400 3d . Forum thoughts please

[Koopyetz]

Hi

I've found a unused 400 with dx6i for sale. I'm currently flying mcpx and weighing something by Blade in 300 to 450 class. The seller has flown msr and 120 and decide to sell 300 instead of having it end up like other two. They used tx to fly msr and 120 but only bound 300 to check cyclic . Are parts available .

Your thought please.

Thank you

Rick

[Twill]

If it's the 400 with the fly bar run away as fast as you can.

[Bee_random]

Rick,
You mention 300 and 400, which is it the guy is selling? As said, these days flybarred helis are outdated and don't offer the stability / consistency of a well setup FBL heli. So the original Blade400 is something of an antique.

[brettskywalker48]

Yeah the 400 is antique status. I kinda have 1, but it has been transformed into a frankenblade 400. Tarot fbl head, trex450 follower arms, 450× mainshaft, been through about 10 different aluminum tail cases, which an eflite cnc currently sits on it. Parts are discontinued for the blade 400 so you have to mix & match to keep it operational after crashing it. Trex 450 tail parts will fit, but the trex boom is shorter. The blade 450 has a larger diameter tail boom & that is actually the biggest difference between a blade 450 3D & the blade 400, also the main & tail gears are different but you can run the white 450 gears on the 400. I think the black blade 400 gears have stronger teeth, both use a different one way bearing set up though. If you want to convert the 400 to a blade 450 all you would really need to do is buy a 450 frame, tail boom, & everything that goes ON the 450 tailboom, the belt is the same as well as the the tail drive pulley. The tail shaft is bigger on the 450, also bigger than trex 450 tail shafts. You d be looking at spending close to another 100$ to update to a blade 450. Or you can do like me & build a frankenheli which cost about the same for the fbl head & parts & zyx s fbl gyro

[Avidflyer]

If it weren't for the Blade 400 I'd venture to guess there would be a whole lot less of successful heli pilots out there. You guys are cracking me up saying a Blade 400 is an antique. Barely 5 years ago it was Blades Premier heli. Stock I'll agree they needed some help. I flew one with Hitec servos, a GY401, and a JR 290G in the tail for hundreds and hundreds of flights and I just sold it to a guy who was learning to fly. With the DX6i and some electronics upgrades there's NO reason it can't be a viable trainer for someone. I now have 4 FBL helis and lately I find myself flying my Flybarred Raptor 50 with non digital servos more than any other of my helis. Guess I'm getting old.

[gstoneberg]

I think the issue with the 400 is parts availability. I'm fortunate that a local hobby shop still has a pretty decent stash of b400 parts. If the OP doesn't have that he could be in trouble at the first crash.

Having said that, my FBL b400 conversion is a wonderful flier, easily the equal of my 450x. I didn't enjoy it much as a FB heli.

[Nelsonisms]

Shoot, this day and age anything over 6 months old might as well be an antique.