Blade 180 CFX vs Align 250 DFC BTF

[sportbikerr]

There is a comparison thread in the 150 Class comparing the 150 DFC with the 180 CFX. I think the 180 vs 250 has closer similarities. Anyone own both yet? Strengths and weaknesses between the two? Which one do you prefer?


180 CFX BNF Basic

Product Specifications

Main Rotor Diameter: 14.17 in (360mm) Tail Rotor Diameter: 3.56 in (90.5mm) Gross Weight: 6.70 oz (190 g) Length: 13.39 in (340mm) Motor Size: Brushless Out-Runner, 5800Kv Kit/ARF/RTF: BNF Basic Rotor Blade Length: Main: 6.06 in (154mm) Tail: 1.26 in (32mm) Experience Level: Advanced Recommended Environment: Indoor/Outdoor Is Assembly Required: No




●Length:431mm
●Height:150mm
●Main Blade Length:205mm
●Main Rotor Diameter:460mm
●Tail Rotor Diameter:100mm
●Motor Ponion Gear:15T
●Main Drive Gear:120T
●Tail Drive Gear:28T
●Drive Gear Ratio:1:8:4.28
●Weight(With Motor):250g

[ahahn]

These really are different. The 250 is a 300g and above bird when you factor in the battery pack. I am not sure about the 180CFX weight (does "gross weight" include the battery.

The 250 is a fast bird. I don't have a 180CFX, but would be surprised if it needed the same amour of flying space as the 180. Could be wrong of course.

In these small sizes, 10cm difference in rotor diameter is a big factor--the TRex 250 is ~30% bigger rotor diameter than the 180.

[skunkworx]

300CFX, T-rex 250, 180CFX

[sportbikerr]

Wow! Side by side the 180 looks much smaller than the 250. Maybe the 180 is truly in a class of its own.

[skunkworx]

I think so, but it's probably very close in size to a 130X. Or at least it seems to be mostly what the 130X failed to deliver on. I would've preferred to see it as belt driven and the servos are still the Eflite plastic-fantastic, but weight is probably going to be just as much of a battle just like it was in the 130 as well. The stock headspeed sounds blisteringly fast, but it might just be a new noise I'm not used to. The only.major downside I can see is the gyro is another one of those built in units just like the 130. I would be difficult to put in almost any FBL driver because the frames are narrow. On the other hand, if these things keep pushing the market we could end up with ever smaller electronics packages with better and better performance.

[qntt]

I have both. The 180 is lighter and works great without an expensive tail servo. I am blown away about how precise powerful and light it is. It feels more powerful than the 250 for it's weight and sorry to say it is more precise.

The 250 needs lots of work to make it lighter and it is very sensitive to bad settings. It is faster than the 180 but not by much. I love all the aluminum parts on it and I am sure it needs less maintenance once sorted out. Still loving the 250 but right now the 180 is my work horse.

[sportbikerr]

Originally Posted by qntt

I have both. The 180 is lighter and works great without an expensive tail servo. I am blown away about how precise powerful and light it is. It feels more powerful than the 250 for it's weight and sorry to say it is more precise.

The 250 needs lots of work to make it lighter and it is very sensitive to bad settings. It is faster than the 180 but not by much. I love all the aluminum parts on it and I am sure it needs less maintenance once sorted out. Still loving the 250 but right now the 180 is my work horse.

Great comparison!

[mutna]

Originally Posted by sportbikerr

There is a comparison thread in the 150 Class comparing the 150 DFC with the 180 CFX. I think the 180 vs 250 has closer similarities. Anyone own both yet? Strengths and weaknesses between the two? Which one do you prefer?


180 CFX BNF Basic

Product Specifications

Main Rotor Diameter: 14.17 in (360mm) Tail Rotor Diameter: 3.56 in (90.5mm) Gross Weight: 6.70 oz (190 g) Length: 13.39 in (340mm) Motor Size: Brushless Out-Runner, 5800Kv Kit/ARF/RTF: BNF Basic Rotor Blade Length: Main: 6.06 in (154mm) Tail: 1.26 in (32mm) Experience Level: Advanced Recommended Environment: Indoor/Outdoor Is Assembly Required: No




●Length:431mm
●Height:150mm
●Main Blade Length:205mm
●Main Rotor Diameter:460mm
●Tail Rotor Diameter:100mm
●Motor Ponion Gear:15T
●Main Drive Gear:120T
●Tail Drive Gear:28T
●Drive Gear Ratio:1:8:4.28
●Weight(With Motor):250g

I'm interested in the 180....does anyone else have any opinion on both these, I own a 250 pro dfc and love it but my mcpx is in need of an upgrade and I was thinking of this.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated guys.

Many thanks

[myxiplx]

Having flown a mCPX BL and a 250 I would never go back to a mCPX, I actually sold both of mine recently as I just wasn't flying them any more.

If I had cash to spare I'd happily have a 180CFX as well as the 250, from everything I've seen and read its going to fly as well as a good 250. Its also hugely popular so spares and upgrades are going to be in ready supply. I know Lynx already have servo saver arms and a better tail shaft and are working on upgraded servos too.

[Mikej]

I have a 300CFX, T250, and 180CFX, they are all very different.

The 180CFX is 3 or 4 years newer and feels it - in it's original form it flew very much like other Blade micros - i.e. a bit "darty" and twitchy - very solid in the hover, but moves from one orientation to another in a series of jumpy / darty moves - hard to fly smoothly (but very powerful for it's size). I replaced the Rx/FBL unit with a GY280 and it is transformed - much smoother and more like a bigge heli (and now with the MicroBrain you won't have the concerns over buying cloned technology) The 180CFX is very quick and needs little tweaking to make it fly very nicely.

My T250 took a lot more messing about with to get it to fly as I like it - it is a heavy disk-loading heli and hence doesn't have the "pop" that the 180CFX has, but it does feel a lot more solid and "higher quality".

They really are quite different helis, really hard to say which I prefer - except perhaps that since my 180CFX arrived I haven't flown the T250 at all - the 300CFX and 180CFX are each "a size" either side of the T250, both have more "pop" which I like, but neither feel quite as high quality as the T250

[skunkworx]

Originally Posted by qntt

The 180 is lighter and works great without an expensive tail servo. . . It feels more powerful than the 250 for it's weight and sorry to say it is more precise.

The 250 needs lots of work to make it lighter and it is very sensitive to bad settings

I use an OMG H1 tail servo in mine (I also have a 95i). Same results, if not, better -- and less than half the price. While that might still be a little on the pricey side for such a small machine, it's worth its weight in gold considering the fact that you'd never need to replace it.

Power and precision are relative to the type of equipment you have installed (motor, ESC, FBL/gyro unit). I agree that the 250 definitely takes some work to get it working right. But it flies every bit as well as my 450 after I spent the time to dial it in properly. Mechanically they are a bit meticulous, but other than that they don't seem any more sensitive to bad settings compared to any other machine.

I think the biggest plus for the 180 is that you take it out of the box and go fly. There's little to no time invested in getting (or keeping) it airborne, so it's a pretty positive factor in its ownership.

[mutna]

I'm still so stuck on the fence I like the t150 and the thought of picking up and flying in small areas, something my t250/can't do at my level anyway. But the 180cfx I would imagine handles the wind a bit better than the t150 and so flying outside would be easier maybe??

Does anyone know if the t150 or 180cfx is more stable in flight?? I want one that I can fly well and progress to inverted and 3d on.

Any advice is much appreciated guys, just really trying to decide between these two and can't make my mind up

[mutna]

Crap sorry wrong thread, didn't mean to hijack the thread

[vtown nick]

The 2 are totally different classes but I have a lot of flights on both and will say the 180 over had better flight advantages.

180 pros:

Piro comp
Castle esc with great gov
Great tail hold
Reliable (mine saw 70 flights not one issue not one crash)
Good disk loading, not great but it is nice.

Cons:
It's going to crash UGLY
Are parts still hard to get like the tt?
Battery wire routing has to be creative
While locked in and never looses heading the AS3X is wobble city doing hard 3d
It gets small FAST

250 pros:
It has a ton of power
Easier to see in the sky than the 180

Cons:
Tt is a nightmare
Belt is expensive
Nothing is easy to service on this thing
You need MIP drivers to do anything at all. The align ones aren't bad
Disk loading is a joke for any sort of smooth fff

[oy2503]

Hi guys.

I searched for a thread like this because:

1. The 180 CFX looks like the one I want ($220).
2. The local (sorta) hobby shop has the Align 250DFC much cheaper ($150).

We just started flying indoors yesterday - and I have no planes or helis for that.

For outside flying I have a BEAM Avantgarde (600) and a GAUI X5. The GAUI X5
is a *great* heli, but the BEAM beats it completely. It may be because of blade area.
The 600 blades are much, much wider than the 520's. So the 600 floats a lot better
and has a more powerful feel.

I tried some Blade helis yesterday, and the largest of those, a 130, felt best. So I
hope the 180 is great for me. But I haven't been too happy about Blade quality in
the past. And reading about bad quality bearings and plastic fantastic servos does
not make me happy. I need something to practice indoors, as I believe indoor practice
will make me a better outdoor pilot. I don't like the idea of having a separate tail motor,
so that rules out most of the small ones, including the Align 150. But if it works, then ok.
Simply, I need something to train indoors with, and money (TCO) is certainly an issue.
Do you have any great ideas?

Cheers
Erik

[amphibia]

Originally Posted by oy2503

Hi guys.

I searched for a thread like this because:

1. The 180 CFX looks like the one I want ($220).
2. The local (sorta) hobby shop has the Align 250DFC much cheaper ($150).

We just started flying indoors yesterday - and I have no planes or helis for that.

For outside flying I have a BEAM Avantgarde (600) and a GAUI X5. The GAUI X5
is a *great* heli, but the BEAM beats it completely. It may be because of blade area.
The 600 blades are much, much wider than the 520's. So the 600 floats a lot better
and has a more powerful feel.

I tried some Blade helis yesterday, and the largest of those, a 130, felt best. So I
hope the 180 is great for me. But I haven't been too happy about Blade quality in
the past. And reading about bad quality bearings and plastic fantastic servos does
not make me happy. I need something to practice indoors, as I believe indoor practice
will make me a better outdoor pilot. I don't like the idea of having a separate tail motor,
so that rules out most of the small ones, including the Align 150. But if it works, then ok.
Simply, I need something to train indoors with, and money (TCO) is certainly an issue.
Do you have any great ideas?

Cheers
Erik

blade 230s. I bought one as a gift for a buddy. He loves it. Other than the motor tail, it is better built than 180 in every aspect.

[myxiplx]

The 250 may look cheaper, but you have to factor in the cost of a modern FBL to really compare it to the 180CFX.

[skunkworx]

But also factor in the better flight characteristics of the 250 as a result of the better electronics and the extra cost makes more sense (IMO). Both machines have their downsides for sure. But I got rid of the 180 because it spent more time being fixed than flying and it had the same wobbly tail that I hated on the 130X. My 250s fly just like my 450.

[mmmarcy]

Originally Posted by skunkworx

But also factor in the better flight characteristics of the 250 as a result of the better electronics and the extra cost makes more sense (IMO). Both machines have their downsides for sure. But I got rid of the 180 because it spent more time being fixed than flying and it had the same wobbly tail that I hated on the 130X. My 250s fly just like my 450.

Same here with the 180, a hard landing = rebuild/replace servos. I was also surprised by the amount of damage after a light crash. A pain to work on as well, taking the bottom end apart to get to the FBL unit to change servos, etc. Wobbly tail too. I'm looking into a 250 these days to replace it.

[skunkworx]

Honestly, both are going they are both going to be a pain to fix and work on. I just think that with an SE version it addressed all the beginner problems the previous version had (except the tail still needs the double bearing mod), so it's a much more viable platform once you get the good electronics dropped into it.

I know a lot of guys at the field that will defend the little 180 to the death, but I didn't have the patience to mess with it for long. I think micros in the future will be a lot better once the technology catches up. But for now I still think the 180 leaves too much to be desired (for my preferences anyway).