX 450 SE V2 kits (minus Rotor blades and Battery) in silver or black on eBay for $285. So I bought one of those and have been VERY happy I did.

Initial Cost:
Blade 400 PNP - 279.00
Servos: 0.00
Gyro: 0.00
Battery (TP 2100 Lipo) - 65.00
Charger (TP balaned) 110.00
Total: 454.00

TREX 450 SE V2 Kit - 285.00
Servos: (3x HS65MG, 1x 9257) - 192.00
Gyro: (401) - 135.00
Battery (TP 2100 Lipo) - 65.00
Charger (TP Balanced) - 110.00
Pro blades - 10.00
Total: 797.00

Follow-up costs (you will upgrade the Blade either through desire or breakage):

Blade 400
Servos: (same as above) - 192.00
Gyro (401) - 135
Final Total: 781.00

TREX
Servos - 0.00
Gyro - 0.00
Final Total: 797.00

So for me, I'm tickled pick I chose this route.

This might not apply to someone who needs the radio. But I'd suggest looking for a good deal on a radio and buy it separately. I picked my my DX7 from Horizon scratch and dent for 288 with servos and 6100e rcvr (only the box was dented, the radio was perfect).

Hope this helps.

Jeff
_______________
TREX 450 SE V2
DX7 2.4 GHz DS2, 6100e, gy401, Fut S99257 tail, 3xHS-65MG

[Timpanooke]

The RTF Belt CP arrives today. I'll be flying/crashing TODAY! :banana

And I've got the Honeybee to fly while waiting on parts for the Belt CP.

If bought the Trex I'd have to wait two or three weeks or however long it takes to build it before I could fly/crash.

-- Phil
PTC, make that about 3 evenings to build the TREX, not 3 weeks.

[ptc]

Follow-up costs (you will upgrade the Blade either through desire or breakage):

TREX
Servos - 0.00
Gyro - 0.00
Final Total: 797.00



This assumes you never will break the Trex which seems unlikely.

-- Phil

[Timpanooke]

No, this is based upon the fact that the servos that come with the Blade 400 have plastic gears that strip very easily, and usually after the first crash.

The servos I spec'd are Metal Gear and are much, much less likely to strip and need replacement.

Also, the Blade 400's gyro sucks.

[shaggybirdman]

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM a V2. i want one. anyone willing to buy me on, and ship it to me all at no cost to me?



hmmmmm i'm hearing crickets making noise. bummer.

[shaggybirdman]

i think everyone should buy a trex.

a hobby shop stopped selling trex's? WTF!! a B400 is a decent first heli i guess, but i'd bet the next heli would be a trex, so why buy the B400? just get a trex. lets see.... $450 for the B400. you will only take the radio, and possibly the servos to a trex. trex $700. hmmmmm

B400 = $450 + $700 for a trex = $1150.

yup a B400 is the way to go seeing as you will end up with a trex anyhow.

i got my trex 450X CDE for $130. motor, and esc included. $75 for servos. battery $29 (yes cheap battery, but i'll total using a $65 battery), had a radio (dx7 from my sailboat), but bought a rx $49, add $199 for a dx6.

$510 in the air. the cde can be had on evil bay for $130 right now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/T-REX-450X-CDE-W-25G-ESC-430LF-BRUSHLESS-MOTOR-TREX-450_W0QQitemZ300204628205QQihZ020QQcategoryZ2563QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[vwoz]

Thanks to all who replied. I got my TRex 450 SE V2 Kit (with some upgrades), my DX7 and Phoenix Sim to practice on. The journey begins!!!!!!!!! :)

Oz

[shaggybirdman]

enjoy the ride. your lhs will love you now. :thumbup:

[Bullfrog]

What is the difference with the 450X CDE vs. the 450SA? At $130 it is about $70 cheaper than the SA can be had for on Horizon. Looking at the picture it looks like the frame of the CDE is all plastic and the SA is aluminum is this the only difference?

[shaggybirdman]

What is the difference with the 450X CDE vs. the 450SA? At $130 it is about $70 cheaper than the SA can be had for on Horizon. Looking at the picture it looks like the frame of the CDE is all plastic and the SA is aluminum is this the only difference?

ok i'm not sure on what the full diferances are, but a pic is worlth 1000 words. the big thing is you can save cash on the servos. you don't need metal gear servos.

[shaggybirdman]

stupid edit button will not work. oh well. the $70 you save can buy you the servos. yes it is a plastic bird, but as a first collective heli it should help keep repair costs down, and initial investment down. this heli can compeat with the blade 400 price wise. it's just a bit more expansive than the b 400

[Gr4yb3ard]

Back to ask more noob questions...

How can I track my recent posts? I get into running around and chasing stuff, maybe make a comment here or there, but how can I remember where? *ah, short term mem.., huh???*

I there a way to track your replies?, A list of replied threads? Arrgh!

Also, My one and only comment. The Blade 400 is worthy. Runs fine for us new guys. I got a Trex and it's way cool, but you and I may remember the Blade 400 as a neatest, coolest, inexpensive heli later ;-).

Gr4yb3ard
Three months, 100+ crashes, now well versed in this insanity, CP Pro upgraded to SUX level, Blade 400 stock, building killer 450 se v2, lots of bigger stuff in the hanger, but not as cool as these little buggers...

[samufish]

:clapppThis is what I say, i know you typed this some time ago and have already made your purchase by now. Here goes.

If you are just starting, these things are harder to fly than you think.
Learn on an item where the parts are cheap and readily available local. You dont want to constantly bang up your new shiny Trex. TRex parts, at least where i am and sounds like where you are as well, hard to come by. This means you should order supply. The Blade is a rough start but will quickly get your flying senses hightened. Build your trex while learning on your blade 400.

The biggest plus of all. A good trex will cost you about 900 to get off the ground. With radio and all. The blade 400 has a great entry spektrum radio that can support up to 10 models. so you can use it on your trex as well. For 900 you can have two helis in the air instead of one. Upgrade your trex not your blade, leave it stock, its your learner. These guys been flyin and they want everyone to get what they got, and thats cool, but be sensible. that was my route. Now I got two great flyers, one radio and SKILLZ!:clappp

[shaggybirdman]

hmmmm $485 for a trainer heli. lets see $300 for a dx7 still leaves $185 for trex parts, and seeing as you still bought the trex you ended up buying a $485 $200 dx6i (or whatever the letter is before i get corrected) radio. still a better value to just do it right the first time around. i did. yes i got a horobo shuttle plus, but i got it ready to fly for $300 that included a gallon of fuel, and starter motor with starting wand. i wanted a nitro bird due to the wind we have been getting over the past few years.

bottom line do it ounce, and get a trex. not because i have one, but because you will get one anyhow. yes pricey, but it's what you want. not what you will settle for. yes i'll say it again to the next person that is debating another heli over a trex. hell they are cloning the trex. HDX i believe? and another one. get the real deal, and be done with it.

just my 2 cents worth.

[Gsquared08]

If you can afford it, the Trex definitely.

The Blade 400 is OK, but many find you need to upgrade the servos ($150 - $180 for all 4), and the gyro ($125). By that time, you are well into Trex area.

If money is tight, or you don't want to put the money into the Trex until youar e sure you will like flying helis, the Blade 400 is nice low cost, reasonable heli to try.

When you say they'll already be into the price of the Trex, that includes the Trex and a radio right? I am debating between the two but just don't know if I have to worry about getting "better servos" for the Blade400 right out of the gate. Will I know the the difference if I have never flown one before and considering I'm not getting into 3D, will the stock servos and other parts work for my style or last longer (crashes aside)?

My goal is to become more of a sport pilot and not 3D. I have been training on RealFlight's G3.5 trainer for a year now and am ready to start with the real deal. I have $800 and would rather get the Trex 450 if it's of higher quality but will that get me the heli and a good 2.4 radio? I have seen others stating it'll be around $1000 and that's fundage I can't come up with but I assume it's for the right charger and maybe some spare batteries.

I'm pretty sure I can be happy with the Blade and it's inferior (or entry level) parts and can always purchase a better ride down the road. I have a years worth of flight experience from the RealFlight simulator so I really want a purchase I can fly right out of the box and not build.

EDIT: SAMUFISH just gave me a V8 moment (slapping myself on the forehead). I'll go ahead and buy the Blade400, have a great radio to use on future birds and then a few paychecks later, buy the Trex 450E v.2 kit. I'll have a have a great summer time project to work on and in the end, know how to repair the heli myself when something happens.

[shaggybirdman]

support gear, and batteries really can't be put into the cost of the heli. as i understand the b 400 comes with a charger, but is it a charger that will move to the next heli? if your going to get a trex v2 after the b 400 why not just get it now, and be done with it?

keep your eyes open on evil bay for a trex 450 x cde. $130 with speed control, and motor. i have one in the final steps before flight.

130 heli
75 servos
130 gyro
60 battery
300 dx7
695 total

save a bit on a dx6 or other radio, and you got a trex. here's the link to one that has ended, but shows you can get a trex cheap.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300198993619&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020
granted it'd not a v2, but should be a top notch sport heli.

i'm not saying a b 400 is junk by no means, but everyone says i'll get the b 400, and get a trex v2 after. why wait? just get what you really want, and are going to get anyhow. $500 is a very expansive dx6i in my opinion.

believe me i'm not cheap, but i sure am frugal. i want a good bang for my buck is all. hey it's your cash. spend it as you will, but for gods sake don't settle. life's too short to settle.

[vwoz]

Although I bought the TRex (because I wanted to start with the better heli straight out of the gate) I think I would have been happy starting out with a B400 if I wasnt able to afford the TRex and some of the upgrades I got with it. I have been tempted to buy a B400 also to fly and play with so I dont crash my pretty TRex so often :P. I did purchase Phoenix sim and practice with it all of the time. I try to fly more challenging heli's with it so the TRex will be easier for me when the time comes. My LHS has parts for the B400 but not for the TRex, so I have to plan ahead and have a few key parts on hand for when I auger in. I dont think there is anything wrong with someone buying the B400 for a first heli, I think it would make a great learner and once you've been bitten by the bug and do move up to a better heli, it will still give you something to fly and try new things without wadding up whatever new heli you decide to buy!!!!!!!!!

Oz

[dravengary]

I started with a Blade 400 and loved it Best money I ever spent.....jm2cents :)

[tnap1979]

ok so here goes....
as a few of us, im sure, i started out with those cruddy little foam airhogs havoc heli's...
that started my addiction to rc heli flying... i yearned for more, something was missing,
so i said... hey lets check out my LHS, and see what they have....
i saw the Heli-Max AXE CP, and E-Flite Blade CP PRO,
the axe cp was cheaper than the blade cpp... major reason i thought, was due to the lipo in the blade cpp, the axe cp came with 9cell nimh...
so i was like, well im new, so i dont need a fancy lipo right now.... i asked clerk at LHS what is best buy for a newbie like me, has first asked me.... whats the budget... :)
so i knew right there, im not rich, and didnt have alot to spend at the time, so i said... " bout $350 max... " he told me, ok go with the axe cp, and get a heading hold gyro,
so i purchased the axe cp, and an align RCE-500X gyro...
got it all setup, tried for a first flight, and BANG... into ground, something was wrong with heli, out of box, so i got replacment parts, at a cost of close to $80, main blades, grips, center hub, swashplate, and landing gear.... after all that, i still have not to this day, gotten that damn axe in the air,
so i went out and bought a E-Flite Blade CX/2, thinkin it is way better and easier to start off with, since i bought the cx/2 i have not been let down, i bought all aluminum head upgrades and swashplate, was best thing i did, so again i wanted more, it was to easy to fly...
then was lookin at some of the more pro level 3d heli's like trex and hirobo and raptor
i wanted a trex, my LHS clerk has a se v2, looks very nice, but to much $$$
he said i could get a cheaper sa version, aluminum body and such, so i bought one....
my first trex 450 sa, never flown 450 b4, put it all together, got my motor and electronics 2 weeks later, the another week later got my radio (DX6i) and have to say this,
I CAN fly the trex better than the axe cp, my first setup test flight and i did hover and forward flight and brought it back to land, no broken parts....
mind you, the whole t-rex setup has cost me almost $700
but it was so worth it... so my advice, save save save for the better... its worth it,
my axe cp still to this day sits on my desk doing nothing but looking nice with its new aluminum upper head setup... i still dont want to fly it in fear of it breaking again,
rather fly the t-rex first or the cx/2

thanks for listenin... :)
Nicholas

[shaggybirdman]

I would like to get a Trex someday, however, I also want to learn to fly asap without having to spend the time acquiring the parts and then building a high performance 3d capable heli just to learn to hover.

btw, here's another interesting looking trex compatible clone for $99.00

http://www.xheli.com/exi-450-arf-rc-helicopter.html

I'm ordering the belt cp next week, it's got my curiosity up. The honeybee fp is just not stable enough in any kind of light breeze to learn all of the hovering orientations (I've been flying it for three months now), it more like just trying to chase it than learning to control it.

not bad. $160 shipped with motor, and esc. not sure on the quality if the motor, and esc, but it's only $30 more than i paid for my trex x cde. the xheli is full aluminum as well. nice find.

[shaggybirdman]

This assumes you never will break the Trex which seems unlikely.

-- Phil

well enjoy learning on the Belt CP (lol learning lol). looking into my crystal ball i see a trex in your near future.

[shaggybirdman]

check tis out

http://www.xheli.com/ma-450-helicopter-arf.html

[slotcars]

I bought a blade 400 and not 6 weeks later I was looking into getting a trex.The only good thing I got out of the 400 was a radio I could use on my Trex.I must say Horizon Hobbys customer service is 1st class