Blade 450 3d for first big bird??

[Shogun71]

I had my heart set on a blade 450x but due to a bad hail storm and 3 insurance deductibles to cover, that heli is out of reach for the moment.

There is a local listing for a 450 3d used about 10 times "no crashes" for about $225 with out the transmitter.

This I could swallow at this time, and it would potentially be a nice "tame" learner for me.

Any input??

[andersn]

both are quite nice, really, allthough you will probably go fbl somewhere further down the line, but I do still enjoy my 450 3d (stock) a lot!

[spykez]

Hi, I have one of those, they're easy to work on. My first 450 it was.

I owe it my basic understanding of how to set a heli up - It was my first and only ever flybar heli (now FBL, hence 'was').

It will teach you a lot, even if what you buy is an umm.. less than pristine heli.. (the lesson will just be more frustrating and expensive). I'm sure you've checked the B450 forum out - so just make sure you know what to expect, even with a brand new one.

Before you buy though, consider your spares supply chain. How much are spares? Where can you get them from? Is there a cheaper option? Shipping? The upfront purchase cost of the heli is but the tip of the iceberg.

Also consider the wisdom of restraint and the option of saving till you can get a really nice and/or bigger heli. In retrospect I wish I bought different but this is myself looking at myself now, not the same me when I started last year, so it's not a fair comparison.

[UHx1xHuey]

At that price i say go for it. I payed about the same price for my B450 3D and i loved it. I used the softer settings that are in the manual for my DX6i and it was so stable and it flew like an angle. lol If you do buy it though go over every thing on the heli. Make sure the metal to metal parts in the rotor head and tail rotor have loctite on them and make sure nothing is bent and make sure your tail belt tention is not to tight. Alot of people say "Never crashed" But i allways like to go over the whole heli crashed or not. But you cant go wrong with the B450 3D.

[celltech]

Originally Posted by Shogun71

I had my heart set on a blade 450x but due to a bad hail storm and 3 insurance deductibles to cover, that heli is out of reach for the moment.

There is a local listing for a 450 3d used about 10 times "no crashes" for about $225 with out the transmitter.

This I could swallow at this time, and it would potentially be a nice "tame" learner for me.

Any input??

You can a brand new BNF blade 450 3d on ampdraw.com for $240

[Shogun71]

Originally Posted by celltech

You can a brand new BNF blade 450 3d on ampdraw.com for $240

I'm in Canada, shipping and duty add up really fast.....

Local prices are just over $300 for bind and fly.

If I can get the guy down to $200 or lower I will go for it, if not save up and wait a few more months...... arrrgggg

[RodneyK]

If you do buy it, you can also upgrade it with a flybarless head later, as well.

[rhodesengr]

I would not call it a "nice tame heli". The 450X is substantially more stable. Wind seems to grab the flybar paddles and cause loss of control. I crashed mine twice in stock form and then rebuilt it FBL with a Tarot head and an AR7200BX. So except for the motor its essentially a 450X which I also have. Its so much better now. Yet to crash it and have progressed to flips and rolls.

personally, I don't like the complexity of an FB head. The mechanical setup on FB is a lot harder to do.

Consider saving up and getting the 450X. The econmics of conversion don't really add up if you are trying to save money since the AR7200BX alone is $240 or (190 something at ampdraw). Its more to start, but if you crash less, its cheaper in the long run.

[SQRT(-2)]

If you want to go FBL down the road, a economy unit like the Tarot ZYX is a good value. I got one for my Trex with a head for a hundred bucks, works great. I think the Tarot head can be put on a Blade, someone was working on doing it.

http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=360216

FBL is great, but FB work just fine and $200 is $200. You can get a good amount of spare parts for $200.

[Heli Maine]

I can't comment on the Blade 450 models themselves (I had a 400 which I wasn't overly fond of) - however I wouldn't get too hung up on it being flybarred. After you do setup one or two times it's a piece of cake. You can get some killer deals on flybarred models at the moment too - it seems everyone is running after the latest & greatest thing.
Just my two cents.

[Blinghelis]

If its your first CP heli then you might find that size a little twitchy in the wind to learn on and slow down your progress. There is a arguement to get your CP skills up on a sim and get some stick practice on something quite robust like the mCPx or 130X when it comes out this month. If you already have a micro CP - then the 450 is an ok jump, but you would find something bigger and heavier easier to progress on due to the stability in the wind you get with the extra weight. Something like a 550E or 600 would be much more stable and give you more confidence to lean on....but its a step up on budget.

Hope this helps.

Chris.

[Shogun71]

Putting in 20 minutes a day on the mcpx and sim time when able.

Able to hover tail in and nose right and left 90 degrees, working on nose in now.

With enough room I can fly around tail in quite well and manage well in moderate winds. I have really only been doing this for 3 weeks so I am pleased.

I would love a 300x to practice with in my back yard but alas who knows when they will be available.