Gaui X3 Vs Align 470lm?

[GIR8]

I have been looking at getting a Gaui X3.
I have in the past flown a 450 se v2 from align but its time to go fbl and update my fleet starting with a decent 450 (ish) size heli.
My heart was set on the X3 but with the recommended upgrades of a belt drive tail and plastic tail rotor grips it starts to get to the cost of the 470lm kit which includes blades,motor and esc.
So what I am getting at is what is the better heli for my cash I don't mind spending the extra on the X3 if its gonna fly better and be cheaper to repair. Also there is the trouble with the X3 being seriously limited with 6S lipo size.

So what are peoples opinions please?

[cyclo]

I have been flying two belt driven X3s as my mini sized beaters for more than two years. The X3 is one tough heli... requires very little to no maintenance unless you crash.

When you crash most of the time it is just the blades, skids, boom, and main gear that needs replacing and these are cheap. There are times when the only damage are the skids. Repairing the X3 takes little time especially if you use breakaway servo horns which acts as a fuse preventing damage to the cyclic servo gears. All the electronics are readily accessible.

The X3 fly's really well... Much better than my old 450X beater. One of my X3s uses 350mm KBDD main blade... It handles strong winds better than the other with 360mm main blade so I use it when it is windy.

However you are right about the limitation on lipo size. I use Gens Ace 1400mah 40C lipos which are a tight fit. Others have been able to use Turnigy 1550mah Nanotechs which is probably the biggest lipo you can use with the classic X3.

[bgymr]

I have and fly both.

I use them as the helis to learn on. Both fly well-I actually prefer the flying characteristics of the align on the cyclic but the tail on the x3. The align geometry is weird on the cyclic servos but in the air it feels good. The x3 geometry is perfect but in high rate piros it struggles to keep a level disc.

In crashes you will spend the same amount. You'll replace more parts on the align but they're cheaper than gaui. But the x3 is a lot tougher so you'll spend less time fixing it. I seldom replace a shaft on my x3. The 470
Shafts I bend in crashes.

The align tail is the weak point. Not to say that you can't get it good, but it's a lot of work. Their tailshaft is a toothpick with tiny bearings. And to get it running right you have to run 74mm tails. Doable but not a great combo. The servo ball on the horn is a very short distance with little throw and a low tail ratio.

I prefer my x3, and fly it a lot more often. I love the motor in the 470. If I could for it in my x3 I would be thrilled.

[DeanR]

I had the former 450L. That thing was fragile. Not sure about the 470. But I also had an X3. I plowed that joker into the side of my brick house and bounced it off the wood deck. Never bent a shaft or broke a frame. I pancaked that bad boy coming out of a loop. Smashed so hard it was unreal. No broken frames and no bent shafts.

If you want to fix quickly and get back inthe air X3 is the way to go in my opinion.

Good luck.

[Mike680]

Originally Posted by bgymr

The x3 geometry is perfect but in high rate piros it struggles to keep a level disc.

That's a setup issue with CG and FBL tuning. My X3 with an iKON 2 piros at warp speed perfectly level in both directions.

[markpimmy]

I have both of them. The X3 is the better heli. Flys nicer imo and is built like a tank. I've found that the 470 does not crash well. needed all new shafts after every mishap including just a tip over. Not replaced one on the X3 so far. It's a tough little geezer, easy and cheap to repair. The only gripe I have is about the hardware. Easy to strip/round off etc but ok if you have good quality hex drivers and a light hand.
Love this heli.

[cyclo]

Originally Posted by markpimmy

I have both of them. The X3 is the better heli. Flys nicer imo and is built like a tank. I've found that the 470 does not crash well. needed all new shafts after every mishap including just a tip over. Not replaced one on the X3 so far. It's a tough little geezer, easy and cheap to repair. The only gripe I have is about the hardware. Easy to strip/round off etc but ok if you have good quality hex drivers and a light hand.
Love this heli.

I use DIN 12.9 SAB screws for the motor mount. That is one other gripe with the X3... The screw heads are almost as soft as cheese. Good tools help too.

[markpimmy]

A bit limited for us UK boys in the pack department, but Align 1250(short flight times) and 1450 mah batts are good for this. I fly gensace 1800 mah 45c packs in mine. They just fit between the frame with no straps attached with strong double sided tape. I get over 6 mins flight time with sport flying and a few flips and rolls here and there. Great packs.

[Mr.Andersen]

Look like Align at last have upgraded the Trex drivetrain.
Since i started flying Trex 450 back in 2008 and up to the 450 Dominator the drivetrain have been the same exept changes to the taildrive going from a bad belt desig to a cheese geared torque tube.
Now they have changed to a 6mm main shaft and a proper belt drive for the tail.
The tail shaft is still 3mm though and the tail design is the same as on the dominator expect they gave get rid of the chinese weight mod on the grips.

[Dylan Hudock]

The X3 is a fantastic beater heli. I have not seen a 450 size heli that is more durable, while still maintaining great flight characteristics. I have not bent a shaft or broken a frame on the X3. With the sacrificial servo arms, I have not spent more than around $30 on a crash. For lipo sizes, you could say it is limited if you wanted to run 1800's or a larger size like that, but you are diminishing the flight characteristics of the heli when you go to a pack that big anyways. I don't have any experience with the Align 470, but with my experience with Align helis, you will break more in the typical crash.

[GIR8]

Well I've just ordered a Sab Goblin 380 with align servos CC Talon 90 esc from the very helpful Kyle at RC-Hero.

Cannot wait to receive the kit and get started on it just need to sort out a motor,fbl controller and some lipo's and I'm sorted.

Big big thanks goes out to Kyle again he went over and above his duties and I will do business with him again no problems. ;-)

[dl5973]

Originally Posted by GIR8

Well I've just ordered a Sab Goblin 380 with align servos CC Talon 90 esc from the very helpful Kyle at RC-Hero.

Cannot wait to receive the kit and get started on it just need to sort out a motor,fbl controller and some lipo's and I'm sorted.

Big big thanks goes out to Kyle again he went over and above his duties and I will do business with him again no problems. ;-)

The g380 flies better and is easier to repair but not cheap to repair when compared to the Gaui x3

[Hawkboy000]

The 470l is really nice. Flies a lot bigger than the 450. A bit more room for autorotations too. Love the new Align motor. Getting the exact same flight time as I was getting with my 450l with just a 1300mah lipo.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

[flyswatter40]

So....why ask about two other totally different helicopters? Point?

[yakky]

I don't think you can go wrong with either. The 470LP kit is the best bargain out there in helis right now. IMO the size and parts availability make it a winner. While the Gaui has a better rep as far as crashes go, the Align has cheap and readily available parts. If you remove the electronics, the Align kit is less than half the price of the Gaui kit and it includes blades.

[GIR8]

Originally Posted by flyswatter40

So....why ask about two other totally different helicopters? Point?

Well I did start of looking at the Gaui X3 then due to parts cost from the start ie people were recommending me to get the belt tail drive and the plastic tail rotor grips it came out that the Goblin wasn't much more to buy if any.

Hey why am I explaining myself I can change my mind if I want lol

I am so excited waiting on my first new heli in over what 7 years don't rain on my parade cause I really ain't interested.

[Mike680]

Originally Posted by GIR8

Well I did start of looking at the Gaui X3 then due to parts cost from the start ie people were recommending me to get the belt tail drive and the plastic tail rotor grips it came out that the Goblin wasn't much more to buy if any.

The X3 with the belt drive conversion kit is $220, so figure another $30 or so for main blades and new tail blades because the stock plastic ones suck. The plastic tail grips come stock. But, yeah, the Goblin 380 is $316 at Helidirect, so it's really not much more than a belt drive X3. I thought the Goblin was a lot more up at around $500 for the kit. Maybe they've come down in price?

[Chigoe]

Although the Gaui X3 and Goblin 380 are roughly the same size, they fly totally different due to the Goblins excess wieght. The flight times to get a Goblin to fly right at the headspeed you need are very low.
X3 with 360 blades at 3100RPM and 1800 packs getting 4:50 on the timer.

[denis747]

Originally Posted by Hawkboy000

The 470l is really nice. Flies a lot bigger than the 450. A bit more room for autorotations too. Love the new Align motor. Getting the exact same flight time as I was getting with my 450l with just a 1300mah lipo.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk

+1. I totally agree. I am using Nano-Tech 65C - 130C, 1550 mAh lipo on my 470L and I have set my Tx timer to 4 minutes 30 seconds. After that 4.5 minutes flight the lipo cells are at 3.85 Volts, each, storage charge. I could get a longer flight time if I let the cells discharge to 3.7 volts per cell.

[OrbitalGolem]

To add to the thread, yes, the tail-shaft on the 470 is problematic. My 470LM is an early kit and was running the original shorter tail-shaft with the longer 74-mm blades. 55 flights in, with no crashes or blade strikes, the tail-shaft shears in two with a loud SNAP as I'm inverted starting a piro.

I'm thinking hard about forwarding pictures to Enterprise Hobby (Align USA distributor). In over 10,000 flights on all sorts of other birds (including Blade models), I've never had a tail-shaft snap in two.