what is the best bang for your buck next step from a mcpx and sim

[Helisun]

You may want to visit your LHS and see what parts they stock the most. We all crash, some more than others. Having a LHS with all the parts you need is very important. If they are fully stocked up on E-flite parts, then get 450X. If all they got are Align parts, then Align 450 pro.

[Sambuka]

Blade 450x once you've mastered the
Mcpx and forward flight, stepping up while you can only hover tail in is kind of point less.

[jimmyhorns]

Im going to break from the crowd here.

I have / have had:

Esky honeybee (motor driven tail)
Esky Belt CP (belt driven, a bit smaller than a 450, more like a blade 400)
trex 450 V2
Kyosho Concept VR32 (nitro 30 size)
Century Hawk Pro 30 (nitro 30 size)
Century Hawk Pro 50 (nitro 50 size) - not yet flown by me, its my next step up.

There is a massive difference in the stability, flyability and so far my crash rate with the bigger helis.

I am currently learning basic aerobatics (stall turns, rolls, flips e.t.c.) with my hawk 30 which is a 550 size.

this is significantly bigger than a 450 (which is actually around 325mm blades).

The bigger helis have a much larger rotor disc area, and as a result are much more stable to external influences like wind e.t.c. They are less twitchy. All maneouvres are slower.

When learning I see this as a great thing, as it means you can concentrate on what you are doing, see where you are going wrong and not have to worry about it being squirrelly.

I crashed the Belt CP and the 450 frequently. Im not going to jinx myself by saying it, so I wont, but my record is significantly better with the Hawk 30.

Im not saying go nitro, im just saying go bigger.

If you have somewhere appropriate to fly it, I would look at 550 size, or maybe even a 600.

The initial outlay is more, and the crash repair bills will be higher, but you will probably find that you crash a lot less often, as being bigger you fly further away and higher up (until you get good )

Just my thoughts

[Shogun71]

Originally Posted by rdlohr

Another vote for the Blade 450X. I'm impressed with it as a RTF starter heli for a decent price.

Rick

I would say almost ready to fly my swashplate needed a bit of work as it was really unlevel, but yes no real assembly required.

[Bodge]

best bang for buck next step.... trex 450 pro no questions. get cheep blades and a few clone parts and they are CHEEP to crash.

[CrazyComi]

If you want to go the cheapest route and still have reliability and something that takes almost no maintenance get the Blade 450 3d or if you have extra 200$ bucks get the 450x (highly recommend based on my 450 3d experience) and you can always keep the ar7200bx for your next bigger bird.

[daveyht3]

I would strongly recommend an Atom 500 affordable easy to work on grat flying heli and you don't have to buy a ton of up-grades just to get the heli to fly right such as with Align T-rex 500. If you need any help on set-up info pm me and I will give you my set-up.

[BuckAye]

Originally Posted by Beaver Rat

Here are some important questions for you to answer so we can best help:
-How much can you afford to spend per crash?
-What kind of field is available for you to fly at?
-What is your initial budget for this heli?
-What charger do you currently have?

Good brands include Mikado, Gaui, Align, MSH, Compass, Blade...

I would add... What parts does your LHS stock.... Nothing worse than being down a week or more waiting for parts.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[rc-bender]

450X all the way. Flies awesome, cheap to repair. Blades and canopies are triple the cost on a 500. Anyone who says a 450 doesn't fly well isn't talking about a FBL 450. The AR7200BX turned it into an awesome heli. Belt drive is a big plus too. Way more crash friendly than a torque tube.

Once you get out of your crashing phase, and have all of your orientations down, then get something sexier. I love my 600, it's awesome, but still fly the 450 more.

[JStilt]

Question for all you guys saying "450" or "450x", how many of you have even flown a bigger machine. And by flown i mean not just had your friend let you hover it around, but actually done circuits and 3d maneuvers.

[rc-bender]

Originally Posted by JStilt

Question for all you guys saying "450" or "450x", how many of you have even flown a bigger machine. And by flown i mean not just had your friend let you hover it around, but actually done circuits and 3d maneuvers.

200+ flights on my 600, and I still stand by the 450X being great. Clearly it's no 600, but it's fantastic to learn (aka crash) on and still fun to have for trying new stuff and flying in smaller spaces, even when you own bigger helis.

The other thing is it'll fly well when it's not mechanically perfect. When i was learning auto's the 450X took a beating and kept on ticking. Bent boom, tweaked shafts, scraped up main and tail blades, and the dang thing kept flying for more auto practice. Once I stopped crashing of course I fixed it up, but my point is when you are new and crashing more often, or new to heli repair, it flies quite well even when it isn't mechanically perfect. I'll never put my 600 in the air unless it's 100% perfect.

[Manzooka]

Originally Posted by JStilt

Question for all you guys saying "450" or "450x", how many of you have even flown a bigger machine. And by flown i mean not just had your friend let you hover it around, but actually done circuits and 3d maneuvers.

I have a FBL Trex 550E and I've flown my buddy's 600 nitro. I don't fly true 3D but I can fly inverted, do flips, rolls, tick rocks and funnels... stuff like that.

I'm not saying that a new pilot needs to get a 450 anymore than they need to start with a mcpx... there's as many ways to progress as there are pilots afterall. But based on my experience and that of my heli-friends, I think the 450 is the perfect jump into larger size helis. Its large enough that keeping orientation isn't a huge issue, and its small enough for pilots with limited space. Parts for the major brands are cheap in comparison to larger helis and they're plentiful as well. Moves learned on a 450 translate very well to larger helis and they're pretty cheap to repair even in comparison to a 500.

So why recommend the 450X? Mostly because I own one andI I know it to be an amazing helicopter with easy setup, excellent parts availability, and an AR7200BX to boot!


After a 450 I would tell someone to get whatever the hell they want. Want a Goblin 700? Fine. Gaui X7? Cool. Because at that point they'll have a good understanding of helicopter mechanics, the cost involved in the hobby, etc. Coming from an mcpx a pilot wont even have a basic understanding of helicopter setup or the costs involved.


That's my 2 cents.

[755 robert]

Manzooka pretty much sums it up perfectly.. ..
You can see in my sig my heli journey..

[jmisuraca]

Blade 450X - Great choice.

Take a look at the Mini Protos. This guy crashes, the heli bounces about 3 feet, he then uprights it and takes off. - Durability!! That crash would have parked a 450x

YouTube

YouTube

Align 500EFL - Awesome heli

Align 550 FBL - You need a larger area to fly. It is one of the largest heli's that use 6s, also uses lots of 600 parts.

I am only talking from my limited experience. The rule of thumb is fly what you can afford!!!

Factors that you need to look at before getting your new heli:
Initial Cost
Crash Cost
Parts availability
Availability of upgrade parts - (In general I believe - Lots of upgrades means it a popular heli and will have long term support)
What know issue does that model have
Do you LIKE it (Looks, Flight Behavior, Sound)
Local Support.

[storrm]

In answer to the question "best bang for buck", that would be the Blade 450x, hands down. As for all the other suggestions, it all depends on how much more money you want to throw at it

[Sambuka]

Btw whatever Heli you get make sure of two things.

1 : it's Flybarless, flybars are harder to fly and repair and suck on 450 heli's.

2 : sand and spray paint your tail fins, skids and horizontal fin bright neon Orange(best colour for visability). If you go 450x get a 450 3d orange canopy they fix perfect and Help more again with visability. Blue Canopus just suck for visability.

[Bodge]

Originally Posted by JStilt

Question for all you guys saying "450" or "450x", how many of you have even flown a bigger machine. And by flown i mean not just had your friend let you hover it around, but actually done circuits and 3d maneuvers.

best bang for your buck.. next step. a 500 is way more expensive to repair over a 450.. ive owned a 600

[rossk]

I was in your boat a few months ago, after spending the year on mcpx's, brushless etc, I thought it was time to get something bigger.
I thought the 450X would be the right choice, but after doing resaerch and talking to plp, I went with a msh mini protos.
I got stuck with upgradeitis on the mcpx's and spent way too much time and money on them.
I thought I would have the same with the 450X, I could see myself upgrading just about every component on it, which would have cost a lot in the end.
So with the mini p, I went the best straight up(6S, vbar, mksDS95), so I wouldnt have to worry about inferior parts letting me down.
I am so glad I made the move to a 450 size heli and couldnt be happier with the mini p.
I am only on my second weekend with it and I am comfortable with loops, flips and rolls.
I had a couple of crashes in my first weekend, but was able to have it flying again the same day, my biggest crash cost about $25(main shaft, feathering shaft, tail shaft, tail blades and tail fin).