Crash repair cost. Who crashed and how much did it cost you?

[stvjeep]

Explain the crash scenario (blade strike to hard nose in FF)

Please list components and total cost (estimate is fine)

List the kit. Logo 500 3D for example.

Thanks

[OICU812]

Man this is a tough one, not even going to get an average from this one. Reason is there are to many variables. I have had 5 times more damage on a tip over than in a full boar dive,,, it is a flip of the quarter that can make or break this one. I do not think there is a way to really evaluate this, its all luck on this part imho.

[Big Fil]

While i've never had a crash on the Logo (knocks on wood) I think it's the same with the other helis i've had. Sometimes the crashes you would think would be cheap end up costing the most, then the ones that look the worse end up costing next to nothing. Example: with my 450 I had a simple hard touchdown due to wind when I was learning turn into an almost $170 crash. Then just last week I drove my 450 in tail first on a backwards circuit dumb thumb that only took a tooth out on the main gear. I mean how is it that every other time I crash the thing it bends a boom, then drive the thing in backwards and the boom is fine. like Shawn said it's just a toss of the coin in heli crashes. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

[OICU812]

And remember this always becomes a big arguement, especially amongst the new people in the hobby but,,, hate me if you like but the bottom line is regardless of manufacturer or model they are built to fly, not built to crash. :P Truth of it is if you want a cheap to fix helicopter than buy a cheap helicopter like a Swift or something of that quality level but at the same time don't expect it to fly better than a cheap helicopter flies. This is the way you have to think about it. Mikado, MinAir, Avant,,,, they all fly good, they are more expensive to fix absolutely, do they fly better than alot of other helicopters out there, absolutely!

[Mercuriell]

OK here is one of my many !!

Logo 6003D - lost tail due to belt coming off tail pulley - semi uncontrolled piro from about 20ft -

Canopy smashed (but I repaired it)
Landing Gear ripped off - held on with nylon bolts and unbroken
Landing gear skids - bent - straightened
Flybar bent ~$12
Flybar ball link bust ~$5
New tail pulley and tensioner ~$15

So about $35 - really lucky - good thing is Mikado parts break down into components and nearly every component available separately and many times repairable.

Big ticket item for me is blades - ~$100 a pop for ALign ones - been really lucky on the Logo 600 and only bust one set of Radixs - if it weren't for blades most of my repairs would be $50-100

[dahld]

If you have any experience in the heli hobby, then you know the "usual" (or should I say most likely) parts to break in a crash. Go to the Mikado parts section of www.espritmodel.com. There you can download the Mikado manuals, look-up the part numbers of all those likely crash parts, and then check the cost of the parts yourself on Esprit's web site. As the boys said above, my crash costs on any particular crash won't be the same as yours or anyone else's.

You can figure out on your own a worst case and best case scenario (although Mercuriell's crash noted above is about the best I've ever heard of with a Mikado). And just think. If he'd be flying a V-Bar, he wouldn't have even bent the flybar or broken a flybar link :D.

Take care, Dave.

[Blackrat]

Landing Gear ripped off - held on with nylon bolts and unbroken

Do the bolts bend and absorb the impact ? or do they snap and prevent the frame from being broken ? thats a pretty good idea though, gonna have to look into a set ;) cheers

[Mercuriell]

Do the bolts bend and absorb the impact ? or do they snap and prevent the frame from being broken ? thats a pretty good idea though, gonna have to look into a set ;) cheers

They shear off and have save me frame damage and gear damage more times than I care to admit to :o - make sure you use nylon (opaque) rather than acrylic (clear) as the latter are a bit too brittle.

(although Mercuriell's crash noted above is about the best I've ever heard of with a Mikado). And just think. If he'd be flying a V-Bar, he wouldn't have even bent the flybar or broken a flybar link :D.


It's coming :) - just getting my head around the setup software - hope to maiden it tomorrow on the 5003D

[Eyon]

most of my crashes are tied up in the blades. just picked up sponsorship for blades so hopefully my crashes will be a whole lot cheaper :clappp


though this was an expensive one:

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29776&d=1193912679

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29777&d=1193912679

but as you can see the head block survived well:bs

[Flybar-less]

The Vbar Logo is more expensive to put in the air, but I have spent less time and money keeping them in the air, compared to the the TRex, plus the Logo is more fun!

[lloyd 1]

Another point

Costing when I had to replace the 1 side of my Logo 10

Logo 10 frames are $19 (both)
Logo 500 is $70 (both)........................


lloyd

[Eyon]

£17 a side for us in the UK, thats cheap! £32 to do the whole frame, beats aligns £90 or somthing!!!

[Blackrat]

lloyd , why wait for a logo 400, i mean its only the canopy thats different and a slight extension in the frame with a shorter boom ? make one ?

i get my frames on friday ;-)

[jamesotron99]

I have a Logo 10 carbon that I'm considering getting the shorter boom for and seeing how it goes. Probably want lighter packs and motor though first.

[stvjeep]

Some Dude on Runryder told me his main shaft sheared in flight and the resulting crash cost him over $400!! Man I can see that some will be worse then others but WOW. I think I should stick with the T-rex 600 since it seems more durable and part are about 70% of Mikados costs. Mikado Logos seems so amazing though, I just can't afford a few $400 crashes! That's just sick.

[Big Fil]

Guess what, all crashes are different and some of the worst looking ones cost the least, and some of the minor crashes can cost the most. It's really a roll of the dice. In most cases a Trex 500 should be real cheap to fix but my dad had a $300+ crash on one about a month ago. I've had a $200 crash on a 450.

I wouldn't get scared about reports of sheared mainshafts. I've read of 1 or 2 sheared shafts and it seems like the same guy is just bitter about 1 crash because of it and keeps bringing it up over and over again.

[OICU812]

Some Dude on Runryder told me his main shaft sheared in flight and the resulting crash cost him over $400!! Man I can see that some will be worse then others but WOW. I think I should stick with the T-rex 600 since it seems more durable and part are about 70% of Mikados costs. Mikado Logos seems so amazing though, I just can't afford a few $400 crashes! That's just sick.


Then do not crash, helis are built to fly, not crash. Anyhow all aside I can tell you with full confidence the T600 is not even in same category, I know this, I have one as a night basher. Anyhow I have had a 6S,8S,10S T600 and not one of em holds a candle to even the Logo 500. If you are looking to save $ on packs and what not then get the Logo 5003D, it will outperform the T600 by heeps and use the cheaper 6S packs and cheaper esc etc....

You can always convert it to a 600 down the road if you wish to.

[Big Fil]

To add to what Shawn was saying I have both Trex600 and Logo500 as well. The Trex on 6S will eventually leave you wanting more power. When you do it'll be an 8S or 10S upgrade which = lotsa $$$ since you need to upgrade the ESC and motor to handle higher cell counts. The Logo 5003D on 6S has tons of power and more to spare. My power cravings have been satisfied by this machine.

Honestly, if you can't risk a $400 crash you shouldnt' be considering a Trex600 or a Logo 5/600. There is always the possibility of it happening although most crashes will be less.

[stvjeep]

I'm looking at running strictly A123 cells only. The Logo's fit those perfectly. The T-rex 600 fits them well too. The T-rex 500 not so well (7S but it's an oddly constructed pack). You have a great point though that not all crashes will cost $400.

I will not go for anything with less then a 900mm rotor diameter. So considering my A123 restrictions, I'm left with Logo 500/600 and T-Rex 600. I just have to figure out which one!!

Anyways check out the attached picture. I figured out the disc loading of some different popular Helis and this explains why the Logo's destroy the competition....

[stvjeep]

Hey, what about the Logo 10 3D? The parts are dirt cheap, and the kits are dirt cheap, and it holds A123 cells OK with the front CF tray. From what I've been told the head and tail is the same thing as the current Logo 500. I assume the only difference is the frame and gear design? It's also 630g heavier then the Logo 500 according to Espirit Model. Is that all in the canopy since from what I hear, the 500's canopy is quite thin.

[jamesotron99]

There's no way a Logo 10 is heavier than a Logo 500.

The servos alone are much heavier. My Logo 10 Carbon was 2.3kg with 6S 3700mAh pack, I haven't weighed the 500 yet, but I will tonight when I get home.

James.

[stvjeep]

I pulled that off of Espirit Models site. I'll check Mikados home page and see what I find there. I'll update this post if I find different.

Edit: from Mikados home page.

Logo 500 3D 2.2kg and up
Logo 10 3D 2.0Kg and up

I guess that's dry weight with no battery? Different battery sizes and electronics would make a huge difference. I know this has been posted before so I don't want to repost the whole weight thing. If I find the link I'll post it here. But James please do a comparison with no battery packs please.

[Mercuriell]

Anyways check out the attached picture. I figured out the disc loading of some different popular Helis and this explains why the Logo's destroy the competition....

It's an interesting graph but flawed in the real world as it assumes equal power plants - your graph of disc loading might indicate which autos the best (Logos certainly do float nicely :) ) - you really are thinking of power to weight ratio which I guess would be reflected by watts/kg

[stvjeep]

If you had an equal ratio of power vs the rotor diameter in each then wouldn't the rank still hold? Many say the Logo's performs so much better then the T-rex's and that they feel "floaty" in the air. I think these number reflect that statement. Anyways I'm a newb to all this so just trying to make a meaningful measure of data for my own reference.

[Big Fil]

Interesting graph about the disc loading. I thought when the Trex 500 came out people were talking about how light the disc loading on it was, yet on your graph it is the worst one. The other factor is components will have a drastic effect on the weight of the bird. For instance Bruce and my Logo500s are different by a 1/4 pound just from different servos and BEC. Another example would be which Trex450 your using for your weights. Is that for an SE or for an S? The disc loading and weight thing is extremely intriguing and i'm a believer after the owning the Logo for a while. I'm actually thinking about an experiment with my 450 V2 to down grade to the plastic head and tail for a while, HS-56 servos, and taking the heavy Neu motor off for a while to see what it flies like. I'm expecting the weight difference will be pretty significant.