Parts list for my new 420

[Inverted Hokie]

Alright Gents, I took the leap and bought my first kit, minus all the stuff you need to make it a heli. Still have to figure out a creative way to get the rest on order b/c my wife's comment was, "Wow, that costs less than your 360!", to which I replied, "ain't that great?"

Here's what I've selected and just looking for input / opinions.

Servos: BK Servos DS-3001HV
Tail Servo: BK Servos DS-5005HV
ESC: CC Phoenix Edge Lite 100 25V 100-Amp ESC w/5-Amp BEC
Batt: Pulse 6S / 1800 mAh
Motor: Scorpion HK-3020 Brushless Motor (1050W, 1000kV)
FBL/RX: SPMAR7210BX 7CH DSMX Flybarless Control System
(may use one from my 360 or 270).

[Crashalotjoe]

You may want to consider slightly larger packs for it to get a better CoG. I use 2600 mAh in mine mainly because they balance better and I had them already. They are a bit heavy so maybe 2200's would be better. I couldn't get a good CoG using the 1800's I use on my 380's.

[Inverted Hokie]

Originally Posted by Crashalotjoe

You may want to consider slightly larger packs for it to get a better CoG. I use 2600 mAh in mine mainly because they balance better and I had them already. They are a bit heavy so maybe 2200's would be better. I couldn't get a good CoG using the 1800's I use on my 380's.

Thanks Mark. The 360 Trio was tail heavy too, so that's why I used the 1800's...pretty large for that one. I was hoping to use them on the 420, but may be in the same boat.

[jrman83]

Edge lite series isn't very well known for a strong BEC, and with a mini tail you may want something stronger like what is in the HW ESCs with a 7A BEC. I would also consider a more modern FBL that has a much better onboard governor than most ESCs. Like an Ikon/Brain 2, or other. Much easier to setup and if you want things like a rescue function it comes with it and free upgrades for the life of the unit.

Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk

[toadiscoil]

Well if you are looking at a budget build, the BK's are not the way to go for sure. Nothing against them, I have one on the tail of my Oxy and works great. But to be honest the KST's are super cheap and the KST 215 on cyclic are super easy to replace the servo gears and are readily available. Oh did I mention they are cheap?

Also the tail KST servos are great. A few crashes on mine where the boom dislodged or broke and only the small 215's suffered gear damage, the tail ones are rock solid as always. I got my first servos for $100 from China on eBay. As far as I can tell they are actual original KST servos they just took a couple of weeks to arrive. The combo was for 3 215's and a 565X on the tail.

I assume you want Castle because you are familiar with the Talon 35 on your 360. You may want to choose them a model with a beefier ESC or you will have to wire an external Castle BEC which complicates things a bit. It is just easier to install a Hobbywing 60A v4 if on a budget or the 80A v4 if you want to play with telemetry later on.

Yes the 1800's are a bit light and even more with a light ESC like the Hobbywing 60A v4. I added a bit of lead weight to the nose to correct CoG and have no issues. Saved money on the ESC and packs, and it doesn't bother me to have the weight there. The 60A v4 is so small I could scoot it to the back of the ESC tray and use that remaining space under the nose for the lead weight. If you choose Hobbywing you need an additional $30 programming box, trust me it is well worth the money. No need to take a laptop to the field if you want to do something with it.

Finally I agree with the FBL. The AR7210BX is the same as on the Trio and you are probably also familiar with it but trust me I am a newbie and it was night and day from going to standard Hobbywing governor to iKon governor. The Castle governor is actually regarded as being worse than the Hobbywing governor so in theory you could see a massive improvement on performance on switching to a FBL-driven governor like the iKon. Even if you are not flying hard. Again, I am a newbie and I noticed the difference substantially.

Hope that helps. Cheers!

EDIT: I use 2200's on the 420 and 1800's on the 380. Same lead weight on the nose, same Hobbywing 60A v4 ESC on both.

[Inverted Hokie]

Thanks again Gents for helping this green horne out.

So now I'm reconsidering a few things. For now though, I think I'll go with with the BeastX AR7210, b/c I can use one from my other Heli and I don't have to buy a receiver. Maybe I'll put a Brain2 on it later.

Great point about the ESC. I'm gonna go with: HW Pro 80 amp
https://www.amainhobbies.com/hobbywi...203200/p510523
I guess I need the control box too...
https://www.amainhobbies.com/hobbywi...000014/p279128

For battery, I think I'll go with the Pulse 2600. Supposedly you can get 5mins of flight time.

For the motor, I think I'll switch from the Scorpion to the Xnova 3215. It supposedly runs cooler due to higher eff. I saw some comments though on helidirect about some quality issues though.

Still debating on KST vs BK servos. I put KST's on my 270 and love them.

Any other input...I'm all ears (and thumbs).

[jrman83]

The Xnova motor is nice. I have the Tareq 930 on mine. You can easily get 5min on 2200s. I land mine at 4.5, just to be more on the safe side and my headspeed is not insane. For the servos, I also have the KSTs. I think in a bad enough crash where damage to a servo is likely, the brand will likely not matter. The longevity of the servo and possibly getting a little less precise or get a tad bit of slop, that may be more on the KST side than BK. But then again, I have read a lot of complaints about BK servos here and there.

[Inverted Hokie]

Originally Posted by jrman83

The Xnova motor is nice. I have the Tareq 930 on mine. You can easily get 5min on 2200s. I land mine at 4.5, just to be more on the safe side and my headspeed is not insane. For the servos, I also have the KSTs. I think in a bad enough crash where damage to a servo is likely, the brand will likely not matter. The longevity of the servo and possibly getting a little less precise or get a tad bit of slop, that may be more on the KST side than BK. But then again, I have read a lot of complaints about BK servos here and there.

Thanks Ben. I see you live in Lorton, VA. I grew up in Arlington.

[jrman83]

Originally Posted by Inverted Hokie

Thanks Ben. I see you live in Lorton, VA. I grew up in Arlington.

Yes, been here about 2yrs now. Been in the area for 7yrs. Was military, then retired, then started working as a sub-contractor for the gov't. I used to work in Arlington.

[3Daemon]

Originally Posted by Inverted Hokie

100-Amp ESC w/5-Amp BEC

Hmm... Why so tiny? Why not 160 or 200?
Maake it biiiggger!