I love my 550E

[9sec240]

That pretty much sums it up!!

[Wolfpackin]

And that says a lot knowing your extensive heli lineup.

I feel the same way about mine...awesome machine.

[akamullen]

I LOVE MY 550E TOO!!
I fly my 550E 3 times more then all my other helis combined.. really like it now that I got my 3G almost dialed in.... here is a flight between software tweaks, just testing dif settings here..dont expect much as I have not been flying RC long...
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPdYohmA8ZM[/ame]

[RC_Feen]

Originally Posted by 9sec240

That pretty much sums it up!!

Hey 9sec240....I see you have a Protos as your avatar. How do you like the 550E compared to the Protos? Thanks!

[9sec240]

Feen, I traded my Protos for a Trex 600 before I very proficient at flying (not that I am all that good now). At the time I traded it away, I preferred my Trex 500 ESP to the Protos. I think I preferred the heavier / more stable ESP. I may prefer the Protos these days over the 500 ESP.... I have been jonesing for a carbon Protos for a while now.

The 550E (in my opinion) has the best attributes of the 500 ESP (fast, agile, powerful) with the superior stability of the 600 ESP (while being MUCH easier on batteries). It also performs GREAT on 6S which makes operating costs cheap and charging quick. It is big and very visible yet small enough to transport around easily.

[Aerobat1]

I'm glad to hear you really like your 550E. I'm currently building one.
Can you tell me what you use for your intial pitch/throttle setup? No fancy 3D stuff for me, just sport flying w/ basic aerobatics.
Thanks
Aerobat1

[markleyland]

I love mine too!!
My 450 still rocks though so now I have two really nice flying heli's.

[9sec240]

Originally Posted by Aerobat1

I'm glad to hear you really like your 550E. I'm currently building one.
Can you tell me what you use for your intial pitch/throttle setup? No fancy 3D stuff for me, just sport flying w/ basic aerobatics.
Thanks
Aerobat1

I set mine up for 11° collective and 8° cyclic. This is the first heli I have set up with swash expo so that may be another reason it flies so nice. Stationary flips and rolls are nice and straight, FFF rolls look like it is on a string, loops are very straight with no surprises. I also run 20% expo on cyclic to make it nice and smooth in the center.

The kit provided two pinions... a 16T and a 17T. I used the 16T for a bit lower head speed and to be easier on my batteries. I am just a sport flier right now so this seems to work out well.

Align ESCs seem work just as they should till you get to around 90% throttle and then they just zoom right to 100%. Due to this, I program throttle curves that are either below or above 90%. I found that with the 16T pinion, I liked 100% flat the best.

There is plenty of power (for me) and it is plenty fast. I have been flying 5 min flights and putting low 3000s mA back into the battery (5000mAh 6S 25C Flightmax) so I could go another min on the flights if I wanted. To be nice to the batteries, I am just keeping the flights at 5 min and sometimes taking my time to land.

I am sure you will like your 550E as much as everybody else does. Just one bad ass machine.

[9sec240]

Originally Posted by markleyland

I love mine too!!
My 450 still rocks though so now I have two really nice flying heli's.

If you like your SE V2, you should get a Pro and really see what a nice 450 flies like!!!

[markleyland]

Originally Posted by 9sec240

If you like your SE V2, you should get a Pro and really see what a nice 450 flies like!!!

Nah, not with my setup, keep your pro

[RC_Feen]

Originally Posted by 9sec240

Feen, I traded my Protos for a Trex 600 before I very proficient at flying (not that I am all that good now). At the time I traded it away, I preferred my Trex 500 ESP to the Protos. I think I preferred the heavier / more stable ESP. I may prefer the Protos these days over the 500 ESP.... I have been jonesing for a carbon Protos for a while now.

The 550E (in my opinion) has the best attributes of the 500 ESP (fast, agile, powerful) with the superior stability of the 600 ESP (while being MUCH easier on batteries). It also performs GREAT on 6S which makes operating costs cheap and charging quick. It is big and very visible yet small enough to transport around easily.

9sec240....I'm still trying to get proficient with my Protos but I'm finding it too quick. I can do okay with the Protos on the sim but for real it's a handfull. Not sure if I should just stick it out with the Protos and learn to fly it really good or just get the 550 since it's bigger and will be more stable. Part of me says the just go for the 550 and the other part of me says to just stick it out with the Protos. I also have a Century Radikal G20 gasser that I still need to build. Not sure what to do. Thanks!

[9sec240]

Originally Posted by RC_Feen

9sec240....I'm still trying to get proficient with my Protos but I'm finding it too quick. I can do okay with the Protos on the sim but for real it's a handfull. Not sure if I should just stick it out with the Protos and learn to fly it really good or just get the 550 since it's bigger and will be more stable. Part of me says the just go for the 550 and the other part of me says to just stick it out with the Protos. I also have a Century Radikal G20 gasser that I still need to build. Not sure what to do. Thanks!

I was the same way with the Protos at the time. It was just too quick and light and I needed slower and stable. Some day I may be able to fly in a way that would allow me to appreciate the Protos but I think that may be a while.

I am just getting into inverted hovering and the 550E is just ultra stable and reacts slow enough that I can make a wrong corrections inverted and have the time to make the correct correction without it getting out of control.

Radikal huh? I would love to get my hands on one of those. I imagine that heli has to be ultra stable. The flight times are supposed to be really long too. I bet you could get a serious amount of learning done pretty fast.

[RC_Feen]

Originally Posted by 9sec240

Radikal huh? I would love to get my hands on one of those. I imagine that heli has to be ultra stable. The flight times are supposed to be really long too. I bet you could get a serious amount of learning done pretty fast.

Yeah....I also have a Miniature Aircraft Spectra-G gasser. That thing is really stable. I just want to get more real stick time without loading up and going to the field. One of the main reasons I got the Protos but like you said that thing is alittle too quick and light, but if I can master the Protos everything else would be a breeze. Also I have no local parts support for the Protos but with the 550 I do. Maybe if I went with the 550E I could get more stick time in the yard without disturbing the neighbors.

[9sec240]

Feen, there is a pretty decent size difference between the 500 class heli (425mm blades) and a 550 sized heli (520-550mm blades). Not sure about the size of your yard or proximity of your neighbors but the 550 would probably be too large for most people's yards.

My 550 sounds like my 600 flying than my 500. The Protos is ultra quiet compared to a larger Align torque tube heli. Honestly, the Protos is quiet compared to most helicopters.

[RC_Feen]

9sec240....I have a half acre lot. My back yard is pretty open. I'm thinking that the 550 may be too big to really fly it at home. If I did get one I would only be able to hover around and do some short circuits. The Protos is also a little bit smaller than the Trex 500 from what I noticed when I compared the two at the field a few weeks ago. As much as I would really like to get a 550 I'm thinking I should stick with the Protos and master it since I have a Radikal G20 gasser to build that is considered a 50 sized heli. It's really probably the right size I need for home and the fact that if I got the 550 I would need all new battery packs. I have four 6S 2650mAh packs right now for the Protos.

[Spork01]

Originally Posted by RC_Feen

9sec240....I have a half acre lot. My back yard is pretty open. I'm thinking that the 550 may be too big to really fly it at home. If I did get one I would only be able to hover around and do some short circuits. The Protos is also a little bit smaller than the Trex 500 from what I noticed when I compared the two at the field a few weeks ago. As much as I would really like to get a 550 I'm thinking I should stick with the Protos and master it since I have a Radikal G20 gasser to build that is considered a 50 sized heli. It's really probably the right size I need for home and the fact that if I got the 550 I would need all new battery packs. I have four 6S 2650mAh packs right now for the Protos.

You can use your existing 6s packs in parraell for the 550. 2 x 6s 2650= 1 5300mah 6s

If the two packs is identical

[RC_Feen]

Originally Posted by newbflyer101

You can use your existing 6s packs in parraell for the 550. 2 x 6s 2650= 1 5300mah 6s

If the two packs is identical

newbflyer...the packs are all the same and have the same number of cycles on them. Question now would be....will two 6S 2650mAh packs fit in the 550E?

[TJinGuy]

I believe that 2 normal shaped 2650 packs will fit, like the Nano-Tech packs, at least I sure hope so cause that is what I am going to use when they show up. I made up a cardboard replica of a pair of them and it fits fine. The Hyperion VX 2600 are shorter and wider and a pair doed not fit.

[Spork01]

Originally Posted by RC_Feen

newbflyer...the packs are all the same and have the same number of cycles on them. Question now would be....will two 6S 2650mAh packs fit in the 550E?

Like Chris mentioned...I believe it will fit without a problem. There's alot of room on the battery tray.

[RC_Feen]

I have four of these so I wonder if they will fit ran in parallel?