Mini Pred or T-REX etc...?

[Green-Giant]

another point with Mini pred, the radio gear is pants!! the gyros fail and the tail servo stalls. the rx is naff and the tx is alright....happened on alot of them

[reg]

hi there,iv bought a minipred to see if helis is what i want to do,when i first got it i had some problems,but the idea of instuctions is they are suposed to be read,i got another one and started again,iv had it hovering around the garden,even if all this does is teaches me to do the basics like fly around 6 feet in the air in all directions i will be happy with that,by the time iv got the hang of that,SANTA will be coming,as as you can see from were i live i get on with him,so if i clean out the reindeer i might get a new heli from the man himself,

[icarus]

Its not an easy decision is it

I can give you the benefit of my hindsight...

If I knew what I know now I'd probably have bought a raptor 50, more initial outlay but its what I'll end up with soon anyway.

If you plan on sticking with heli's then a mini-pred may be a false economy because you'll upgrade soon anyway, therefore the £200 on the mini-pred could have been spent on the Trex.
If the money is making you wince then buying a Trex and getting hit for the repair bills may just sour the whole experience and put you off altogether - not uncommon apparently from the people I've spoken to. I almost gave the whole lot up for a bad job right in the very beginning after I kept continually crashing my twister in the wind, I was spending £20 a day just on blades.

The best advice I was ever given was to buy a simulator. If you can wait then buy a sim, get a couple of months practice and then buy a Trex. After flying the sim my Trex feels very stable and easy.

What about buying used from someone upgrading? There are plenty of used machines out there, usually with spares thrown in.

Hope the above helps.

[Rotorhead]

TBH even half set up, the pred seemed quite good, two weeks ago I set one up for someone, we didnt finish the setup because his batteries needed a recharge, but it was nearly done, only a slight trim issue on the tail needed resolving, but it would sit where I put it hands off.

Now today, I was in the LMS and someone I know was looking at one, and ended up getting it for £180, the reason he went for it was that he only wanted to spend £200 - £250 on a heli incase he didnt get on with it, and he didnt want to have to buy a new radio, although generally it would probably make it even better.

To be fair I think you guys are slating it for no reason, even not 100% set up it seemed like a nice heli, and especially a nice one to learn on, even with the crappy radio it comes with, with a decent radio it would be quite a good heli IMO.

This sunday I will be setting this one up for him and I'll post back, first impressions from the previous one is good though, and again that wasnt completely set up.

[icarus]

To be fair I think you guys are slating it for no reason, even not 100% set up it seemed like a nice heli, and especially a nice one to learn on, even with the crappy radio it comes with, with a decent radio it would be quite a good heli IMO.

I haven't flown one but by coincidence I had a close look at one earlier.
It looked exactly what it is...a budget model. It didn't look very robust and the components appeared on the cheap side of quality. I wouldn't like to guess how long it would last if flown regularly.

Having said all that it isn't pretending to be anything other than a cheap entry model, so to expect anything more is unfair. Perhaps I've been spolit by the Trex SE.

I suppose you get what you pay for.

[Green-Giant]

You'dbe best off going for the Mini Titan or Trex, Mini Titan are superb and you can use cheape rgear and still get good performance...Eflite S75 servo's now don't frown!! a regular customer uses them and hes throwin it about!! 26.00 for 4 ok a GY401 is best option and at a ton isn't cheap but if you want to fly helicopters you have to pay abit of money. like a car....a50 quidc ar won't be as good as a 500 quid car the latter should last longer and perform better, it will also be cheaper in the long run.

[icarus]

After ripping the gears out of my servo's in my crash I replaced them with cheapo £6 servo's (Ultrafly ST-9).
Obviously not the best but for hovvering, lazy 8's and basic manouvres its all I need. Once I'm progressing I'll put something better in.
(I do have a 401 and Futaba 9650 in the tail though).

[Rotorhead]

I still have a zoom400 that I fly nearly every week at the indoor club, and have been doing so for the last two years, aswell as flying outside on other days, most of the parts in the rotor system are blatently the same parts as the zoom's, eg the blade grips, the washout, the swashplate.

If my zoom can stand up to the abuse I have given it for two years (3D), then I would guess that the mini-pred will be a good heli.

[Mike W]

Heya all new user here but been reading the site for a while now which is what made me purchase a heli to have a go with , always wanted to do this since being a child and it made me purhcase my first heli. I mainly been flying fixed wing but took the plunge to a heli the other day ...... As Rotorhead said it was me that he was on about that bought the mini pred 3d and when i went to the LMS i was looking at a twister V2 and saw the Pred which i purchased as it was a good price ....... Rotorhead was in the shop when I was there and this led me even more to the Pred ... As he said I did not want to spend more than £200-£250 incase I did not take to flying a heli and then I wud only be outta pocket a little .... Well on Sunday off I went with new heli .... and a new FF7 which I purchased on the Saturday as I thought I might as well get a decent Tx for it at the same time ... Rotorhead I think was a little happier about setting this up on that Tx as well lol .... Well after not alot of trimming and him sorting it out for me was my first go with a heli ... OH wot fun these things are and after my second go had it hovering unsteadily i might add .... Third attempt and I got a little too high and brought it down on its side ....... luckily I throttled off when I flipped it and we checked it out and bent the flybar and the boom back and she was up and flying again ..... I have to say I have no experience of Helis but buying this has made me want to do it again ...... Which at the end of the day is what this hobby is about ....... ordered some bits for it as well (just incase) and they was cheaper than I thought they would.....

[Green-Giant]

nice to hear that Mike, they are a great way to get into heli's and teach you the basic principle of each control and its reactions.
Hope you have alot of fun learning. i did with my mini pred until it fell apart thats why i was swayed to a trex rather than another mini pred.

on another note guys, the Honeybee King II is a very good heli with a brushless upgrade costing about £30 http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk...d.asp?id=22761 rated better than a mini pred as standard!!!!

Jamie

[Mike W]

Had my mini pred at the indoor tonight and boy what a joy to fly the more I fly it the more I enjoy it .......There was another guy at the indoor with a mini pred as well so they must be spreading lol ......He did the same i did tho dumped the Tx and got a FF7.......I think when i get better at flying i off with an IC 50 size I think and just keep the pred for the indoor .... when n e thing dies or breaks will upgrade with better bits but for me its ideal out of the box ......... carbon blades are next when the training undercarriage comes off

[heliward0]

for the money i dont think you can beat the TWISTER 3D!!!!!!!! i own a trex but am very happy/pleased with my 3D!!!!!!!!!

[Mixman]

So it seems maybe the mini pred isn't that bad but I didn't buy one afterall and opted to buy the phoenix sim instead. T-REX 450se sounds brilliant but a bit exspensive for me at this moment in time so i'll manage with the sim, oh and i've just ordered me a Honey Bee King 2 to keep me from any withdrawal symptons . Probably false economy i know, but i should have fun learning before I buy a 450.

[martnslater]

hi i had a mini pred and before that i had a walkera 60(boy them 60 walkeras are bad) but i learnt my first hover with the mini pred after setting her up,she flew ok but then i got a trex 450 se with all the bling, fantastic heli and my learning was even better with the trex so stable in calm conditions ,these are the bee's knee's, now i also have a raptor 30 v.2 and i am at loggerheads as to which is the better heli i would say the rappy is the better model for learning without a doubt. but for but for shear looks of the trex, and once you master the skitty little buggers , they would come a clear first everytime.
good luck .martyn

[Feakins]

So whats the conlusion, at first people say the Mini Pred is useless, and now several say its a good first helicopter?

Anyway does anyone know what the basic T Rex 450x is worth second hand in standard form with reasonable radio gear?