back after 12 years out of Heli

[kieranar]

OMG what happened , so much change and so many model providers gone !!! dusted off my Blade 450 and 550 had a great time flying but wanted to get some spares !!! where has all the main suppliers gone? is it the end for these models now , what happened ??

[Grumpy]

Welcome back!

The RC heli hobby has shrunk (like the RC hobby in general to be honest).. But it's far from dead, there are quite a few new manufacturers have come in in recent years so it's not all gloomy. Blade are well known for dropping replacing their heli models with annoying regularity. You should still be able to get parts for the 450 as the same basic design was used till quite recently, but the 550 was very short lived and I dont think is supported with parts anymore, so that one you will have to be very careful with, or just sell and replace.

The main UK dealers that are still active are:

Midlands helicopters: https://www.modelhelicopters.co.uk/
Align-Trex (re-branding at 'AT Models'): https://www.align-trex.co.uk/
Hely-Shop: https://hely-shop.co.uk/

[trillian]

Welcome back!

Yeah when I first started, back around 2008, we had Skyline, Fastlads, Evo RC, Real Raptors, Sportsmoto, The online shop that did the Phoenix branded clones, Giant Cod. For a while we had Concept Copters that sold LiPos and stocked Kasama. And I'm sure a few others that I am forgetting.

Another current shop to add to the above is https://www.rc-hero.co.uk/ (their SSL cert appears to be expired just now, but they're legit)

[kieranar]

Gutted that fastlads have gone! Guess the rise of the drone have impacted the heli, but anyway may have to look for a new rig �� maybe a align? Any recommendation for a new 450 650 size electric copter

[PKNEC]

Welcome back
Midlands and align trex are still going.
Goblin 500 sport worth look
Or look at the 470 helis available if you want something smaler

[Grumpy]

There are sooo many helis in the 450 to 650 range. Can you narrow it down a bit? Whats the budget for the complete ready to fly heli?

[kieranar]

There are sooo many helis in the 450 to 650 range. Can you narrow it down a bit? Whats the budget for the complete ready to fly heli?

im looking at getting a align 470l align , I just need a BNF as i already have Spektrum DX9 and Futaba SG14 , I'm just dusting off my old blade 450 and 550 and setting them back up , one with BeastX, one with Skookum 720, and one with ikon brian , not sure if these Flybar are still supported ?

[trillian]

The BeastX and Ikon are still supported. Not sure about Skookum. A few years ago I had a 540 and it flew very well.