Blade Trio 360 CFX

[FR4-Pilot]

Surprised nobody's mentioned this yet:

Blade® Trio 360 CFX helicopter (4 min 16 sec)

And I'm NEVER the first to post about a new heli (?) ...

-John

[spykez]

Heh, I thought I was late to the party myself, went over to the 360 forum and found out that I was. I guess the general Blade area doesn't get very much traffic anymore.

[BrokeDad]

I've been considering getting one on pre-order. Also surprised it hasn't been mentioned until now.

[helirob404]

Is it just me or is $600 plus the cost of a battery totally ridiculous for this helicopter? Plastic tail and no battery for $600???

Off the top of my head I can think of literally 10 helicopters you should buy for that kind of money before you buy this....

[franklin_m]

Originally Posted by helirob404

Is it just me or is $600 plus the cost of a battery totally ridiculous for this helicopter? Plastic tail and no battery for $600???

Off the top of my head I can think of literally 10 helicopters you should buy for that kind of money before you buy this....

I'm with you. I think that's about $150 too much for my taste. Best way for us to get them to drop the price is to not be in a rush to buy them.

[helirob404]

Originally Posted by franklin_m

I'm with you. I think that's about $150 too much for my taste. Best way for us to get them to drop the price is to not be in a rush to buy them.

Too bad some people have already put in their pre-orders for the latest made-from-recycled-parts Blade......

[spykez]

Originally Posted by helirob404

Too bad some people have already put in their pre-orders for the latest made-from-recycled-parts Blade......

Hmm.. What is wrong with this heli?

[helirob404]

Originally Posted by spykez

Hmm.. What is wrong with this heli?

Don't get me wrong, Blade helis are great in their own respect...(I think they should be) an affordable way to get into the RTF & BNF heli market, without having to build and source kits & parts from scratch. Parts counts are low, fixing them is usually simple enough (excluding the 130x..), and they are respectable flyers once you tune them a little.

What bothers me is seeing existing parts and stock from 4 or 5 other helis in their lineup, bolted to a new frame and head, with a $600 price tag. You're approaching Goblin/Gaui/Oxy territory, and surpassing a well equipped Align 450. Hell, I built a Trex 550e V3 from spare electronics and a used airframe for $400!

There is nothing actually 'wrong' with this heli, but people should know their options first if they have $600 to spend.

[wab223]

I have said good things about Blade helis and I have also done a fair bit of pissing and moaning.

One constant thought I always have is that in my opinion they are over priced. A lot of us started with Blade and the first time we bought a real kit may well have been a revelation. I mean in terms of what we could really get for our money from manufacturers like Gaui, Synergy etc.

But I still bought a 230, a 180 and I might by the new 250CFX once the early adopters have had a chance to find/work out the kinks.

BTW, 600 US is like a million Canadian at the minute.

[BrokeDad]

It is a lot of money and despite my nym cash is not a problem. It's also one of the few time my wife gives me free reign to buy toys as getting back into the hobby was her suggestion. I even have an extra $1000 burning a hole in my pocket. I would LOVE to get something not Blade but am just very leery buying sight unseen and trusting after I pay it will actually be sent. Maybe I should research some of the sellers on the for sale section and find one with a good history with a larger class listing.
If someone has a recommendation for a good deal they see right now with a known reliable seller please PM me or reply here.

I do feel burned by the Blade 120S. I only paid $90 but it really is a poor performer and the servos are just junk. Today it meets it's doom either with fireworks or firearms. I'm not even going to put the $16 into getting it flying again. My only choice seems to be Ebay for the servo and I've never bought via Ebay.

The 500EFL Pro kit is going very very slowly as it's my first build and I have no direct hands on help. I want something larger faster and that is why I pre-ordered the Trio 360. The old Hirobo Shuttle is big but it really is an elephant with rotor blades.

Happy 4th everyone. I hope you all have a long weekend off work like me to fly fly fly (and NOT crash). I am going to the LHS today for more batteries.

[corywrx]

Originally Posted by BrokeDad

It is a lot of money and despite my nym cash is not a problem. It's also one of the few time my wife gives me free reign to buy toys as getting back into the hobby was her suggestion. I even have an extra $1000 burning a hole in my pocket. I would LOVE to get something not Blade but am just very leery buying sight unseen and trusting after I pay it will actually be sent. Maybe I should research some of the sellers on the for sale section and find one with a good history with a larger class listing.
If someone has a recommendation for a good deal they see right now with a known reliable seller please PM me or reply here.

I do feel burned by the Blade 120S. I only paid $90 but it really is a poor performer and the servos are just junk. Today it meets it's doom either with fireworks or firearms. I'm not even going to put the $16 into getting it flying again. My only choice seems to be Ebay for the servo and I've never bought via Ebay.

The 500EFL Pro kit is going very very slowly as it's my first build and I have no direct hands on help. I want something larger faster and that is why I pre-ordered the Trio 360. The old Hirobo Shuttle is big but it really is an elephant with rotor blades.

Happy 4th everyone. I hope you all have a long weekend off work like me to fly fly fly (and NOT crash). I am going to the LHS today for more batteries.

So far I've had great experiences buying on Helifreak. Two things essential to having good experience :

1. iTrader rating. Look at their public profile and find their iTrader page. Look for a decent number of transactions with %100 positive feedback.

2. Use the goods and services option from PayPal. This way if something goes wrong, you have the ability to get your money back and not get burned.

Buying off of HF is a great way to save money. I've already saved $1000 off the price of new heli's and I've only purchased two heli's off of the classifieds.

[megawhacker]

Originally Posted by BrokeDad

It is a lot of money and despite my nym cash is not a problem. It's also one of the few time my wife gives me free reign to buy toys as getting back into the hobby was her suggestion. I even have an extra $1000 burning a hole in my pocket. I would LOVE to get something not Blade but am just very leery buying sight unseen and trusting after I pay it will actually be sent. Maybe I should research some of the sellers on the for sale section and find one with a good history with a larger class listing.
If someone has a recommendation for a good deal they see right now with a known reliable seller please PM me or reply here.

I do feel burned by the Blade 120S. I only paid $90 but it really is a poor performer and the servos are just junk. Today it meets it's doom either with fireworks or firearms. I'm not even going to put the $16 into getting it flying again. My only choice seems to be Ebay for the servo and I've never bought via Ebay.

The 500EFL Pro kit is going very very slowly as it's my first build and I have no direct hands on help. I want something larger faster and that is why I pre-ordered the Trio 360. The old Hirobo Shuttle is big but it really is an elephant with rotor blades.

Happy 4th everyone. I hope you all have a long weekend off work like me to fly fly fly (and NOT crash). I am going to the LHS today for more batteries.

Well, as one who has purchased way too many Blade helicopters and generally had them perform up to expectations (my Blade 600X is a really, really nice helicopter), I'd have to recommend this link for that money burning a hole in your pocket.

http://www.msheli.com/en/MSHeli-Prot...tem/protos-380

[helirob404]

Originally Posted by megawhacker

Well, as one who has purchased way too many Blade helicopters and generally had them perform up to expectations (my Blade 600X is a really, really nice helicopter), I'd have to recommend this link for that money burning a hole in your pocket.

http://www.msheli.com/en/MSHeli-Prot...tem/protos-380

and.... https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=749066

or.... https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=749616

or..... http://www.ebay.com/itm/SAB-Goblin-3...sAAOSwEjFXepPr

I'll stop now.

[crsorrell0653]

Originally Posted by helirob404

Don't get me wrong, Blade helis are great in their own respect...(I think they should be) an affordable way to get into the RTF & BNF heli market, without having to build and source kits & parts from scratch. Parts counts are low, fixing them is usually simple enough (excluding the 130x..), and they are respectable flyers once you tune them a little.

What bothers me is seeing existing parts and stock from 4 or 5 other helis in their lineup, bolted to a new frame and head, with a $600 price tag. You're approaching Goblin/Gaui/Oxy territory, and surpassing a well equipped Align 450. Hell, I built a Trex 550e V3 from spare electronics and a used airframe for $400!

There is nothing actually 'wrong' with this heli, but people should know their options first if they have $600 to spend.

The 'new Trio' doesn't have any new parts ( you mentioned a new frame and head), only a new fbl (which isn't new) for that heli. Not fair to compare the price tag to those other helis you built from spare parts lying around, you need to do a new part comparison to be fair, it makes the Trio look cheap. The new Trio is $1100 here in NZ, about a weeks wages. How does that compare over in the USA.

[helirob404]

Originally Posted by crsorrell0653

The 'new Trio' doesn't have any new parts ( you mentioned a new frame and head), only a new fbl (which isn't new) for that heli. Not fair to compare the price tag to those other helis you built from spare parts lying around, you need to do a new part comparison to be fair, it makes the Trio look cheap. The new Trio is $1100 here in NZ, about a weeks wages. How does that compare over in the USA.

I am so confused right now....are you saying the trio is a good deal or a bad deal?

[crsorrell0653]

Originally Posted by helirob404

I am so confused right now....are you saying the trio is a good deal or a bad deal?

For the likes of me who doesn't want to start making helis from parts kits etc like a Goblin or Protos, which work out pretty dear in the end, the pre-built Trio would have to be a pretty good buy - all dialed in and ready to fly, with the bail out option available too. And they are a quality product.

[FR4-Pilot]

A few years ago I built 3 ThunderTiger Mini-Titan E325s and when all was said and done each one ended up with around $500-$600 put into them (CF blades, motor, ESC, Rx, cyclic servos, tail servo, gyro). It was like $400 - $450 in separates and $150 - $200 for the airframe if I remember correctly. Not that I have $600 to plop down on a heli right now but that doesn't seem out of line for a heli of this size - assuming the electronics are good quality and don't need replacing.

[Mojappa]

Originally Posted by crsorrell0653

For the likes of me who doesn't want to start making helis from parts kits etc like a Goblin or Protos, which work out pretty dear in the end, the pre-built Trio would have to be a pretty good buy - all dialed in and ready to fly, with the bail out option available too. And they are a quality product.

A Blade heli that's "All dialed in and ready to fly". That's too funny. Lol

[gearwarrior]

And nobody discussed flight characteristics. It flies ok. The translation is horrible I will be going back to 2 blade. I just crashed mine. Having transitioned to inverted, I started to fly inverted fast reverse about a foot off the ground. Before I threw collective in to accelerate it settled under power right into the ground. It happened so quick I just stood there, jaw dropped. So, I don't know if its a characteristic of a 3 blade but I think it has a big problem with just how easily it does VTX ring state (did). And now, crash damage. Stunt 1, a foot off the ground, and very little speed; All cyclics destroyed, timing bar destroyed, tail box destroyed, tail fin destroyed, 2 blade grips destroyed, 2 blades destroyed, main gear. This is all preliminary. I had a blade 360 2 blade, and crashed it once from a servo failure. It was a good bird also, but I can tell you these things are not crash resistant in any way. Crash it, throw it away. But the 2 blade version was much, much easier to fly. I'm not sure if the collective response is worth the translation and battery useage.

[Nytro97]

Sorry for mishap.......For my self I see no need for a three bladed heli (except for a scale application). I have thought about getting a 360 but it will have two blades.