550L Dominator or nah?

[HeliMadMarcus]

Hi guys, this is my first post on helifreak and i'd like to start by saying hello and thanks for welcoming me to the community.

I currently have an align TREX 450 dfc and i'm planning on selling it for a larger machine. I have been looking at purchacing an align 550L dominator but i'm sure there's many other brands i'm not familiar with which may be better.

Things like quality, weight, available spares and cost are all factors. I currently use a spektrum dx8 and a mini kbar gyro which i would use in the new heli. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated! I am planning to do the build myself which i'm excited about so any tips for that process i'd be happy to hear. Thanks.
Marcus

[alyon187]

I have a pro, like yours, and just got a gaui x3. I notice a night and day difference in feel, ease of assembley/maintenance and quality of parts compared to align. If it was me, I would try and keep your 450 as a practice heli so that you can try new moves and what not on it without causing too much damage if you crash. I would personally go w a gaui x5 or the x4ii which I hear you can stretch to a "sort of" x5 if you want. Thats me though...

[HeliMadMarcus]

I've been considering keeping the 450 as i really do enjoy it and im stilk learning ofcourse, an easier build process is defibately inportant to me i will have a look at the gaui machines deffo! Thanks

[Family Guy]

I would keep the 450 also. My 550L is awesome to fly but my 450 (the one with cgy750) great also! The 450 with the BeastX is my beater heli (poor bird).

[CrashNburn420]

For sure keep the 450! You will still want a heli that is cheap to crash and learn on. Align combos are pretty reasonably priced for what you get but if you have the extra funds there are better models out there. My next heli is going to be a Goblin but after pricing it out I keep putting it off.

[HeliMadMarcus]

I have been considering keeping the 450 as it's been great to learn from and i still have plenty to learn it was only the cost of a new kit which was making me want to sell up, i have a kbar gyro on the 450 which seems to work great but id probably look at getting a spektrum ar700bx on my new bird. i'd love a sab goblin 380 eventually but as you say crashnburn they're pricey. thanks for the replies!

[CrashNburn420]

You can buy used as well, just be very cautious who you buy from. There have been a few scammers on here lately. I would only buy from people with good feedback and that have been longer members here. Check the scammers section before buying anything and feel free to ask others if they think it's legit / a fair price. You can save a lot buying used.

[Larryu]

If money is an issue I would look at used I just bought a KDS Agile 5.5 and saved around $500 compared to new, for a phenomenal helicopter that was in perfect shape, and no it wasn’t as much fun because I didn’t get to put it together. It wasn’t complete I did have to add a few parts but that’s ok I got to pick the FBL unit and servos I wanted. Take a close look at all of the 550’s out there advantages with Align is everybody carries them so replacement parts are very plentiful down side is they are not as easy to work on as some of the other brands. I had narrowed my picks down to a Gaui X5, a Synergy E5 or an Agile 5.5 I just found the deal on the Agile first. I learned on an Align 450+ and it’s a good helicopter after I upgraded all the weak links it’s just a pain to work on, I have looked at Align 550’s and I don’t think they would be as easy as my Agile to work on. Hopefully a little food for thought, it’s your helicopter so do your research and get what you will be happy with.

[CrashNburn420]

If you want the fun of building it, you can strip it down completely. It's a good idea to rebuild a Heli anyway.

[HeliMadMarcus]

Thanks larry ill take a look at those models,i've seen a mint looking sab goblin 380 with BK servos and an ikon fbl unit for £600 i would love a slightly larger heli though for more stability in stronger winds. I'll look at the agile. Thanks crash i would take my 450 to bits and build up again however as mine was a second hand heli alot of the hex head fixings are very tight and get rounded off easily but i might try again with some wd40. I would like to re wire it a bit more neatly which would require the frame to be seperated idealy.

[CrashNburn420]

Some people heat up the screw with a soldering iron to loosen the loctite. Or Use a dremel and cut a slot in the bolt, then a flat head screw driver to remove it.

Get a good 1.5 hex wrench, makes a huge difference! MIP makes a good one, super tight fit in the screws and the wrench won't round off. Also pick up a bag of frame hardware for $5 and replace all the screws on the frame.

[1am7h30n3]

Originally Posted by HeliMadMarcus

I have been considering keeping the 450 as it's been great to learn from and i still have plenty to learn it was only the cost of a new kit which was making me want to sell up, i have a kbar gyro on the 450 which seems to work great but id probably look at getting a spektrum ar700bx on my new bird. i'd love a sab goblin 380 eventually but as you say crashnburn they're pricey. thanks for the replies!

your current 'bar fbl is way better than a spektrum ar7200bx etc like on a whole nother league. i have both, will likely try sell the ar7200bx sometime, 'bar is super simple to setup with PC and with a bazillion more parameters that are tweakable you can really make it fly just right, but don't get me wrong, it'll likely outfly an ar7200bx with out the box settings, just it allows for improvement from there. blinking lights on ar7200bx are not ideal, don't spend good money on that stuff...

550 size is a good step up, like a massive step from a 450, you will be shaking first time you fly it. 550l dominator is a nice machine, i prefer the gaui x5, it's lighter. definitely get a used machine, it'll save you loads, strip it down and rebuild, good advice.

[HeliMadMarcus]

Originally Posted by 1am7h30n3

your current 'bar fbl is way better than a spektrum ar7200bx etc like on a whole nother league. i have both, will likely try sell the ar7200bx sometime, 'bar is super simple to setup with PC and with a bazillion more parameters that are tweakable you can really make it fly just right, but don't get me wrong, it'll likely outfly an ar7200bx with out the box settings, just it allows for improvement from there. blinking lights on ar7200bx are not ideal, don't spend good money on that stuff...

550 size is a good step up, like a massive step from a 450, you will be shaking first time you fly it. 550l dominator is a nice machine, i prefer the gaui x5, it's lighter. definitely get a used machine, it'll save you loads, strip it down and rebuild, good advice.

Thanks for the great advice 1am7, i really enjoyed programming the kbar and as you say it does have tonnes of things to adjust i actually have 3 kbars so maybe ill just stick with it. I think i will do as crash said and strip/rebuild my 450 pro with some upgraded parts to add some fun to the process, the gaui x5 seems to be coming up alot it's just the aesthetics of it that are putting me off the 550l dominator looks mean and is reletively inexpencive, it's the packs and the charging unit which will cost a fair bit. What is the best material to put between the cables and the cable ties on my frame? Some kind of fabric to stop the wires rubbing?
Thanks to everyone for the replies so far this is invaluable advice!

[HeliMadMarcus]

[alyon187]

If it goes across a corner of a frame you can sand it down a lil to soften up the edges but I just use a small amount of electrical tape. Should be good for a cable tie as well. Those aren't as near as sharp as the cf edges.

[Larryu]

The cloth side of velcro works good to wrap over CF edges to keep wires from chaffing.

[Bladecpnitro]

550's fly incredibly well but are large and not near as handy and are more hassle. I'd definitely keep the 450 for daily abuse.

What sucks the most about large helis is losing a high dollar lipo.

I just had a 135.00 6S 5100 Mah pack puff on me to the point I don't feel safe to use it. It charges, balances fine, has good IR but has swelled up like a dog tick.


I can't risk losing my entire Trex 550 with it.

[crashmaster swash]

Another way of removing rounded hex bolts is by using a slightly too big torx bit (get cheap ones) and just bang it in, then unscrew as usual. It works on all sizes up to maybe m30 or so.

[HeliMadMarcus]

Wow blade tats terrible! Dont risk it definately, i had a lipo in my house which melted the carpet and almost caught fire all but that one are in my lipo safe box, and thanks drash ill try that ive ordered the hardware for the frame so when it comes ill give it a try, would upload a picture but i dont have a photobucket account rigt now! I'll keep the 450 as ive had to spend alot on it so wouldnt be a good return, thanks for the replies. Did your 550 take long to build? The mechanical side not the setup? Thanks

[crashmaster swash]

are u in the uk??

look into these tools.

http://www.onlyqualitytools.com/cata...ewdrivers.html