hdx 450 se v4?

[murphy_30547]

I was flipping thru the virtual pages of this forum and didnt see much on the v4. So what's the deal with it. Is it a good heli, better than say a copterx 450 se v2? I am very tempted to click the buy button. Anyone have any info? Thanks

[murphy_30547]

I also noticed the shipping weight is over 6 lbs, what's up with that crap? Is it really 6 pounds? not sure if I want to try flying a 6 pound heli that should be little over 1 pound

[murphy_30547]

ok, maybe peeps don't know what heli I am talking about. It's the HDX450SE-V4BSX, which is here
http://www.helidirect.com/hdx450-hel...ew-p-10592.hdx
Thanks for any insight
only reviews i have found were the two on helidirect, i googled this thing for quite some time and can't find any other reviews or info.

[nasukaren]

I effectively have a v4 since I have the v4 frame + v4 head and tail. I think it flies great. What are you questions?

here's my gallery of pix of the bird:

http://gallery.me.com/nasukaren#100113

[murphy_30547]

No questions now, this sub forum kinda seemed dead, so I just took the plunge and bought it last night from helidirect. I hope it is a better heli than the copterx poo i have. Thanks for replying.

[nasukaren]

I have the CopterX head+tail on my BCP and I can tell you, the machining work and tolerances and quality of alu on he Sonix/HDX is heads and tails above that of the CopterX. Just look at the main blade holders or one-piece tail box to see that they have a much better CNC setup.

BUT, loctite the heck out of the HDX. I had a lot of problems with loose screws. I think the black anodizing they use isn't quite compatible with loctite, so I had to loctite repeatedly until they finally held.

Karen

[murphy_30547]

Originally Posted by nasukaren

BUT, loctite the heck out of the HDX. I had a lot of problems with loose screws. I think the black anodizing they use isn't quite compatible with loctite, so I had to loctite repeatedly until they finally held.

Karen

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully, I can fly for once, instead of worrying if the damn heli is going to hold up. Had the copterx tail explode twice on me the other day. That was enough for me.

[nasukaren]

The CopterX tail is famous for blowing up. The tail hub and bade holders is really lousy, weak steel and bad screws. Replace it out as soon as you can afford it.

[tuupola]

I have the V4. Quality of the frame is amazing. Overall quality of the kit is good. There are couple of parts I did upgrade to Align parts though.

• Original tail linkage rod was bent when I received the kit. Sparepart I ordered was bent too. So I decided to go for Align part: HS1271 Tail Linkage Rod.
• Main gear had so much wobble which I could not fix that it caused vibration for the whole heli. Plus I did not like the blue color of the gear. I opted for Align part: HS1218-01 Main Gear
• Kit supplied Aluminum balls seem to wear out pretty quickly. It is also quite easy to damage them with ball link pliers. I am in process of changing them all to Align steel balls: HS1155 Stainless Steel Ball Parts

Below some building photos of my V4. More photos at Flickr.

[tuupola]

Originally Posted by murphy_30547

Had the copterx tail explode twice on me the other day. That was enough for me.

I had 65 batteries of flight time without problems before I crashed. Crash was brainfart and not a mechanical failure. I even forgot to switch throttle hold after crashing so my heli did a short chicken dance on the ground.

Jesus bolt (RC Screwz steel one) broke into three pieces. Spindle shaft broke into two pieces. Main shaft was of course bent. I was amazed that all other parts of the head were intact. So to me it seems the parts are pretty sturdy.

[murphy_30547]

I guess Copterx is hit and miss, I got two bad tail assemblies. Thats really good odds. HA! Thanks for all the input. I am glad that I picked up the hdx, should have it by this weekend and maybe be able to fly it halfway thru next week, depending on my work hours.

[nasukaren]

Tuupola -

Very sensible upgrades and a great looking heli!

karen

[Tyree]

I have an HDX 450SE V3 that I haven't built yet....does it have the same needs/problems as the V4 ?

Thanks a bunch,

Ty

[tuupola]

AFAIK only difference between V3 and V4 is the head and tail assembly and kit motor. If this is true then I guess my upgrades would go great with V3 too.

[weasel53]

I have the HDX 450 V3 and these are the upgrades I recommend.
1. Definetly replace the aluminum balls with the Align steel balls and align links.
2. Add the align 220mm flybar for better stability.
3. My washout assembly has a fair amount of slop. Replaced it with the align equivalent.
The rest of the kit is excellent quality.
Oh one more thing.. My Sonix motor ran fine for 1 year then gave up the ghost. Replaced it with the scorpion 2221-8.

Good Luck

[Tyree]

Thanks for the info...those few upgrades don't sound too bad at all....!

Thanks....

Ty

[tuupola]

I broke my Sonix engine (probably bearings) when crashing. I had another one as spare so I just changed it and threw away the broken one. They are so cheap anyway. I also have 2221-8 but still in the box waiting to be installed.

But anyways. Yesterday I was adjusting the belt and stripped the threads on aluminum tail boom mount. I installed another one and stripped threads on that too !")#(/!")#(/!

In my opinion the M2x20 socket screw which tightens the tail boom mount is too short. I ended up ordering some M2x25 screws and hope they will work better.

[nasukaren]

I agree! I think in general manufacturers spec screws that are too short. They look great on paper but they back themselves out, strip, or break in flight. I like to put longer screws in, more holding power and less chance of them backing out.

[tuupola]

Originally Posted by tuupola

I have the V4. Quality of the frame is amazing. Overall quality of the kit is good. There are couple of parts I did upgrade to Align parts though.

• Original tail linkage rod was bent when I received the kit. Sparepart I ordered was bent too. So I decided to go for Align part: HS1271 Tail Linkage Rod.
• Main gear had so much wobble which I could not fix that it caused vibration for the whole heli. Plus I did not like the blue color of the gear. I opted for Align part: HS1218-01 Main Gear
• Kit supplied Aluminum balls seem to wear out pretty quickly. It is also quite easy to damage them with ball link pliers. I am in process of changing them all to Align steel balls: HS1155 Stainless Steel Ball Parts

Some essential upgrades I would like to add.

• Screws for tightening the tail boom are bit too short and tail boom mount strips the threads quite easily. Replace them with longer M2x25 socket screws
• The golden A2217 3600KV motor has low quality bearings. I have broken two sets. Second engine had broken bearings after aproximately 30 flights. You can either replace two 4x8x3 bearings with better quality bearing or buy new / another motor. I am currently running DualSky XM2830CH-9 motor.
• Main shaft bearings are also good candidate for updating.