What electric heli to get?

[Kevin Y]

Ok I posted this on heligiants but no one seems to post anything on there so I am going to try it here. I know a lot of guys that fly electric helis so lets here it.

I have played around with the Blade and had fun but I want something a little larger and that has a little bit more mass to it like a Trex or Shogun. Something that will teach me the fundamentals but then take me up the ladder to do 3D when I am ready.

So what brand and model would you guys suggest?

Trex (not 450SE, I dont think I need the aluminium and carbon stuff yet)
Shogun
Heli max
MS composit
Venom
Logo
Walkera Dragonfly
Raptor G2
or any others.

Also what is the difference between a Trex 450xl (hde) and a 450xl (cde) eccpm?

Thanks,

Kev

[djnoerr]

t-rex is the best small heli out

[TonyThomasian]

You should buy my T-rex SE. Flown only about 5-7 times. Actually it hasn't been flown, it has been hovered. i have flown circles about 7 feet off the ground at the most but thats about it......

[TonyThomasian]

O by the way..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

[Toro]

Kev,

Heres the deal with 400 size birds... Fun, can be addicting, dont fly quite as good as the larger ships (isnt that always true in model aviation ?) and you'll find that once you get a taste you'll want to try larger. For a decent 400 size ship, The T Rex is still the leader out there... They are great flying little heli's and will do EVERYTHING a big ship will do with exception of easy auto rotations. They tend to be touchy, and like to be flown "DUMBED DOWN" as I like to say.

Parts arent that expensive, but you'll find yourself making more and more trips to the LHS as you get further and further into it. So it eventually adds up to about the same as a nitro ship in the long run. I Know, I know... I dont like glo-fuel, and the mess.... Well ya... its kind of a mess, but not really as bad as a plane.

The difference between the HDE, and the CCPM model, is the way the collective, and cyclic systems are set up. The HDE looks ZACTLY like a raptor setup. It is a mechanical mix through levers, and arms just like the bigger raptor. The CCPM, or the "TRUE" ccpm is a direct link with 3 servos that are off set on the swash plate @ 120 degrees. They are mixed in the radio to move collective, roll cyclic, and pitch cyclic independently or together depending on input. THe older T rex uses a "false CCPM" where it utilizes changes of direction and servo mounting differences. THe new ones I think are true CCPM, but I may be mistaken. Some of the CCPM systems are running @ 90 degree off set. I believe this is the way the new E raptor will work, and this even simplifies the setup even more.

Now, if you want to get into a bigger E heli, the T rex 600 is not a bad bird for the price, for about 1300 bucks you can be up in the air and hittin it hard with a "50" size electric. Night and day difference in flying these things... Very stable, easy to see, and plenty of power for your basic learning. With a stock setup and thunder power packs the one I flew was pretty decent. The batteries are whats expensive with these size ships... 200 bucks for a stock batt, and like 280 for a thunderpower.... But they are bitchen !!

Gyros are another piece you dont want to skimp on.
401 does pretty darn good for the price. 601,611 are the upper end futaba but I find that for a 50 size bird the 401 is plenty.... I hurricane my raptor @ full negative collective, and the tail is rock solid. doesnt want to blow out at all unless I do something wrong.

601/611 work great for the hard core 3D guys, and the larger 90 size ships that are pulling hard 3D.

let me know what other ?'s you might have....

I have to go finish fixing my raptor that FRAZIER made me crash @ the shootout....

[Kevin Y]

Damn!!!

Thanks guys for the info and especially you toro.

So Toro in your opinion would you rather have the HDE or the CCPM Trex?

[Toro]

I went with the HDE when I first got one about 2 years ago, because its what I knew then... ITs just like my raptors.... I would go with the ccpm now, easier to setup, and a more positive slop free setup.

The setup with the SE is still probably one of the better ones out there... I think the new "SA" is gonna be a good one also... ARF with aluminum side frames... I have always kind of steared people away from ARF heli's though, because, your gonna need to know how to fix em' and when you gotta tear em' down you kind of remember how they're put back together...

[red_z06]

Kevin:

Stay away from XL! I bought it becaused it was much cheaper than SE but it ended up costing more than SE. It is not due to crash but my attempt to make it slop free to have reasonable control. The problem with XL is that although it is eccpm, the controls are not direct as SE or the new SA as the servos are mounted in the front. It has too many links and bell cranks mounted on flexing plastic frrame.

One more thing about the aluminum components is that they resist crash damage much better (in grass) and minimize field repair. It also makes the heli stable enough to to close up aerobatics.

It still is much harder bird to aerobatics with and faster. If you already know to fly, I would say it is a great training aid to keep your reflexes up. I used to think trex 600 and raptor 50 was small. Guess what? They fly super smooth and feel incredibly stable after flying trex 450se. Yes I ended up with an se after upgrading my xl to fly at an acceptable level. MY XL still does not have metal tail case and few other stuff but all metal head. It cost me way more than my SE at the end.

If you learn to fly on T-Rex 450se, you will think R50 or T-Rex 600 is stupid easy and stable.

The reason Trex 450se is too fast is due to all that metal. Think of it as flying heavy wing loading airplane. There are no stall maneuvers like in planes but due to the weight and the size of the blade, it is spinning at 3000 head speed to develop enought thrust to do maneuvers. The result is lightening fast(although you can tone it down but then it will not be as aerobatic) cyclic.

If you do not know how to fly, get a 50 sized glow ( cheaper than electric ) and come back after you've learned and get the 450se.

And of course, when you are ready to step up, go get a MA stratus.

[Rockoflyer]

There is a new Raptor Titan Mini on the way .I do not have arelease date yet .I have flowen it it is a very goodstable bird.Same size as a Trex 450,It is Eccpm very easy to set up .We flew it on a Thunder Tiger Brushless that had tons of power and on a 2200 duralite pack 10 mins was flight time flying 3d and longer with standard flight .This willbe a great heli for the beginer and the advanced heli guy.

[Bunky F. Knuckle]

Kev, you sould buy MY T-Rex. It is the original 450. Plastic frame, but I have upgraded some of the head parts(mixer, washout, fly bar control), also upgraded the tail box to alum. Mega 16/15/3 motor, Castle 35A control, Hitec 56's all around, and I'll include 3 Tanic 2220 packs. All of which have less than 10 cycles on. I keep the JR Rx, and the 401 gyro. I have a use for both of them. $600 plus shipping to you. I can have pics later if you want......

Chris~

[Kevin Y]

Chris I actually want to build one, if I didn't I would look at buying yours. I enjoy that part of it because it is like building an r/c car.

[Kevin Y]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Rockoflyer
	There is a new Raptor Titan Mini on the way .I do not have arelease date yet .I have flowen it it is a very goodstable bird.Same size as a Trex 450,It is Eccpm very easy to set up .We flew it on a Thunder Tiger Brushless that had tons of power and on a 2200 duralite pack 10 mins was flight time flying 3d and longer with standard flight .This willbe a great heli for the beginer and the advanced heli guy.

That sounds pretty interesting!