ark 400 or trex for a beginer

[stuartyusef]

hi how close does the ark 400 come to the trex cde ?.
can i have honest, non biased coments please as i have to make a choice from the 2, i dont want anything top spec yet but somting steady to start with kind regards stuart.

[col9]

Hello, I owned both together as a learner for a while and while the trex is probably better at being thrown around the sky all over the place the X-400 felt more stable in the hover. (could have been setup though)

Having said that, both were all alloy, eccpm and had cf frames and SAB blades. I did prefer the X-400 though and it out lasted the T-rex

The X-400 alloy bits are/were either red or gold which looked better than the T-rex blue, so based on that alone buy an X-400

They are both great helis and both have a ready supply of upgrades and extras and both have their followings. I should think the T-rex is more popular.

Col.

[moyesboy]

I had an ARK x400 and still own most of it.
The heli itself has acquired trex after market parts until it is really a sort of illegitimate trex.

The ARK plastic head has its drawbacks. The main hub is weak and snaps right off. Can happen in the air. The ali main hub upgrade is essential. also the short ali seesaw is a good investment as the screws pull out of the plastic seesaw.
The plastic tail is quite sloppy.

I was never sure what CDE stood for - perhaps it is the normal separate collective servo version? The trex ccpm version before the current one did not drive the swash direct from the servo and is not a good solution compared to the non ccpm. Generally the trex spares are a little cheaper and more readily available then the x400.

trex must outnumber the ARK by 50 or 100:1 I reckon. Lok at the relative number of postings in the www.trextuning.com forum sections.

People say the trex is really twitchy, My x400 was really stable. so much so that after upgrading most of the head to ali I bought a trex aftermarket head becuase I just couldn't get enough cyclic response out of the x400 head for aerobatics.
but my "trex" is also pretty stable and not that lively on cyclic. Ive never flown any other trex except the sim phoenix one which is a lot harder to fly accurately and has faster cyclic than mine.

you can buy either of these helis. Get trex bling or the black trex450xl spares as you break stuff on the ARK. Don't bother with the ARK ali head, if you want an ali head get the trex one or a dragonus one which also fits. the real difference will be what servos/gyro and other stuff is on the helis (I presume they are used ones?).

[Nutz]

I have owned both, personally I recommend the T-rex.............SE if founds can reach.

[Raptormadsteve]

Hi Stuart i own both of them and t'b'h think the x400 is better for newbie as the s. e will cost a packet if you break any bling "alloy parts" however the x 400 is cheap on parts and stable this i think is a BIG plus when learning.
Regards Steve

[Nutz]

I found the Ark weaker in a crash and seeing as Trex part come in packs of X amount (4 Feathering shaft, 2 Flybars, 3 Main shafts, 2 booms) it has to be a winner for fixing over the ARK

It don't have to be an SE but you break less things on a SE in a crash over the plastic version.

Thats coming form a crash expert.................me

Yes I have crashed both the Ark 400 and Trex 450 SE more times than I care to mention

People say what nitro heli they should start with, I tell them a 50 as you can always dial it down and then increase it with your progression, the same can be said about the X-400 and the Trex. the X-400 is like a 30 size nitro, if you want more you have to upgrade to a 50 (Trex 450), so why not start out with a 50 and dail it down to suit your learning?
Parts for the Trex are probably more readily available, but see what your LHS has or the people you tend to deal with

All of the above is just my point of view.....................so let the backlash begin.

I set up and had a fly of a clubs member X-400 at the week end, it was a pretty poor set up (moody gyro, HS55's, crap 3S, crap motor) and it was harder to fly than my 4s pocket rocket fully loaded SE. I sort of feel sorry for them as they have to learn to hover on it, but if they ain't going to buy the right gear what can I do but set it up the best I can.

[Fixxxer]

Only one winner, T-rex. I had the x400 from it's release and have never been happy with it. Getting spares is like pulling teeth & the machining tolerances on Ark's own upgrades were ok at best, the first lot of main blade grips they released were a joke, I had 2 sets and both gave me the ability to lift the blade a good half inch up or down, the head was replaced with a trex one. I now have a mini titan sitting here and very impressive it is too, I just hope it fly's as well as I have been hearing

[Ashley Davis]

if you can afford it get the T-Rex SE V2, it knocks spots off pretty every micro out there and it's all blinged up from the word go. The Titan flies pretty good as well but in a crash it doesn't fair as well as the T-Rex SE as it has a lot of plastic parts which break.

The SE V2 will grow with your skills where as other micros you'll have to upgrade as you outgrow them, the X400 is probably the worst in this regard and needs a lot of upgrading.

The SE V2 comes with collar weights which make it pretty stable, certainly as stable as the X400 with it's weighted paddles.

[Fixxxer]

I've pretty much had enough of all the bling for the time being and that's partly my decision to opt for the titan. Ally upgrades are strong but not so strong that they can't be broke and if you've shelled out alot on them and this happens it leaves a nasty taste, I've been there with the x400

Another thing which Ashley might be able to chime in on here is the glitching problem. Is there any evidence that a pure plastic frame etc will lessen this compared to the CF & metal of the trex ?

[Philimon]

Check out www.trextuning.com - I'm sure they've got a comparison between the two heli's.

[Ashley Davis]

that comparison is ages old, and doesn't represent the current models.

You won't get more glitching on an SE vs a plastic model. Most glitches are caused by bearings or electrical.

[Nutz]

Another thing which Ashley might be able to chime in on here is the glitching problem. Is there any evidence that a pure plastic frame etc will lessen this compared to the CF & metal of the trex ?

Only the X-400 has metal frames, I found them very bad for interference. The Trex have carbon frames which is an X-400 upgrade unless they now do it as a kit.

[stuartyusef]

so what we are basicaly saying is!!!!!!!!!!!!.
if the ark is stock aviod it .if its upgraded then we have a decent heli would that be a fair comment?. regards stuart

[robgt]

A fellow flier at my club recently came back to flying after a short hiatus and had with him an Ark X400 with relevant bling on it - we got it setup and flying and it was ok.
The next week, he brought his Trex SE, which he had built over xmas but not yet got around to flying.
We set that up and he flew it, after which, he said it had made his mind up and the X400 was definitely going.

He's sold the X400 (or is is about to be selling it via Midlands website - in mint condition and barely flown) and bought more packs for the Trex450 (Revolution) and another CellPro charger and couldn't be happier

I think that experience speaks volumes personally. Bear in mind, this is the original Trex 450 SE, not the new SE V2 which is much better yet again!

Cheers,
Rob