Another newbie :)

[Philimon]

wise words indeed!

philimon total £515 to end up with a blinged mini pred? NOoooooooo

Okay, so how about a price for a Trex 450S? I'm trying to keep to the same 'extra's spec as my mini-pred price as above

Trex 450S kit - £150
3 x HS 65MG servos for cyclic - £60
1 x HS-55 for tail (to be consistant w mini-pred price above) - £10
1 x training gear - £12
1 x GY401 - £100
2 x 2100 lipo packs - £100
1 x JR 2610 - £60
1 x JR 77S X - £40
1 x 10A power supply & ProPeak II - £70
1 x FMS USB lead £20

TOTAL: £622.


Thats just above everything thats needed to get into the air, right? And one needs to spend that all at once, too.

I went the mini pred route because of that fact. I do wish I'd bought a Trex BUT
1. Going the mini-pred route allowed me to toe-dip first, as I did not know if I would take to the hobby and
2. To upgrade to a TRex now is only going to cost the price of the kit, as I already have all the other extras.

Damn all these choices. Sometimes I wish someone would just take my money, thrust a heli into my hands and say 'there you go!"

[Boggy]

don't take me too seriously i was just trying to point out even spending this sort of money you still end up with a a pred! then use the gear in a trex kit and youve just spent another £165(for a cde) then upgrade that with a few metal bits and a grand has slipped through yer mitts!!!add a couple of learning curve crashes and its a money pit!!!
bloody good fun though!!

[rombonie]

Hi Guys

Just want to check, was going to post this question ish but then read this.

I'm already deep in the money pit and i still haven't got what I want or need yet but it has been fun. I'm now looking to upgrade from a medevac and twister cp v2. Yes I know but I've learnt to fly the CP and with the upgrades and rebuilds it's had it now fly's great to me and I'm hoping whatever I get next will feel great. I will probable keep the medevac just laughs and its great outdoors, had loads of fun. Any way it seems to be the Trex 450 that is the consensus of most on here and also my local shops suggestion but what model would you buy and why? and what TX and RX? I think I know which gyro to get.

Cheers Dor

[kevinh]

ok the t-rex 450se is a nice heli, but why stick to electric, have you thought about nitro machines, only difference you cant fly them in parks granted,best join a club and get some advise and lessons on how to fly them safely.

I have 2 electric now a zoom 400 and a poor mans t-rex 450x cde, and a rappy 30 version 1

its just as expensive to repair the zoom as its to repair the rappy 30, not crashed the t-rex, it its still in the build stage.

just to add my 2 pence worth

[richieclarkie]

All of our comments prove a few things about this sport/hobby;

1 It's expensive - there's no getting away from it.
2 No-one seems to start off with a clear budget at the beginning.
3 No-one agrees on anything (except probably the TREX 450V2 is the best micro currently available)

To learn to fly helicopters is HARD and the better the kit the easier it is. More importantly the less likely you are to give up.

Don't waste money buying one thing, then upgrading it. There is no need.

As I said in a eariler post. Learn to fly virtually. With Phoenix there's multiplayer and so you can learn off others. Maybe even find someone that lives near you who can help you for real.

Save until you can afford the setup I suggested which will WORK. Ask any experienced flyer. Don't forget they know because they have made the mistakes already.

[MeGrimm]

Philimon and Boggie, yeah I see you're point.

Even with all the best bits hung off it a mini pred is still only as good as the basic chassis and machinery underneath. After the huge initial improvements the law of diminishing returns kicks in and no amount of blingy bits really make much difference after that.

But based on what's been said here the Trex 450 seems to be at the other end of the scale. Top notch chassis and pretty decent machinery from the start, and in order to make the most of that you can't use cheap-n-chearful gear. You have to put equally good radio around it and voila, the super heli everybody's so excited about! You just have to pay for it that's all!

I'd really love to go the Trex route and I can see that it's the best way to go, but I simply can't afford it all at once! And like Philimon, a bit of toe dipping is in order too. I do know what I'm getting myself into as someone pointed out earlier, but it's been at least 7 years since I flew a heli and that wasn't in this league at all.

I reckon the mini pred is probably the way I'll go, and upgrade a few bits at a time, as suggested. I'll probably learn more that way and there's no harm done if later I get me a basic Trex 450 and transfer all the bits over. More money in the long run but in managable doses and with a more gentle learning curve.

Thanks for the suggestions and help!

EDIT: Doh! Just seen richieclarkie's posted as I was typing mine! More mud in the water! But very sound advice...

[Philimon]

When you're right, you're right.

[Philimon]

Philimon and Boggie, yeah I see you're point.

...

I reckon the mini pred is probably the way I'll go, and upgrade a few bits at a time, as suggested. I'll probably learn more that way and there's no harm done if later I get me a basic Trex 450 and transfer all the bits over. More money in the long run but in managable doses and with a more gentle learning curve.

Thanks for the suggestions and help!

...

Oops. Well, look at it this way: there is one HUGE advantage to going the mini-pred route: you get to spend money more often!!!!


Here's an interesting point to consider: how much money did I 'loose' because I went the mini pred route? Very little. IF (and I do mean IF) I go the Trex route, I would have spend approx £150 more BUT
a. I would have been in the air sooner and
b. I personally think that the place and time for mini eletrics is hovering in the park. I prefer to fly bigger machines when I can. Who needs a super-duper machine then?

My personal opinion: Going the mini pred route for me was not a mistake. I could have spent my money better, but imagine if I'd invested the £700-odd on a Trex and the decided not to continue with the hobby? All that money down the drain, as second-hand good rarely fetch more than half their when-new price.

[Ritchie, I think we've succeded. He's confused and dazed now. Quick, you grab his DX7 while I take his wallet!!! ]

[MeGrimm]

Oops...

Ha, thought that would scare you! Advice is easy till someone does it!

Is there much difference between a T-REX 450SE V2 and a T-REX 450SE CDE? I've seen a place offering the CDE for about £530 all in, incl Tx and all gear. I know it probably isn't the best gear in the world but it's still likely to be better than I'd get with a min pred, and not bad for the free T-Rex you get with it Avoid or snap their hands off?

BTW here's the link http://www.heliguy.com/Electric-RC-H...COMPLETE-DEAL/

[heliward0]

http://www.modelhelicopters.co.uk/ac..._Electric.html how about this then at £150.00 you will have a 3d ready CHEEP heli to learn on!!!!!! on special offer for£89.00(inc BRUSHLESS MOTOR AND SEVOS) £60-70 ON OTHER PARTS AND AWAY YOU GO

[rombonie]

Can anybody explain the basic difference between the T rex 450x,xl,cde,s,se v2? so much choice.

Followed the link above and looked at the twister 3d but then scrolled down to find more inteesting items on offer like this : T-Rex 450X + Electrics Pack
Full Brushless Package Deal complete with the following.

An Align 420LF Brushless Motor & also an Align 25A programmable brushless electronic speed controller. All gold contacts required for connection are included.
1 x High Speed Rudder Servo (Weight 6g)
3 x High Torque Servos (Weight 9g)
1 x 6Ch Align Receiver PPM
1 x Align RCE-500 Heading Hold Gyro 1 x Align 11.1v 1900mah Lithium Polymer Battery
On offer at £274.99

Sounds like there wouldn't be much one would need to add to get in the air, so why would it cost or why buy the more expensive T-Rex set-ups for getting started with? Wouldn't this do the job?

lite and retirer.

D

[LipolyGone]

Dont bother with the 450 X its the grey plastic framed one that started it all of it's basically so old hat & the plastic is very soft, the XL was the one with the black plastic a few slight mods to get it flying better & is a much better kit & investment.
Martin
will leave others to explain the rest of the range.

[richieclarkie]

Whatever you buy, how about just making sure you put a futaba 401 with a reasonable servo on the tail. Apparently Robbe do a fast tail servo at a sensible price, not sure of the model number.

I really can't stress how much easier your life will be if you get the tail sorted. It's an investment and will always be worth something if you give up heli flying.

It will also reduce the chances of crashes as you are less likely to get out of orientation. So therefore potentially save you money.

At least don't scrimp on that.

[robgt]

Robbe do a fast tail servo at a sensible price

Robbe FS 61 BB Speed
Cheers,
Rob

[Philimon]

Whatever you buy, how about just making sure you put a futaba 401 with a reasonable servo on the tail. ....

At least don't scrimp on that.

Agreed. I promised myself NEVER to skimp on tail.

No, I mean tail servo's and gyro's. Really.