Help with Heli Choice

[diamonddawg21]

I am new to Heli's but not R/C, I raced 1/8 scale buggies for years and have been flying a gas trainer plane for a couple of months. I have been reseaching the 450 size heli's and have pretty much decided on a Trex 450 SE v2. I stopped into my local hobby shop today where I buy most of my stuff and they said I really should start with the 450 S or SA. I told them I wanted to build my first heli so they pushed me back towards the S. I had pretty much made up my mind but I am kind of confused again. The main reason he said I should get the 450 S was because it is easier to fly then the 450SE v2. And the parts would be cheaper. I thought about that for a moment on the way home and if I did break a part dont I have the option to replace it with a aluminum or plastic part. If anyone can assist with helping me make a educated decison that would be great, but the reason I settled on the trex 450 SE v2 was because I read countless reviews stating it is easy to fly.

[Skiddz]

Easy is a matter of perspective.... I certainly don't understand the logic that the S or SA is easier to fly than an SE or an SEV2... With any of them, headspeed is your friend. It will make the heli more stable and more responsive. You'll find in the RC heli world, bigger is easier to fly just because of stability and visibility. Having said that, the 450s are pretty stable for small helis and if set up properly, can be a decent beginner machine.

Money wise, starting with an S or an SA will initially be a bit less expensive, but that's where the savings stop. Servos, gyro, batteries, charger(s) etc will be the same amount regardless of which particular 450 you buy. When you crash, chances are the plastic head pieces on the S and SA will break and you'll probably opt for the metal upgrades for the rebuild.

I have 2 SEs and 1 V2 and have yet to bend or break a metal head piece in a crash.. Sure I bend shafts, but that's gonna happen regardless...

As far as actually building the thing, regardless of how "pre-assembled" the kit is, it's a good idea to pull each screw in the assemblies and apply threadlocker to it just to be sure it's been applied. You'll then get some good knowledge of how it all goes together.

Have you thought about an SE model? All metal head and tail, CF frame and pretty durable. My most expensive 450SE crash cost me $42 and most are less than $25 - including 325 wood blades. Figure about $700-800 to get an SE in the air with good electronics, another $150 or so for a pair of battery packs and $100-$200 for a charger/balancer..

You may need a transmitter if your current rig has less than 6 channels and no heli programming capabilities.

[ChasHeliCop]

Go with the SE V2, no reason to wait to crash to upgrade to metal. It's a durable heli, and you will kick yourself if you go with the plastic and have to replace something everytime you touch the blade to the ground. After a year of flying the V2, I have only replaced the washout block and rotor head due to bent pins. Maybe he just wants to sell you more parts ?

[diamonddawg21]

Skidds and Chasehelicop,
Thanks a million for you advice, I purchased a DX6i with my plane knowing good and well I would try my hand at a heli pretty soon. Not sure why the hobby shop guy's sometimes confuse newbies but thanks to helifreak and I am armed with a bit more knowledge. FYI I also have a Multplex Multicharger LN-5014 and a real flight G4 sim to train on.

Thx, again

[GreenCello]

+1 on Skiddz reply. Take your question to the Trex 450 forum. You will get information from fliers with lots of personal experience. If you watch for deals on new SEv2 kits you could build one for $600 (kit-$270-300, 3xHS65mg $100, Logitech2100 $105, Tail Servo $50-75, Receiver $50) and have good electronics with all metal head and tail that don't break in every crash.
As far as an S being easier to fly, sounds like BS to me.

[Skarn]

Yeah bro, I too say get the SE v2 and never look back.

Take what your LHS says with a grain of salt unless you know them well and trust them. From my experience of my 2 LHS, they simply are not very heli knowledgeable.

Skarn

[diamonddawg21]

Thanks everyone,
I ordered me a 450 SE V2 today, now I better hustle on over to the beginner section and read my tail off.

[Skarn]

Thanks everyone,
I ordered me a 450 SE V2 today, now I better hustle on over to the beginner section and read my tail off.


Congrats, you will LOVE It.

I suggest instead of the beginners section, go to the Finless vids of the Trex 450 and watch all of them...over and over and.......

Good luck!
SKarn

[diamonddawg21]

will do, thx Skarn

[Pinecone]

Get the SE.

And there is no reason an S or SA wold be any easier to fly, they are all the same heli, just differences in various parts as to teh material they are made of. All the parts are interchangeable.

My choice for a beginner is an SE V1. Most of the changes to the V2 are for hard 3D, and in some ways work against a beginner.