Which 550 size helicopter?

[tdriedger]

I'm looking to get a bigger heli. I'm drawn to the Swift NX and Hurricane 425/500/550 because of their plastic parts and repair cost.

Any thoughts on the Swift vs the Hurricane for sport flying, F3C style flight and mild 3D?

Is the Hurricane a dying breed now that the X5 is available?

Should I wait for Trex 550 clones?

[Dirtmagnet400]

Not sure how important it is for you to get parts at your LHS, but there is always the Logo 500. It swings 550's and with a 6S pack, it's plenty powerful. It has a fiber reinforced plastic frame and the parts are nowhere near as expensive as they used to be. The T-Rex 550 is also a very nice heli.

[Slyster]

I can't believe you didn't include the Outrage 550!

I say Outrage 550. Tough as a tank. In 9 crashes my MOST expensive crash was $80... and the includes the $45 Outrage 550mm main blades. Flies incredibly well. I like it so much.. this in my 2nd season with two O550's and I see no need to get any other helis.

[gpraceman]

If I had the money, I would have got the Gaui X5. I settled for a Hurricane 425 kit. From what I have been reading, there are still going to be many parts that will work from an X5 and X4 to a 425/500/550.

Also, on the Gaui 425, the basic airframe kit is only $79. I may buy a second kit and use that for crash parts.

[Discount_Bob]

I don't have any other experience with bigger birds, but my align 550 is a good flying machine. It would have been tough to decide between it and the x5 if I had the choice.

Anyway, the tarot brands makes good clones, and they're already producing parts for the 550. It might be worth waiting to see if they market a 550 clone.

[tdriedger]

I'm trying to keep cost down. I'd like to have good parts availability.

Century Helicopter is just down the street so that is nice.

Align parts are readily available but I want a kit I can choose the electronics for (don't want a 3G). Waiting for a clone?

The X5 is nice but $$$. Hence the Hurricane option. I can get most parts for Gaui locally or in a 1-2 days from Empire Hobby in AZ.

Logo is too much $$$, that's why it didn't make the list.

Outrage? I've read about them but haven't seen many locally. The parts availability of the others pushed it off the bottom of my list.

Cost no object... I would get a Logo or the X5.

Back to reality... still looking at the Swift vs Hurricane I guess.

[lazor 22]

My beef with the Outrage 550 was parts support but that seems to be getting better. I did a lot of research on all the 550's before buying and got down to the X5 and O550. Went the the O550 since it's bigger, cheaper, and is a freaking flying tank. Plus it flys great and has following of good people on the freak.

[backburner1955]

Outrage 550...

[kouasupra]

The X5 flies very well because of the weight saving design that Gaui uses. Tick Tocks are really less effortless, but parts aren't everywhere compare to other companies. I personally really like the trex 550e because it flies really well and parts are everywhere. BTW, my trex 550e is my workhorse.

[surfgeorge1]

Logo 500
At least for me. Super smooth and can do anything from long flight time to high power, with one setup and just a flick of a switch. And it's just a bit different from the masses, can't deny that was a reason too. But in the end I wanted a reliable, quiet and flexible machine and was willing to pay the price for it.
Cheers from Brazil, Surf

[tptompkins]

I have two Outrage 550s! I LOVE them!

Tommy

[pctomlin]

There is no question what 550 size heli to buy, without a doubt it is an Outrage 550. Go on-line and compare pictures of the main head and tail assemblies of the Outrage and the Trex 550 and you will not waste your time with the outdated, slop prone Align design. Look at the frame design, how many bearings are supporting the main shaft, motor mounting position and ease of setting gear mesh. Now look at simplicity of design and parts cost. You can crash an Outrage very cheaply compared to the Align and since it is built so much tougher you have less parts breakage (the Outrage shares multiple parts with the Velocity 50). As for flight characteristics, the Outrage head is tuneable to be slow and sluggish like the Align on beginner settings, or hummingbird quick when you change the linkage ball positions to expert. Finally, you get to outfit the heli the way you want to, not with the stuff that Align includes because they know better than you do. If you want good electronics you have to buy again when you purchase Align. If you want a Chevrolet like everyone else buy Align, if you want a Ferrari buy Outrage. Okay, I'm done, thank you, thank you very much.

[philipfrank]

look hard at the logo. low parts count, high quality and performance.

[lazor 22]

meh, If you want the stang get the T-Rex, if you want the Challenger get the X5, but if you want the vette you gotta get the O550

(Granted, the Challenger is my favorite but to most people te Corvette is better).

[beltfedbrowning]

I wouldn't even call the Trex a 550. Its not big enough to accept 550mm blades!

[aralan]

I went with a pair of Trex 550Es because of abundant local parts supply and local knowledge. They're also a simple design and easy to work on. I barely had to look at the manual to build it. These are my every day workhorse helis for learning on.

If I'm going to buy something more "interesting" so to speak, it's going to be a 700, and I'll probably buy a Trex 700E before that anyway.

[aralan]

Originally Posted by beltfedbrowning

I wouldn't even call the Trex a 550. Its not big enough to accept 550mm blades!

Uhoh I'd better go take the 553s off of both of mine then!

[RevToTheRedline]

I'm confused at what beltfedbrowning is trying to imply, the t-rex 550 is LONGER than even the Gaui X5 but seems strong to say that the 550 cant even except 550mm blades which it can.

Specification(T-REX 550E) :
● Length: 1042mm
● Height: 364mm
● Main Blade Length: 520mm
● Main Rotor Diameter: 1188mm
● Tail Rotor Diameter: 254mm

X5 Specifications:
Overall length: 1000mm (including cabin & canopy)
Main rotor diameter: 1120mm
Tail rotor diameter: 235mm
Tail blade length: 82mm

Outrage 550
Length: 1077mm
Height: 344mm
Main Rotor Diameter: 1250mm
Tail Rotor Diameter: 228.8mm
Blade Length: 550-575mm
Tail Blade Length: 82-95mm

[philipfrank]

or the high performance lexus, logo.

the trex 550 is a good machine, parts are cheap and everywhere.

just sold this one:

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=223311

built this one to stretch to 12s 690:

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=223311

[backburner1955]

Originally Posted by lazor 22

meh, If you want the stang get the T-Rex, if you want the Challenger get the X5, but if you want the vette you gotta get the O550

(Granted, the Challenger is my favorite but to most people te Corvette is better).

I would prefer the Hemi Challenger in Plum Crazy Purple over a stinking vette any day. My mom has had vettes since I was a kid, '68 to '02, now she has a 2010 SS Camaro and it kicks vette a$$...