Coming in from the cold - 450 or 200?

[stoatnchips]

I've found threads comparing the 200 to others such as the HBK2 and Belt CP, but not directly with the Crowned Trex 450! It looks like nearly everyone who owns one has owned a 450 first and should be in a position to give me some pointers...:confused:

I'm not a total noob, its just been a while... the last time i flew a real heli was my Shuttle ZX back in '95!! I just never got the time to fly and other things took over. That all changed when i got a PicoZ for christmas, got bored, bought a CX2 and got bored again.

I just wanted some opinions on starting on EP Helis; Nitro is just too messy and hard work to get back into! Do I follow the crowd & start with a 450 (Is there good reason why virtually everyone does this?), is it really that much harder to start on the smaller 200? Is it like riding a bike or are the changes in Gyros, eCCPM Tx's and other technologies make this a whole new ball game for me?

Really i wanna fly this indoors (sports hall, not home!) so don't wanna go too big. Can i tweak it so it becomes dull, then increase response in line with my skills?

Trex 450 or Hurricane 200 :dontknow

[sbmon]

Depends really upon how big your indoor venue is.
While the 200 performs great for it's size it is still no 450. The trex 450 v2 is like flying a 90 after flying the 200. Considering you are getting back into the hobby I would go with the 450. More people fly them so help and parts are much more readily available. I am by no means downing the gaui 200, it is hands down the best heli in its size class.

[crabfu]

I currently fly mini titan & trex 450 sev2 & gaui 200. The easiness to fly is in that order. I agree with sbmon, gaui 200 is awesome "for the size", but it's not a 400 size heli. When I get used to the gaui, my other helis seems REALLY slow, they just kind of hang in the air, and does not have a death wish when in my hands like the gaui :)

With that said.... gaui 200 is now my fav heli. The reason is that I get lots of stick time in the small backyard & garage, and it's really a blast to fly, always a challenge. I've improved (and crashed) a lot since I picked up the gaui, simply because of the stick time almost daily. I have flown other smaller helis like king2 and cp pro, and have found that although gaui 200 is smaller, it is easier to fly than king2 or cpp.

If you want something easy to learn on, gaui is probably not the best thing. The only plus for the gaui: can fly in a much smaller space, slightly cheaper, less pucker factor (it's tiny). The minus: harder to work on, less stable & harder to fly / learn. Things happen a lot faster on the gaui, so room for mistakes are much smaller... don't let the cuteness or those 3D videos fool you, it ain't easy... but I sure love this heli :)

-Crabfu

[mjr_larkin]

Some of those points sure make the 450 look appealing. I would still say though that if you want a larger format heli, go for 500 size or better. If you want to stick to smaller size the 450 doesn't have much going for it in that it's still too big for indoors and not quite big enough to withstand considerable wind and be stable. I totally agree the 200 feels like it has a death wish. If setup nicely and with no bent parts.. the gaui is very controllable and fast and I fly it in my 10ft x 10ft room, but have also suffered 3 blade strikes but then again, like crabfu, since it's in the comfort of my home can fly it a lot.

fyi: gaui hurricane 425 is now out :cheers

[Buzzkill]

All good points. I have a 500,450 and a few Gaui 200's. Best advice? Get all three :thumbup:

[stoatnchips]

Thanks for the feedback, :) i guess crab & mjr sold it, from the "max stick time" angle... Its all about getting back on the horse asap without having to drag a big flight box down to field each time... out the back of the house works fine with a heli this size as well as the sports hall... the hurry it is!!

I aint got a scooby on the current HW out there so if i could just get some more stuff answered, i can get ordering.:banana
There's been a few posts already about recomended spec, so i'm not gunna ask for recomendations... just shout is you see a problem. I found a place in th US for the radio gear and i guess Flying Hobby is the best place for the kit :confused:

DX7
AR6100
2100T + 3100G

Light Combo Kit from Flying Hobby
(See if i can get the stock Gyro swapped out the deal for a Balance charger though!)
Stock Motor + ESC
MX306BB
AP850 2s x2

The MX306 is the only thing i have no info on... but they can be repalced later.

The last thing is spares... wanna keep it a short list but have enough to keep going... I could choose a different TX and get more spares if you think thats the best way forward, it just seems that the DX7 is the recomended option for Txs.

Main Blades Wood 203306
Plastic Canopy 9g 203166
Tail Boom long CF 203196
Tail Boom long 203189
Boom Support 203209
Belt Long x 2 861902
Linkage Set 203322
Main Shaft Long x 2 203222
Landing Skids CF 203680
Spindle Shaft Pack 203849
Main Gear & Bearing 203540
Long Tail Conversion 203324
Tail Output Shaft 203120
Tail Pitch Control 203140
Tail Blades 203080
Ali Tail Servo Mount KT10023
Paddles 203110
Flybar Adapter 203241
Flybar x2 203240
Blade Grips 203560
Feathering Shaft 832010
Body retaining kit 203450
Main Body 203612


..... Anything here i should get more than 1 of, or don't need... Tail conversion kit just bundles blades, belts and booms i guess... is the Main Frame a must?

[mjr_larkin]

spindle/feathering shaft bends most for me as well as the screws that hold the blade grips to the yoke.

I also got the MX306 with the package and I can say they are fine servos for cyclic but you won't want to use it for the rudder. Also, make sure you get a name brand charger/balancer, not a cheapo $20 deal. I use a fma cellpro 4s and it is pretty much been the ideal charger for 2s and 3s packs of mine. I think fma has a deal where you get a power supply for the charger for only $10 extra.

Have fun with the build

[crabfu]

Cool... remember, just take it slow, it is a twitchy mo fo :) I could nose in hover no problem with a 400 size heli, but took me probably a month before I could do it (not that great still) with the 200.

As far as spares... I've gone through LOTS of screws for the spindle/main grips. Those seem to bend more than breaking the spindles in light crashes. I have to replace those screws on ANY crash. The seesaw that buzzkill posted about... broken lots of them too. Tail blades contacts the ground easily and grind the ends off, until I put a zip tie on the back for a little added height protection. And I've gone through lots of blades as well, woodies don't last very long in my hands, and plastic tend to break other parts more. Also the tail linkages tend to pop when I contact the ground with the tail, they are tiny... so I loose them often. Other parts are always good to have, but surprisingly I've never had to replace the flybar or peddles, belts... even with bad crashes :)

-Crabfu

[stoatnchips]

Bonza!! Thanks for reminding me about the screws... i remeber reading this somewhere... Do these srews need to be some thing special... correct tensile strength like shear bolts??

If not then i think there is a small hardware supply store near me that sells anything posible in aircraft grade stainless alloy.... Like there use to be a 2.3mm x 65mm machine screw with a 40mm shank for muffelers on my Concept 30...with a 2.3mm nylonless lock nut.... and this shop would have them... in stock... for penies!!!

mjr - gunna try and go to as few outlets as possible, due to the $40-$80 shipping charges to the UK that will go with this heli, so i suppose i gotta pick one that FH has in stock.

I 'll take it slow to start with Crabfu, I remeber 13 years ago it use to cost me £75 ($150 US) to fix a boom strike!! I also just spotted "jad" that posts here, is also on Heliguy and his profile shows him to be about 2 miles away!! If there is a local club he knows about, then thats another 200EP owner local that i can get some tips from ;)

Either of you 2 used FH before...? will they put a good deal together or price match if you buy everything from them?? I found someone in the states that will supply and ship TX, RX, Gyro and Tail Servo to the UK for $395!! not sure if FH can get close!! :)

[crabfu]

I dunno anything about materials and strength on screws.... what I do know is that I am very happy to replace bent screws instead of more expensive parts, and hard to get out spindles :)

I get most of my gaui stuff from amain, great service and fast shipping... not sure about to uk though :)

-Crabfu

[psindrup]

Where will you be buying "fast spares" shipped to the UK?

Half of the times when I order parts from the US of A I get "caught" in customs, sometimes delaying shipments 14 days (and adding cost, of course)

Peter

[stoatnchips]

Hoping to aviod the situation of needing "Fast Spares" by having enough in stock myself.... or maybe by avoiding crashing... haven't decided yet ;-)

As i started this post, i have no experience of needing Heli parts for the last 12 years, so i guess i'm gunna go with jad's suggestion of fast-lad.co.uk and pay 3 times over the odds >:P