Very disappointed in EFlite/Blade quality control...not good

[FailureToFly]

I've had a rough start to my 450X experience.

I've had a stripped ball link which screwed into the swash and another ball link that screwed into my blade grip. Blade grip was particularly iffy.

So I went and bought another couple of grips and as I had an aluminium swash, I went and installed the stuff tonight.

Well...wouldn't my first flight have been a catastrophe if I hadn't checked my screws.

The feathering shaft wan't tight. At all...zero tension on the bolt.

Aren't they meant to be lock tighted from the factory?

Aren't they even mean to be screwed in????

It was 'just' screwed in...an then the builder dropped a feather on it to turn the screw to hold it.

Grrrr...

Basically, it would have likely unscrewed when it got to around eye level or just held until I was 20 or 30' up.

So that is the third item that could have really screwed my heli up.

I'm thinking I better check out the tail rotor shaft now...wonder what else could be 'well built' on it.

HH, hope you are listening!!!!

[johnsma22]

IMHO, no helicopter should be considered RTF out of the box, even if the manufacturer says it's so. I go over everything, from checking the tightness of all the fasteners, to flight setup. That way you don't have anything taking you by surprise. My B450 also had loose feathering shaft bolts out of the box, but a pre-flight check found them, as it did in your case.

The only heli I've ever bought that was truly RTF out of the box was my mcpx. I didn't need to do anything to it, and the only things I've needed to do to it since was replace parts I broke in a crash.

Also, you state with tongue in cheek that the heli is supposed to be "well built". I prefer to refer to them as "assembled", not "built". My Trex 450 Pro was also "assembled" at the factory, not "built". I pulled out every fastener and discovered only about 40% of them had any loctite on them at all. So, this is not just a Blade/Eflite thing.

[bradharvy]

Agree. You really do need to at the least go over all screws and locktite. I understand however, It is supposed to be flown RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX! That's what they advertise.. I know, I know. But, isn't it. They don't say RTF "but" Tear every thing down and make sure we did our job first .. I see both sides, But for safety, I only see one!

[HFMan]

I'm wondering if you got a Monday or Friday heli. My 450X was perfect out of the box- I checked it thoroughly and couldn't find any issues with the build. It also flew perfect the first flight.

Good for you for checking it out and finding those faults. Some folks wouldn't be so patient.

[anmatheextreme]

I bought my 450x yesterday and the only thing I did was very little checking on some screws for loctite and binding it. I have 12 maybe 13 flights on it and it is very good heli and no screws have fallen out or anything else being wrong. The only thing I changed was the tape in the BeastX with some 3M stiff tape to eliminate some wobble on tic tocs. Maybe its luck, but I never considered this heli or any heli RTF, even if its advertised so or is used heli and the owner is selling it as "RTF"

[Daniel880516]

In a built heli out of the box or used I will pay the most attention to the head and moving parts, that's what can take your life away, no need to ask me how I know, don't learn the hard way, takes 10 minutes to check and relocktite.

[Sambuka]

Agreed always Loctite the head no point having blades spinning at 3000 rpm only a few metres from you when you are just hoping the guy in the factory put in some Loctite.

My bird was mostly perfect a bit much positive pitch 14 degrees but head had almost too much Loctite.

[FailureToFly]

I guess I'm a little annoyed as there were 3 clear items wrong with the heli...i.e. there was virtually no reliable quality control being applied to the build.

I imagine QC was applied to the motor, servos, gyro etc as they are sealed units and there would have likely been tested off the assembly line but the build is poor.

I'll now pull off the tail rotors and check the hub etc and I'm in two minds to go through the beastX to check its settings too just in case.

I know this is normal but it's a chore considering my 450 3D was flying great straight away and the Blade helis are meant to be flyable straight away.

Imagine getting your car and having to trailer it to the local mechanics (or becoming a mech yourself) to get all the important bits checked, tightened etc before you drove it.

[Manzooka]

I'm with you FTF.

These are 450 helis (X and 3D) which essentially makes them "entry level" to the full size CP helis in the eyes of new buyers. If you you advertise RTF on an any heli or plank it should be RTF. Especially when you consider the number of first time buyers who might retreat from the hobby due to the frustrations associated with "mysterious" mechanical failures.

I give HH credit because my 450X was a true BNF and no additional mechanical setup was needed to achieve 50+ trouble free flights (I still checked her out), but if I had my way the RTF and BNF labels would be removed from full size helis forevermore in favor of a "Check N' Fly" or something like that, lol.

[FailureToFly]

Originally Posted by Manzooka

I give HH credit because my 450X was a true BNF and no additional mechanical setup was needed to achieve 50+ trouble free flights (I still checked her out), but if I had my way the RTF and BNF labels would be removed from full size helis forevermore in favor of a "Check N' Fly" or something like that, lol.

I think my 3D would have handled many flights if I hadn't crashed on #6!

I'm really looking forward to testing out the X and whilst it isn't quite stock anymore, if it flys well I'll be very happy indeed. The vids I've of seen of it just look amazing.

[Suburban92]

The probably have 1 in 10 checks. 100% inspection catches 80% defect. Speaking as a QE