Best 500 RTF?

[Gadget Man]

Following several comments from my previous post, I am now looking at what 500 size RTF to get (I think a T-Rex is pushing the budget a little too much at the moment).

So your suggestions as to which 500 to go for would be appreciated.

Is this anygood? Century UK Genius 500 RTF 2.4Ghz R/C Helicopter

Thanks in advance guys
Simon

[Brian Gifford]

I don't wish to sound negative, but RTF is usually anything but. The transmitter is not good quality, and you will almost certainly find that the other components on the heli are not brilliant either.

Unfortunately, this isn't a cheap hobby. These RTF deals end up costing more in the long run than if you had bought good quality gear in the first place.

Just my 2p.

[Jamin_00]

There is also the Concept 500

http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/concep...-cc-500-a.html

[Jimbo]

The Genius 500 isn't a bad machine, you just have to bear in mind it is an RTF aimed at the person who hasn't got a bank balance like a phone number lol.

The review on it doesn't seem too bad (I read it on Century UK's Site)

[Si Goodchild]

There's also the Phoenix Flasher 500, available in a number of guises from bare kit to RTF (so I'm told). I can't vouch for it myself but those who've tried it say it's pretty much a carbon copy rip-off of the TREX 500.

I think if you buy one of these RTF models you need to understand that their second hand value is close to nil and many of the components such as servos and gyros can be quite poor. If you swap them out and replace the radio (say for a DX6i or DX7) then suddenly it doesn't seem like such a cheap piece of kit. You may be better off looking at the secondhand market for a reasonable spec TREX 500. There's a lot of money to be saved if you are prepared to work with a pre-owned heli and if you buy from a good source then it will be a proven flier.

Just my $0.02

Si G

[Si Goodchild]

Something isn't quite right about the Genius 500. I've visited the Century UK website and the following point struck me as strange:

• The lipo is a 3s 2400 (I'd expect 6s 2400 or a pair of 3s 2200s
• The rotor span is 785mm (I'd expect it to be nearer 950-1000mm)

I've not been able to view the review here at work, but if the aboveis not a misprint then it would appear that the Genius 500 is not a TREX 500 equivalent by quite some margin. At 785mm rotor span and 1020g AUW running from a 3s battery, it sounds like it has the potential to be quite sluggish.

[Nick B]

'You pay for what you get'

[crofty]

Hi mate

As a newbie myself I went down the line of the 450 genius RTF which I then brought a DX6i seperately (with pheonix!) and have just changed the RX so the DX works with it not the original TX that came with the package (cheap crap really)

If I was looking / staring again on a limited budget I would definatley look at a 2nd hand decent machine and a 2nd hand decent transmitter....

The Genius is ok but as stated by others 'you get what you pay for'

Hope this helps

Graham.

[Gadget Man]

Thanks for all your comments guys, they are much appreciated.

Now, who has a well priced 500 that they want to sell that just needs a transmitter binding to it

[MartinH]

For sale section. some crackers in there.