450L Build Review- DOMINATOR

[HighVoltage450]

The mailman brought me another Dominator today and with this being my third time building one, I had to comment on how ridiculously awesome this thing is. I bought the kit version and took note of some very nice changes to my customary 450 Pro DFC.

- Fitment is stellar. Its not hard to see why they are called Align. The parts have perfect tolerances. It comes more assembled than ever- like the main gear installed to the main gear case... I mean tight. Everything else is loosely assembled which makes life easier than picking out little parts here and there

- The Dampers are actually awesome now and there is no more play in the head. I bought Truebloods but with this kit- I don't see the point in them. The new bearing arrangement, larger feathering shaft and larger feathering shaft end bolts, double pinch bolt head make for a badass head.

- The thrust bearing tail has been updated again as the thrust bearing plates have a new order. Its simpler with less parts which is good because the bearings are tiny.

- Align paid attention to details in this bird. The main gear fits right into the frame, no more wiggling it around. The bottom plate is custom cut to fit into the frame better. Its pretty slick. The anti rotation bracket slips in and out so you don't have to unbolt and remove the entire thing anymore. Just slip it in and out which makes setup so easy.

- Servo layout is the bomb. The servos are so easy to setup and the entire bearing blocks work together with the servos themselves to bolt down the head. This is massive improvement and no doubt is stronger.

- The pinion has a set screw that goes into a new slot on the shaft. Which keeps it locked onto something flat. No more helical pinions jammed down on the shaft.

- The motor is bolted down with 8 oversized bolts that follow the new CNC braces. This helicopter means business. Can you say anti torsion control? All that power goes right into the blades and the frame stays straight. Also the motor being mounted up top allows you to remove it entirely with four bolts and pull. You also have direct access from the underside to set gear mesh and you could also easily change pinions without even removing the motor.

- The rudder servo is offset within the frame so it shoots a straight line at the tail. This is a big improvement.

Wiring is much easier as there is more room and straighter lines in the frame. All internal wiring is a breeze. You don't even have to build half the frame... Just build it all and wire it up.

I read some heresay that the Dominator is heavier than the DFC. It isn't at all. If you want to calculate the frame braces as extra weight... that's about all you can count.

The other stuff is pretty much the same as the DFC. I loved the DFC but the Dominator is truly a work of art.

The ONLY thing I can complain about. the new offset ball ends for the aileron and pitch cyclic servo horns were just a tad short to meet the lock nut on the other side. DO NOT leave the lock nut off! Take a sharp exacto knife and thin the servo horn down a bit so you can get the nut on the other end of the ball link.

This thing is beyond amazing. There is more stuff too.. little details- like the main blade bolts sink down deeper into the nylon lock nut... They are much tighter and more secure.

Next time you crash your helicopter- I'd suggest making the change. Prepare to be blown away.

[Moleo76]

+1, I absolutely love mine. Almost gave up on 450s until this bird came around. The guys at my field have nicknamed it "little monster".

[SMOKEMASTER60]

Me too, great heli and having a blast with this thing. Nice write up

[Diogenes]

Got my head, frame, and landing gear assemblies built last night, am very surprised at how easy they all came together. Only gripe so far is that a washer was missing from one of the main grips, the brass looking one. I luckily had one in the extra parts I bought for it.

[lowflyer101]

Replace front tube gear on 450l a rear pain in the anal, and there gear strip easy. honest i do not like new design of front tail gear housing. Wish i can using the old style gear housing in 450l, easy to install and remove for gear job. After replacing front tube gear, wish i did not pick up the 450l

[Yfbb]

The 450l is heavier, but the 20-40g of extra weight is pretty negligible. How are the servos? I am thinking about getting some for my 250. The tail drive on the 450l is identical to the 450 pro version, and the gears are interchangeable. I don't see how it is any harder than before.

[DominicD]

Interesting review HV450 I rather like my 450L but there is a TON of areas that could be improved. I could probably generate a list of negative just as long as your positives

[Tommy649]

Originally Posted by DominicD

Interesting review HV450 I rather like my 450L but there is a TON of areas that could be improved. I could probably generate a list of negative just as long as your positives

Sounds like you have been hanging out at your mayors house a little to often...

450L is just awesome all over

lol

[lowflyer101]

Originally Posted by DominicD

Interesting review HV450 I rather like my 450L but there is a TON of areas that could be improved. I could probably generate a list of negative just as long as your positives

Same quality clay sòft hex head screws
Front tube gear housing design (hard to install / removing)

[DominicD]

My biggest problem with the kit is:

- The way the boom mount has to key into the frame, means you almost have to separate the frames to change rear gears. There is no reason to key into the plastic bits in the frame

- The balls on the swash are too low, means you cannot really use a ball link plier to get the DFC links off

- The servo mounting is so damn tight, the wires are being pinched into position

- Very little spacing between the back of the servo case and the mainshaft, reduces wire routing options

- Overly complicated tail pitch slider, totally unnecessary for no performance improvement ...

[SMOKEMASTER60]

Originally Posted by DominicD

My biggest problem with the kit is:

- The way the boom mount has to key into the frame, means you almost have to separate the frames to change rear gears. There is no reason to key into the plastic bits in the frame

- The balls on the swash are too low, means you cannot really use a ball link plier to get the DFC links off

- The servo mounting is so damn tight, the wires are being pinched into position

- Very little spacing between the back of the servo case and the mainshaft, reduces wire routing options

- Overly complicated tail pitch slider, totally unnecessary for no performance improvement ...

I totally agree with all of these 450L issues, but I have been very lucky as none of them have had a negative impact for me....yet One more thing I found was that it is possible, if not likely for the swash links to catch on the canopy if the battery is pressing on it. I had to cut my canopy a bit to allow more room. But, overall I am super happy with my little 450L

[Grittner]

Hello, im new here...
I just finish to build it, can't what to arrive the battery to start the electronic setup.
any suggestion for the TX Start point SetUp/Config, i have a DX9 (my wife new year gift) im a beginner/intermedient.
any suggestion are well welcome...

[mainly]

Originally Posted by DominicD

My biggest problem with the kit is:

- The way the boom mount has to key into the frame, means you almost have to separate the frames to change rear gears. There is no reason to key into the plastic bits in the frame

- The balls on the swash are too low, means you cannot really use a ball link plier to get the DFC links off

- The servo mounting is so damn tight, the wires are being pinched into position

- Very little spacing between the back of the servo case and the mainshaft, reduces wire routing options

- Overly complicated tail pitch slider, totally unnecessary for no performance improvement ...

totally unacceptable. amateurish really.

as i mentioned in another post its impossible to assemble the boom mount in the order it tells you in the manual as it first tells you to completely assemble the frame, then it magically shows the tail boom w/mount inserted into the frame??. which is impossible without taking apart the frame again or at least backing off half the screws to then have to pry the frame apart to get the boom mount in.

the manual is horribly written. youtube has a better translator.

whats with the plastic pieces attached to the frame that incorperates into the canopy mounts?
why not just have the metal parts?

my kit came an empty bottle of threadlock. thanks.

the gayest part of all is the giant "ALIGN" logo screened in the background of every single page of the manual. and "diagonally too!! whats that? a design element?

as gay as it gets.

[Brandon123s]

Did you guys use the main shaft spacer in your build? The manual mentioned something about adding it 'if required'. I haven't flown mine yet and the build video I watched didn't use it either... but it was hardly complete.

It's my first build so I might be worrying about nothing... but I ask because I do not know.

[Duikje]

Yes i had to use both of them to remove the slop out of the mainshaft. I could move the mainshaft a bit up and down, i think i used the thin one on the top of the top bearing and the thicker one on the underside of the top bearing to get the gear mesh between the bottom main gear and the tail gearbox to line up.
But this might be different on yours because of part tolerances.

[FrankFuss]

The thin shim was all I needed to remove the little slop that I had. If you can feel any up and down slop, then you should use just the minimum enough shims to remove it, without putting a load on the bearings.

[tworst]

Originally Posted by mainly

totally unacceptable. amateurish really.

as i mentioned in another post its impossible to assemble the boom mount in the order it tells you in the manual as it first tells you to completely assemble the frame, then it magically shows the tail boom w/mount inserted into the frame??. which is impossible without taking apart the frame again or at least backing off half the screws to then have to pry the frame apart to get the boom mount in.

the manual is horribly written. youtube has a better translator.

whats with the plastic pieces attached to the frame that incorperates into the canopy mounts?
why not just have the metal parts?

my kit came an empty bottle of threadlock. thanks.

the gayest part of all is the giant "ALIGN" logo screened in the background of every single page of the manual. and "diagonally too!! whats that? a design element?

as gay as it gets.

Dude, I have totally given up on manuals. It is total bullshit that most manufacturers give you absolutely horrendous manuals. I got a Futaba T14SG radio last year, which I really like, but I am tempted to just to through the manual away. There are many sentences in it that are simply unintelligable. I aready have a 250 DFC and the manual sucks - all the points you mentioned, and also the Chinglish is really bad, and you can't even do a freakn text search as the pages look like they were photocopied. We put a man on the moon a half century ago with the memory and processing power of 3 dollar watch but we cant even get a searchable manual. .

The 3GX program is a little better, but there is room for much improvement. I especially love the fact that if you hover your mouse over the "Next" button, they were thoughtful enough to have a help bubble pop up and explain to you that this means to go to the next page. Great.

I just ordered the 450L, I expect it to be a good bird, but I expect the manual will suck. Its almost like the manufactures are involved in a secrete competition to see who can come up with the shittiest manual

[Pitch-Itch]

Originally Posted by mainly

totally unacceptable. amateurish really.

as i mentioned in another post its impossible to assemble the boom mount in the order it tells you in the manual as it first tells you to completely assemble the frame, then it magically shows the tail boom w/mount inserted into the frame??. which is impossible without taking apart the frame again or at least backing off half the screws to then have to pry the frame apart to get the boom mount in.

the manual is horribly written. youtube has a better translator.

whats with the plastic pieces attached to the frame that incorperates into the canopy mounts?
why not just have the metal parts?

my kit came an empty bottle of threadlock. thanks.

the gayest part of all is the giant "ALIGN" logo screened in the background of every single page of the manual. and "diagonally too!! whats that? a design element?

as gay as it gets.

Your loctite bottle wasn't empty. It's not supposed to come full. You will most likely see just enough in the bottle to coat the bottom or sides of the bottle.

Turn it up on it's head and let gravity work. It will collect at the tip then you can apply as needed. Trust me, it's more than you need to complete the build.

[DominicD]

Or don't use that crap and buy real loctite brand thread lock

[satgod]

I wasnt impressed with the 450L either
but its a 450 size machine and it does fly
with that said my 6s 450pro does just as well
and my 450ts frame is almost the same setup