Stepping up from a mcpx to a 500 - help me choose...

[Gecko501]

There seems to be a lot of +1's for a 500 size heli over 450's and I am keen to build a kit. Currently I am looking at a Gootch 500 from www.helisfromdevon.co.uk however as I only have a mcpx I am not sure on the pros and cons of different systems and electronics.

1. Belt or Torque driven tails? whats the pros and cons of each
2. Any thoughts on the Gootch kits & the electronics that come with them or maybe a build thread for one?

thanks in advance

[PaddyHamill:)]

hmmm...... stic with electric!! nitro r so annoying to start!!!!

[Gecko501]

hmmm...... stic with electric!! nitro r so annoying to start!!!!

Yup I am 100% going electric - this is the link to the Gootch 500 i was looking at
Gootch Trex 500 Combo Belt or Torque Tube Tail,, choose your own.

[Jez N]

If you are keen on clone becasue it is cheaper, then tarot is a good choice from miracle mart. The build quality is supposed to be excellent.

Personally for that money i would get a secondhand Trex 500. Plenty come up for sale and although some are very overpriced, if you keep an eye on here or ebay, some good deals come up.

[Idleup95]

To be honest if your going for a 500 size id stick with a make that's easy to get parts for E.G Align or Blade.

I cant comment on the difference between TT or Belt drive because i've only ever flown belt before

I wish you all the best in you search

John

[Gecko501]

If you are keen on clone becasue it is cheaper, then tarot is a good choice from miracle mart. The build quality is supposed to be excellent.

Personally for that money i would get a secondhand Trex 500. Plenty come up for sale and although some are very overpriced, if you keep an eye on here or ebay, some good deals come up.

Hi Jez N, I will add tarot to my search, any good UK combo links I can start with?

I have considered a second hand Trex 500 however I would not know what I was looking at when checking it over hence the reason I want to build something from scratch... my understanding is that with the Gootch I can upgrade to Align parts later but I'm sure somebody will correct me if this is not the case.

[moyesboy]

You won't notice the difference between belt and torque tube until you are doing inverted autos! Mine is a belt drive and still capable of such stuff.
The belt is a lot more robust, just a touch of the tail can break the tail gears.
Read the sticky about static precautions with the belt drive..

[James A]

I have belt on my 450 and tube on the 500 which is probably the way to do things on these two but I prefer tube as the belt does need monitoring on the 450. If the 500 has an auto tensioner then it's less of an issue. Do agree about the tubes being fragile if you crash but so far I haven't done that in the 500, loads in the 450 ...... Did I really just jinx myself!

Ps big leap from an mcpx ;-)

[idbvideo]

whats wtong with a plastic fantastic combo???

T-REX 500E Super Combo KX017014

£349.99

[Jez N]

whats wtong with a plastic fantastic combo???

T-REX 500E Super Combo KX017014

£349.99

Good call

Think your choice is made!

[joe_uk]

Whats the difference between this and the pro that is £220 more ?

[Scratch]

whats wtong with a plastic fantastic combo???

T-REX 500E Super Combo KX017014

£349.99

I've just built one of these. For the money it's a fantastic heli and having a belt driven tail it is much more forgiving on heavy landings. As I'm a relative novice I have set it up to be fairly docile and can't believe how stable it is. Of course you can also set it up for 3D if that's your skill level.

[King Daddy]

Whats the difference between this and the pro that is £220 more ?

Yeah, I want to know this also!

[simon1]

Yeah, I want to know this also!

The pro is a much different animal, all metal head and tail, torque tube, the best heli I have flown, I would save the extra and get the pro,it is a top class heli.

[Gecko501]

ok I am shaping up to get a belt driven heli and can look to upgrade later .... I did reach out to www.helisfromdevon.co.uk
and thought I would copy in the response below..... just need to do my research now so no doubt questions to follow


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Currently I am looking at a Gootch 500 however as I only have a mcpx I am not sure on the pros and cons of different systems and electronics... a few questions if you could kindly help me out...

1. Belt or Torque driven tails? what’s the pros and cons of each and which is more popular?
>
> Belt drive is tougher and less likely to suffer gear damage if the tail blades strike the ground, Torque tube drives are more responsive and crisp during flight but are weaker and do not tolerate tail boom strikes very well. Our honest opinion, start with belt drive and then upgrade to TT later.


2. What’s the availability of spares for a gootch 500?
>
> All the Gootch spares are available off the shelf and usually arrive with you within 1 to 2 days. We have recently started stocking Vwin helicopters which are identical to Gootch but are of a higher quality. Both the Vwin and the Gootch are fully Align compatible.. We recently did a review of the new Vwin 600 helicopter on the forum and the build quality is second to none.


3. What’s your after sales service like? I have a feeling i will need it!
>
>We pride ourselves on our after sales service which is reflected by our customers on our support forum, We try our best to get any items to you within 2 days. Please feel free to register on our forum, where help from our members is readily available.


4. can i upgrade to Align parts later?
>
>Yes all our helis are Align compatible, Our main blades are actually manufactured in the same factory that make Align genuine blades, ours just don’t carry the Align logo for obvious reasons..

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