what is it with Align and there FBL controllers?

[Ross Northcott]

Only 6 months ago the Align FBL controller 3gx was being compared as a competition for the likes of Vbar, beastx etc, now there selling for £60 second hand, are they really that bad? they have seemed to follow the trend of the 3g.
I did try a 3gx on my 500pro, hated it and sold it within 2 flights but in all fairness i never really gave it chance.

[GIXERMAN]

i prefer the vbar, but @50-60 would buy them all day long bargain

[dani_r]

I know a few people who use them successfully, but the rest is Beast X users! I think once you get the idea in your head that something is going to be shit, that's it!

[Ross Northcott]

i prefer the vbar, but @50-60 would buy them all day long bargain

Just seen you bought the one for £50, thats got to be a bargain, cant really go that wrong can you?

[tonystevens]

I must try a 3gx at some point. out of the three common units its the only one i havent tried. can it be all that bad or are people just not setting them up properly???

[moonmanflyer]

I am not a fan but again haven't really given them a chance either, much prefer beastx just because it is easy to adjust without need of a laptop, but when tweeted to your liking I think vbar is still the one to have

[GIXERMAN]

Just seen you bought the one for £50, thats got to be a bargain, cant really go that wrong can you?

no i missed out, he recons sold pending payement.got one already on a 600e pro, very happy with it. and a 3g on a 450 pro. 5 vbars and some beastx. have far to many models to vbar everything.

[p41mer]

I fly 3gx on all of my helis. Mainly because I'm so familiar with the setup and adjustments. For value for money they are hard to beat..

dp

[JoeBailey]

I think alot of the issues come from a lack of development time at Align, the unit has the potential to be fantastic but there's just niggles all the time.
I tried for two months with my 450, it was either to fast and edgy or so stable that it was boring (like the trainer on Phoenix).
After spending hours tweeking and messing and still not getting a comfortable setting I bought a mini Vbar and using the exact same equipment it flew fantastic with no tweeking.
The tail was good and very responsive though so at least Align can get it right when they try.

Joe

[super]

Really happy with the 3gx on my 550. Using v2 firmware. Flys just the way I want it.

Cheers,

John

[Delarado]

Only 6 months ago the Align FBL controller 3gx was being compared as a competition for the likes of Vbar, beastx etc, now there selling for £60 second hand, are they really that bad?

People realised they are shit.

I've had one since February and always defended the 3gx bashing. However, as soon as I put an AR7200BX on my 500, i knocked out three moves i couldnt do before (tic tocs, aileron tic tocs and half piro flip)

I spent ages tuning my 3gx, the only way I can describe it (Forgetting the stupid things it does like porpoising into wind, and having a fit when you are in FFF flight and go rear elevator) is that it just doesnt feel as nice as the BX.

No other way to describe it. The BX def does just feel better though. I flew 3GX and BX back to back the other day (500 and 700) and it really stuck out how much more comfortable I was with the BX.

Theres nothing I can put my finger on exactly wrong with the 3gx (Except a couple of small issues) whereas the BX I can actually tell you some weird things it does. But it still just feels nicer. I dont know how to express it, but I def prefer it.

[tonystevens]

Theres nothing I can put my finger on exactly wrong with the 3gx (Except a couple of small issues) whereas the BX I can actually tell you some weird things it does. But it still just feels nicer. I dont know how to express it, but I def prefer it.

what weird things does you beast x do then?

[chris jones2.4]

i think the 3gx flys shite! gets horrible shimmers and stuff aswell

[Delarado]

what weird things does you beast x do then?

It seems to react to 1 input at a time. And also sometimes its a little slow on stops. It could be the servo speed, it could be the BX, it could be vibrations.

If I jam both sticks full forward, the heli shoots up in the air and rotates slowly. About half a second later, as the full "Climb out" rate is reached, it then starts to rotate much faster.

I also notice in tic-tocs as I go from positive pitch back elevator to negative pitch forward elevator, the heli is "Caught" by the pitch, and then starts to rotate forward a short time later (noticeably later than the application of forward elevator)

Also sometimes on pitch pumps it stops dead on, with a noticeable sound from the blades. Other times the stops seem much softer with no obvious hard pitch application blade sound.

However - the things I'm doing with it the 3gx system would have wobbled the whole heli to pieces and piroetted into the ground. I couldnt even do tic tocs with the 3gx really, but with the BX I did a whole battery pretty much just to see if I could do it (I could never maintain altitude tic-tocing with the 3gx)


It could be setup though, I've only 8 flights on it just now - but for sure out of the box its much more confidence inspiring than the 3gx. For e.g with 3gx I was flying the 700 the other day. Full pelt forward flight, applied back elevator to loop her up in the air with the idea of coming back towards myself inverted and half rolling back to right way up somewhere along the way. But as the 3GX always seems to do when I try doing that (Which the BX does not!) it simply spazzed out as soon as I hit back elevator, did a massive "bunny hop" in the air and carried on straight. By this time I was a bit confused as to if the heli had rotated inverted and I just hadnt noticed or quite what had happened for a split second! Gain pots at 11 oclock. Both my 500 and 700 do it on 3gx. 500 no longer does it on Bx..

[tonystevens]

It seems to react to 1 input at a time. And also sometimes its a little slow on stops. It could be the servo speed, it could be the BX, it could be vibrations.

If I jam both sticks full forward, the heli shoots up in the air and rotates slowly. About half a second later, as the full "Climb out" rate is reached, it then starts to rotate much faster.

I also notice in tic-tocs as I go from positive pitch back elevator to negative pitch forward elevator, the heli is "Caught" by the pitch, and then starts to rotate forward a short time later (noticeably later than the application of forward elevator)

Also sometimes on pitch pumps it stops dead on, with a noticeable sound from the blades. Other times the stops seem much softer with no obvious hard pitch application blade sound.

However - the things I'm doing with it the 3gx system would have wobbled the whole heli to pieces and piroetted into the ground. I couldnt even do tic tocs with the 3gx really, but with the BX I did a whole battery pretty much just to see if I could do it (I could never maintain altitude tic-tocing with the 3gx)


It could be setup though, I've only 8 flights on it just now - but for sure out of the box its much more confidence inspiring than the 3gx. For e.g with 3gx I was flying the 700 the other day. Full pelt forward flight, applied back elevator to loop her up in the air with the idea of coming back towards myself inverted and half rolling back to right way up somewhere along the way. But as the 3GX always seems to do when I try doing that (Which the BX does not!) it simply spazzed out as soon as I hit back elevator, did a massive "bunny hop" in the air and carried on straight. By this time I was a bit confused as to if the heli had rotated inverted and I just hadnt noticed or quite what had happened for a split second! Gain pots at 11 oclock. Both my 500 and 700 do it on 3gx. 500 no longer does it on Bx..

Have you played with the adjustment pots at all on the beast x? I have a similar experience with the pitch pumps on mine but i just fly around it. Its the only niggle i have and tbh i havent even tried to get rid of it yet lol. Ill have a go this weekend i think