Heli 700 from a 450

[Xtreme Torque]

I am looking at upgrading helicopters from a 450 to a 700. I currently fly a trex 450 sa, not for 3d but scale flight. I have a DX6i remote and will need to upgrade remotes as well to handle the added function I may require. What is some of the things I need to be aware of when moving up in to such a big size from a 450? What are some good heli's and remotes to be looking at?

Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

[K2Freak]

...but that is one of the most discussed topics ever on this forum. You might start here:

https://www.helifreak.com/search.php

And Here (the sticky for problems and solutions):

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=295533

[Xtreme Torque]

sacolvin, thanks but i did try many different ways to search that topic with no success.

[Xtreme Torque]

Hmmm... A little frustrating trying to find this "most discussed topics ever on this forum". Is anyone able to help a guy out please?

[tribe3]

You will need to have a good charger and a powerful Power Supply as well as parallel wiring in order to be able to charge big packs in a reasonable amount of time.

You can fly a 700 with a DX6 but if you want to upgrade look at the new DX7 or DX8

[K2Freak]

Sorry if that came off rude. I guess I misread your questions. I thought you were talking about upgrades to the Trex 700E (this IS the 700E forum).

What is some of the things I need to be aware of when moving up in to such a big size from a 450?

It's sort of hard to understand exactly what you are asking. In general, everything is bigger, more powerful, and costs more. For Nitro, you need a 90 sized motor and everything else that the particular design requires - gyro or FBL, governor, radio, servos, etc. Much of this is the same as smaller heli, but not the motor and servos.

For Electric, you need a larger number of bigger batteries, a big ESC (expensive!), an on-board power source for your radio, a capable charger, a good home or field power supply.

Either flavor requires big enough field at which to fly, and it helps to have adequate flying skills up front before you attempt a 2-3000 dollar maiden flight.

What are some good heli's and remotes to be looking at?

Again, what are you looking for here? One approach might be to go up one forum level and take a look at the wide variety of helis and radios that have support forums here on Helifreak. Popularity will probably correlate tightly to level of forum activity.

Another thing to consider is what is popular with the gang at your local flying field, as this will be the easiest with which to get assistance.

The most common radios are the Spektrum 7 and 8 channel models, and the Futaba 8 and 10 channels. Also in the running are a couple of models from JR - Spektrum compatible on the Rx end.

We like the Align Trex 700E in this forum, although I can't think of any really BAD 700 size helis that are out on the market today. Maybe others can help with this? 8^)

[Jeff396]

Hey,

I think I'm on the same path as you with a few detours along the way. I went from a Trex 450 to a Trex250 to an 800 Bergen gasser. I also plan on doing scale eventually also but got side tracked getting into some AP with my Bergen and my newest addition to the fleet, my Trex 700E. I did eventually stretch the 700 to an 800 sized machine. Between the 800 and the 700 I got a Venture 30 and a Raptor 50. All of my heli's I got used except the 450 and 250 and those were HK kits. When I got the 800 I was not a proficient flyer. I could hover and fly around without issue but nose in was still a crash waiting to happen. What I would do and still do when pushing my skill level is use the Venture and Raptor to practice or do new things and only do things I was very comfortable with with the Bergen and 700. It's worked out well because the only doinks I've had with the Bergen or the 700 were mechanical failures and that's only been 3 times. Expen$ive repair costs keep me cautious!

If scale is your goal, I imagine a radio with more channels is better than less. I'm using a Futaba 10c and am hoping that will be enough. Let see, landing gear, lights, electric start for a gasser, opening cargo bay with paratroopers, working winch, moving guns, moving pilot, bottle rockets (kidding).....the possibilities are endless. I only wish I could afford a 14 I don't think you can go wrong with either JR or Futaba. I've seen more issues with Spektrum but that might be because a lot of the people using them are new to the hobby. Then again, Spektrum's customer support is second to none from what I hear. I would just use your DX6i until you need the added channels for scale. I assume you will fly the 700 a good bit before wrapping it in a fuselage. You will not miss the extra idle up and extra points on the curves for scale flight that a higher end radio will offer.

The charger and batteries are a killer but I think electric is the way to go with scale. I picked up an FMA/Revlectrix PL-8 charger and a pair of 42 amp 12 volt server power supplies wired to put out 24 volts. With that I'm still not using the entire capacity of the PL-8. I believe you would need a 60A power supply to do that. The charger was $325 and the power supplies ran $100. I also have a smaller charger to handle the flight pack on the 700 and on my fuelies. Then there's the batteries. I'm using fairly cheap Turnigy 5000mah 40C batteries but they still run around $70 each and you'll need 2 for each flight. So far I've got 4 sets which seems to be enough considering the charging time using the PL-8. I have not as yet had to charge my batteries where there was no power though. If that will be necessary then you'll need a generator and they ain't cheap for a quiet one. I think I'm going to try a deep cycle marine battery first and see how many charge cycles that will do.

As far as which heli, get what your local hobby shop supports or what the guys at the field are flying. Ours hobby shop supports nothing so it's wide open as everything has to be mail ordered. I just love it when I need a $3 part For glow I would say go Raptor or JR as their parts are the cheapest of the bunch and they are quality heli's. For electric you can't go wrong with the 700e. You have many choices for where to get parts online so if someone is out of what you need you just try the next place on your list. If you decide to go flybarless I would stay clear of Align's 3G. I've seen two people at our field have really strange problems with them that could not be explained and resulted in a wrecked heli. I've also read about many problems on Helifreak. I haven't tried flybarless yet except for on my Bergen and that was with no electronics. That was exciting to say the least but I kind of liked it. From what I understand the Vbar is a really good choice. Lastly, don't skimp on the servo's and gyro. For scale you will not need blistering fast servos except for the tail/gyro combo. You just want something digital that centers really well with a good bit of torque. I have JR8717's? on my 700 because that's what it came with. On my Bergen I'm just running Hitec 5645's at 6V. They're fairly slow but for scale and AP work they're fine and are comparitively inexpensive.

The most important thing is to have a fat wallet. I shudder to think of the cash I have dumped into heli's as compared to when I was into planks. The up side is I find it much more interesting and a far bigger challenge than the planes ever were to me.

I'm not sure if any of this is what you were looking for. Your question was a little vague. If you have any more specific questions just ask. I'm no expert but I have been through it.

Jeff