new blade 120 s owner, looking for my next upgrade?

[tanveer]

well my brother bought me a bnf 120s with a spektrum dxe for christmas, has been a few years since iv flown helis and iv got the bug again. i feel like a total newbie again but i am already thinking of an upgrade, i fancy an align trex but im not sure if there is anyway i can add the stability system like what the blades have onto the align..

[tourerjim]

I don't think there is off the shelf Align heli with stability system other than fitting an fbl unit but even then its not the stability your referring too.
Other than Blade helis is quads.

[Grumpy]

Align 'Super Combo' (450 and bigger) kits now come with the BeastX Microbeast plus which have the option of stabilisation similar to what the 120S has, and 'rescue' to be added with a 'paid for' firmware upgrade. It's kinda expensive though, the upgrade is about £80 and you also need a USB dongle to install the firmware which is another £30.

Alternatively you could take the kit without a Microbeast (or sell the Microbeast) and buy a Brain2 or Spirit Flybarless controller which both come with stabilisation and/or rescue available by default. They cost about £130 all in.

[tourerjim]

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Alternatively you could take the kit without a Microbeast (or sell the Microbeast) and buy a Brain2 or Spirit Flybarless controller which both come with stabilisation and/or rescue available by default. They cost about £130 all in.

Arr' I was aware they had rescue but not stabilisation so this helps with more options.

[tanveer]

Align 'Super Combo' (450 and bigger) kits now come with the BeastX Microbeast plus which have the option of stabilisation similar to what the 120S has, and 'rescue' to be added with a 'paid for' firmware upgrade. It's kinda expensive though, the upgrade is about £80 and you also need a USB dongle to install the firmware which is another £30.

Alternatively you could take the kit without a Microbeast (or sell the Microbeast) and buy a Brain2 or Spirit Flybarless controller which both come with stabilisation and/or rescue available by default. They cost about £130 all in.

thanks for the reply bud, thats what i wanted to know. the rescue function doesnt bother me too much. just the stabilization helped me alot with the 120s, and think it would give me alot of confidence with a larger bird...

[tourerjim]

thanks for the reply bud, thats what i wanted to know. the rescue function doesnt bother me too much. just the stabilization helped me alot with the 120s, and think it would give me alot of confidence with a larger bird...

I see from your location Wraysbury, LHMFC is very near you worth a visitor or contact here
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[Peteski]

thanks for the reply bud, thats what i wanted to know. the rescue function doesnt bother me too much. just the stabilization helped me alot with the 120s, and think it would give me alot of confidence with a larger bird...

You will need to pay for the BeastX firmware upgrade to add stabilisation (self-levelling) too. I think the upgrade cost was 99 Euros from memory. You also need the USB dongle as mentioned to perform the upgrade, but it is also useful for programming the unit and general firmware updates. On the plus side it is very effective and you have plenty of control over how you set it up. For example below is a great demo of the 3D training mode (self-levelling both upright and inverted):-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfWEYehZEXg

Personally if you go down the Align super combo route, I would keep the BeastX Plus and upgrade it, particularly if self-levelling in flight is your main priority. BeastX is particularly strong on that front. If starting from scratch I would possibly look at MSH Brain 2, but I've read mixed reports about it's self-levelling only mode. Spirit seems like a good option too for around the same money, but I think I'd go with the likes of MSH or BeastX for the long term. Spirit seems more like a one-man band that could disappear overnight - although that could be unfair as it's been around for several years now and seems to be thriving.

[tanveer]

thanks for taking time to reply bud, that stabilization on that video looked incredible! iv spoken to the lads at fast lad and they said the best thing if i want auto stabilization is to upgrade the beast that comes with the super combo, im going to order the 470 next week just cant make my mind up do i build it my self or let the lads at fast lad performance build it...

You will need to pay for the BeastX firmware upgrade to add stabilisation (self-levelling) too. I think the upgrade cost was 99 Euros from memory. You also need the USB dongle as mentioned to perform the upgrade, but it is also useful for programming the unit and general firmware updates. On the plus side it is very effective and you have plenty of control over how you set it up. For example below is a great demo of the 3D training mode (self-levelling both upright and inverted):-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfWEYehZEXg

Personally if you go down the Align super combo route, I would keep the BeastX Plus and upgrade it, particularly if self-levelling in flight is your main priority. BeastX is particularly strong on that front. If starting from scratch I would possibly look at MSH Brain 2, but I've read mixed reports about it's self-levelling only mode. Spirit seems like a good option too for around the same money, but I think I'd go with the likes of MSH or BeastX for the long term. Spirit seems more like a one-man band that could disappear overnight - although that could be unfair as it's been around for several years now and seems to be thriving.

[Grumpy]

By the way.. You might want to think about an upgrade to your DXe. I'm not sure if it has the necessary functionality to allow full use of the Microbeast. Usually you would want seven channels on a flybarless controller with stabilisation, though it may be possible to get away with 6 channels if you have suitable mixing options. The DXe is also very limited insomuch as it's got no display so cant easily be programmed or adjusted in the field which is something you really need to be able to do with a collective pitch heli.

Someone with more experience of the Microbeast Plus with stabilisation can probably advise on the need or otherwise of the seventh channel.

[Mike Sanders]

cant make my mind up do i build it my self or let the lads at fast lad performance build it...

Build it yourself.

[tanveer]

yeah bud im aware the dxe wont work to well with the align, will either be getting a dx6 or a dx8 when i get the heli

By the way.. You might want to think about an upgrade to your DXe. I'm not sure if it has the necessary functionality to allow full use of the Microbeast. Usually you would want seven channels on a flybarless controller with stabilisation, though it may be possible to get away with 6 channels if you have suitable mixing options. The DXe is also very limited insomuch as it's got no display so cant easily be programmed or adjusted in the field which is something you really need to be able to do with a collective pitch heli.

Someone with more experience of the Microbeast Plus with stabilisation can probably advise on the need or otherwise of the seventh channel.

[Peteski]

Someone with more experience of the Microbeast Plus with stabilisation can probably advise on the need or otherwise of the seventh channel.

6 channels works perfectly well with BeastX (rescue/self-level shares the gyro channel), but it is more intuitive to set up using a dedicated 7th channel. If buying a new Tx I would get the DX8 for longevity, although the DX6 will work just fine. There's also the DX7 to consider if you are undecided!