Blade 500 3D quick review

[DiceK]

Disclaimer:
I am in no way a professional reviewer, and as I'm doing this on my phone it's not well organized. If anyone has any specific questions about the heli please post them up and I will do my best to answer them.


Quick background info:
I've owned and flown from micro up to 550 size, although this is my first 500.
My flying style is mild 3D
Flying at approx 6000' altitude

I have a few flights in on the 500 and just wanted to out up a quick review for those interested.

Build quality:
This is an area where I was very impressed and was the deciding factor in picking up the Blade over the align (well, that and the LHS sold it to me for $400). While there is a lot of plastic it seems to be pretty strong, and I've had some hard landings with minimal damage. I hit hard and flat once, taking out a tail blade and breaking part of the landing gear but sustained no other damage.

While the plastic landing gear does bend a bit, I prefer it as it creates a excellent break point in minor crashes. The tail fin also seems to be pretty strong for plastic.

The frame itself is very sturdy (carbon fiber frames on a blade!) and the bolts that hold the tail in place have metal nuts at the back, a big improvement when trying to keep and adjust belt tension over the 450's screws into plastic.

There is a bit of play on the tail, the grips have 1-2 mm of lateral play, and the pitch slider has about 2-3mm of play. Similarly the servos have 1-2 mm of play as well.

Overall I think the heli is very well designed as a system, while I think align has better individual parts, the 500 3D feels much more like it was designed as a single item than a collection of good parts.

Flight review:
First off, the smooth start on the ESC is very smooth. Once in the air a few clicks of trim were needed, and it does always seem to drift a bit, but I've also never had it flying in less than 10mph winds.

Tail response is excellent and piros are completely spot on, just slowly drifting in the direction of wind, even in gusty weather. There is a little bit of tail wag from time to time, but given flight conditions (10 mph wind, frequent 30mph gusts) its acceptable to me.

The motor feels strong with almost no bogging noted (although I suspect it would bog a bit at full pitch as sea level). Climb out is excellent and pitch changes are crisp for a flybar heli.

Update: the motor will bog a fair bit if you try to bog it, using full cyclic and collective input at the same time and holding it for a couple seconds fairly deep into the packs. In this case I was purposely bogging it and my Hyperions are still breaking in, but it can be bogged pretty well if you try.

Cyclic response is good for a flybar heli, while I prefer the feel of a FBL machine the 500 3D's cyclic felt quick and precise, although a fair amount of aileron drift was present during elevator flips and tight back to back rainbows (not quite tic tocs). Again this was in somewhat windy conditions.

Banked turns were excellent and the heli never felt uncomfortable near the ground with a good bit of stability and power to punch out if needed.

If you can't tell by now I am really happy with this heli, although the second blade releases 500X parts its going FBL.


Side note: the canopy is very tight, so much so that my first one sheered around the grommet, I was using 2600 3s packs and the series wiring harness made them too big. For now I am waiting for some 6s 2900 packs that are in the mail.


Here's some quick indoor pics, the lighting is crap and hopefully I'll get some better ones tomorrow (note: my 500 has the X's black fins, and the gyro is on BeastX tape, also the wiring is a bit messy at this point):

[cyclo]

Nice review That's a steal for 400 bucks!

[gtr]

I would consider one for $400. Maybe when in a flybar mood. How does it feel compare to the 450 3d? The 450 3D feels more loose compared to the 450 pro. I hope the 500 3d is not the case.

[wab223]

Thanks for the review. Can you add some pics of your heli please.

You have a very good LHS. $400 is a terrific bargain.

[DiceK]

I'll try to get some pics up tomorrow.

It has been a while since I upgraded my 450 3D to FBL, but based on what I remember of the 450 the 500 feels much more stable and precise, it doesn't feel mushy like the 450 did and I don't feel the need to go FBL nearly as much (I still will though, I like how FBL flies). There is also a massive power difference, the 420H was hurting for power in hard use, the 500's motor has good power.

[DiceK]

Indoor pics are up, I figured out how to route my series wiring harness without breaking another canopy, so I'll try to get a friend to take some in air pictures tomorrow if the weather cooperates.

[wab223]

I pretty sure those are the first pics of the 500 3d I have seen on HF. I dunno why but I expected it to be like a big 450 3d, but its a completely different frame and configuration. Cool and once again congratulations.

[DiceK]

Originally Posted by wab223

I pretty sure those are the first pics of the 500 3d I have seen on HF. I dunno why but I expected it to be like a big 450 3d, but its a completely different frame and configuration. Cool and once again congratulations.

Thanks, and to be honest I expected the same thing. I had already ordered a Trex 500 DFC kit and the blade wasn't even on my radar until I saw it in person. Once I saw it I just couldn't pass this one up for the price. It's definitely a level above the other blades, it'll be interesting to see how well they can step it up again with the 550.

[FailureToFly]

Congrats! It looks like a pretty decent 500; espec for $450!

Few issues I have with the 500 3D/X design...

The rear of the frame looks like it is open with no stand off or brace so it could flex here and potentially break above/around the tail boom, the plastic tail box is cheap looking and awfully flimsy looking and it reminds me exactly of an upsized 450X case (which I'm personally no a fan of...it works, it's cheap but it's IMHO pretty crappy...lost bearings, no strength in a crash etc) and the front servo wires route under the swash which seems fairly odd but possibly won't cause any issues.

Apart from that is looks like a nice bird.

[klick8484]

In the one pic you put up it looks like you have two batteries hooked up at once. how and why did you do this and how does it fly with the weight?

[shahram72]

It says he was using 2 3s packs in series to get the proper voltage. Must have been what had on hand at the time.

[DiceK]

Originally Posted by shahram72

It says he was using 2 3s packs in series to get the proper voltage. Must have been what had on hand at the time.

Yep, I used a pair of packs from my 450X while waiting for my 6S packs to ship.

[shahram72]

Just had a thought... With all the talk about conversion to FBL and the hot servos. I do have a NIB flymentor. No money involved, just install it and set it up, which in itself is quite a bit of work. But at least the 500 has the space on the chassis for the equipment

[Relisys190]

I am seriously considering purchasing a 3d basic to hold some camera equipment. That way I can turn my 450 back into the acrobatic machine that i've modified it to be.

for 259.00 it's a STEAL

[realsteel]

New to the forum! I could hardly believe that the blade 500 went on sale for 260 bux, I had to grab one! Fantastic bargain, and just in time for my birthday! !

To make room for the bigger bird, I have to sell the 450x. 3 flights. Will sell for $250 + shipping. Pm me if interested.

[sharicasmi]

New to the forum! I could hardly believe that the blade 500 went on sale for 260 bux, I had to grab one! Fantastic bargain, and just in time for my birthday! !

Same here lol

[keiser BLADE]

I bought one as well, gotta have one cheap electric to fly, also wanted a good 500 size

[islrcr1]

I have a T-Rex 500E NIB, and saw this one flying at the field today, wow, it looked and flew great! Are parts going to be readily available?

[shahram72]

Originally Posted by islrcr1

I have a T-Rex 500E NIB, and saw this one flying at the field today, wow, it looked and flew great! Are parts going to be readily available?

For Blade? Probably the most readily available. But no cheap clone parts like for your Align.

[broncoboy36081]

Well I must be sick in the head because I just bought my fourth lol. It should be here tomorrow!