Hurricane 425 - Revision 1.0

[readyheli]

We submitted frame revisions to GAUI, and we got back the new kit with the required modifications...first looks (now) are great!

Here are some initial observations from my team.
1: All Up Weight (AUW) without battery: 1485 grams
2: AUW with 6s 2200mah Kong Power 25C battery: 1895 grams
3: Fiberglass canopy weight: 80 grams

Comparison to T-Rex 500..
1: AUW without battery: 1395 grams
2: AUW with 6s 2200mah Kong Power 25C battery: 1805 grams
3: Align fiberglass canopy weight: 60 grams

Considering that the Hurricane 425 has the 550 head assembly, all those extra gears, bellcranks, a much larger motor and a bigger ESC, I think the 100g difference is well accounted for.. The motor is huge so I think the extra weight will not matter too much.

As is usual with a GAUI, this helicopter is extremely smooth with next to zero slop. After working on it myself, I can agree with GAUI that the bellcranks are not a problem at all. The only thing that sucks about them is that they add on an extra 25-30g of dead weight, but they aren't problematic in terms of function. Their unusual gear system still annoys me. But, assuming it holds up to 3D abuse, it's another "problem" that doesn't matter.

Now its time for some hard 3d to see what it can handle...will post videos soon.

[vicrc]

Nice! How much will the new 425 cost? What is the max size main blade can it swing/bend without hitting tail rotors blades?

My Hurry 550, now a true 500 with the CHP CF frame and short tail conversion, is that basically what the new 425 looks like?

Do you have better pictures of the current frame and setup?

[readyheli]

Guys:

todays r&d flight vid up.

http://blip.tv/file/762790

higher quality ===> http://blip.tv/file/762790?filename=Readyheli-Hurricane425RDFirstFlight894.mov

enjoy. packs were kong power 3s 2200 (x2 series) and 9650's on cyclic.

[oppie]

Nice flying Kyle! How does the 425 compare to the 550 and what power train?

[mysticmead]

nice flying.... for what I could see of it. the heli kept getting lost in the back ground. I guessing that this heli is to be about the same size as the trex 500 correct? I hope so and I really hope that it takes a chunk of the market away from align.

[kgfly]

I have been waiting to see more about this heli, glad to see it coming along. Looks a little odd to my eye, but not unappealing. I am suprised it shares the 550 head, makes sense in terms of reduced R&D costs but I would think it adds a fair bit of weight over a more appropriately sized unit.

Very interesting to compare weights of the emerging 500-class:

H425 = 1485g -> 1895g with KP 6s 2200
T500 = 1395g -> 1805g with KP 6s 2200
MSH500 = 1140g -> 1550g with KP 6s 2200

I think these are all with S9650 servos but if not there could be a few grams variation. Even so, the H425 is showing the cost of carrying the 550 head, two stage gears and bellcranks. Sure didn't seem to hold it back in the hands of an expert though ;)

[Happy|Harry]

the downside to all the extra weight is that it needs very high headspeeds for decent 3D flight, and that costs watts, hence the 3 minute flight shown in the video. also even in the video it doesn't look the most nimble of 3D heli's. i think that i will pass on the H425 and go for the MSH Protos as it looks to be THE 425mm bladed heli :noteworthy

[Kepler]

I'm with you at this stage HappyHarry. The only thing that might see me getting the Gaui 425 is to use losts of redundant parts from blinging out my 550 and build up a 425 from spares. I have a spare head, tail box, all sorts of gear ratios so it might be economical. Will need to see the cost of 425 spares first though.

[J-Heli]

It doesn't look outstanding yet, but it's probably still in it's developmental stages. At this point, I wouldn't buy it either, but I'll have to see how it goes.