fbl 450 or fb 500?

[danhampson]

at the end of this month i will be in a position to get another heli (i have a copterx 450se v2) and have been thinking of a fbl 450 or a fb 500 (both trex's).

i would appreciate your advice.

[Ruston]

My vote is for the 500. Great heli if you already have a 450. Much more stable and has much greater presence in the air. You can double up on the 450 packs to get to 6s so no extra batteries needed either.

[450man]

I have a T-Rex 450 Pro DFC and just started building a T-Rex 550e and so I have just gone through the same question but with me it was between the 500 or 550. This is the first time I seriously looked at the 500 and I am glad I went for the 450 first.

In many ways a 500 heli would be better. It is bigger in the air and more stable in wind and so on the surface it seems the obvious choice. On the other hand it costs much more to repair when you crash and it uses 6S batteries instead of 3S for the 450 so they are much more expensive too. The 450 is cheap to repair. For example blades are about £10 (I get Align seconds) where as the 500 blades are £20. If you are still learning I suppose the 500 would be by far the better heli if you are happy paying the extra purchase and repair costs but for me the better choice for most people would be the 450 and then upgrade to a 550 or 600 if you want to go bigger later on.

However, as you already have a 450 the 500 might be the better option for you as the T-Rex 450 may not give you much extra over what you have now (I don't know as I have not seen a copterX!)

[tomatwalden]

I think it depends a lot on you and your circumstances. On the face of it, I would say the 500 too, but are you a club or a park flyer? The 500 is significantly more powerful than a 450, it carries more weight, more inertia and more damage potential. If you fly in local parks etc. then I would caution against a 500.

If you're a club flyer, or have somewhere free from Joe Public, dog walkers, etc. then happy days.

Also, bear in mind that the costs aren't just the up front cost of the heli. 500's take bigger batteries, you need a good charger realistically, crashes will cost more etc.

[noste500]

As above how much space do you have?

[And450]

I'd say the 500, I've had both the trex 450 and the 500 and I enjoy flying the 500 alot more than the 450, there might be a little more in the cost of things but this is far out weighed by the performance gains

Andy

[danhampson]

at the moment im a park/back yard flyer but will be looking for a club in the not to distant future (once im happy hovering in the garden). To be honest the crash cost of the 500 isnt a real issue.

[450man]

To be honest the crash cost of the 500 isnt a real issue.

In that case, following on from my last post I'd say the 500 without a doubt but I would reiterate Tom's comment about not flying a 500 size heli in a park or where the public have unrestricted access. Get to a club if you possibly can.

I assume you have insurance from one of the associations - BMFA, RCHA? If not then join the club BEFORE you fly the 500... or asap if you are flying your current 450 in a public space. As much as I support the RCHA (I am a member BTW!) unfortunately most clubs require BMFA membership so seek out a club and join asap and see which membership they require. You can usually join the association at the same time you join the club so that is by far the easiest way to join and to get insurance.

[tomatwalden]

at the moment im a park/back yard flyer but will be looking for a club in the not to distant future (once im happy hovering in the garden). To be honest the crash cost of the 500 isnt a real issue.

The 500 will need a club - at the risk of being called the fun police, a 500 class helicopter is really not suitable for park flying. Some really experienced pilots may do it, but I don't think it's sensible. I know 500 doesn't sound that different from 450, but trust me, it's significantly bigger. Perfect for a club scenario, and easier to fly (ironically), but not for your local park!

[jimbojetset]

I went from a 450 to a 600 so personally I'd skip the 500 and go for 550 or 600. If money is an issue then sell the 450... You wont regret it... Bigger is definitely better :-D

[450man]

The 550 is significantly bigger again than the 500 and if money permits then yes I would agree - 550 is a nicer option.

See here for my deliberations and conclusions regarding the 500 vs 550.

http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/main-d...ce-please.html

There is a great video posted in that thread which compares sizes between 450, 500, 550, 600 and 700. It is well worth a view. The 550 isn't much smaller than the 600.

[tomatwalden]

fbl 450 or fb 500?

Size comparisons.

Blade 450x, trex500, goblin 500

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1362601306.311423.jpg

Blade 450x, goblin 500
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1362601317.581208.jpg

[danhampson]

ive been thinking about this for a few days and i think that the 450 pro 3gx would be the better option (at the moment).
At the moment im trying to master hovering and have quite a large garden, i have given myself a 12ft x 12ft square to fly in and can just about keep my 450 in it (ive been flying in 10mph winds this week) and using pheonix.
I just think a 500 would be too large for me at the moment and was very surprized how stable the 450 is, after only flying a esky hb cp3

[gamma]

my vote would be for t-rex 500

[dani_r]

fbl 450 or fb 500?

Trex 500 all the way! You'll enjoy it so much more.

I recommend to any new starter to get a 500. One of the guys I was training last year bought a 450 to start with against my advice because it was cheaper - fair enough, everyone has a budget - however 2 month later he ended up getting a 500 anyway. After that he always said he wished he'd bought the 500 first.

Inherently more stable and far easier to work on.

Plus there's also no messing around with the several different versions of parts like the 450 has. It's just basically ESP and Pro. That's it. And many parts are interchangeable anyway.