Opinions/recommendations personal experience preferred

[ianflorio]

Hi
To increase my flight count and push my level on a bit I'm looking to buy a helicopter that will fit in my boot along with all the other stuff I need for work so I can dive in to my local flying field at lunch or after work as often as possible. As such I'm after recommendations from personal experience of possible on what to buy. The only parts I have so far are a mini vbar and a 100amp 6s esc. To fit in my boot the heli needs to be less than 900mm from the tip of the canopy to the back of the tail fin. I will need to buy batteries for it as I only have 5000mah packs at the moment (I do have 6x3s 2200mah packs so could run in series for 6s) but let's assume I need to buy packs. What would anyone suggest ideally including parts availability relative crash cost/crash durability ie does a small bump mean new frames or only skids etc. I realise that this is very subjective but after opinions. I do have a head and a heart option but not to confuse the question I'm going to keep them to myself.
Thanks in advance
Ian

[Crumpet]

Personally, a 450 with a solid metal case. I carry mine around and it fits transmitter, 4 x 2200 3s and the heli and you could have a head on with a train and the heli would be perfect.

Parts cost are insignificant and big enough to see. I fly mine more than my 700 just because it has a 'care free' feel about it

[myxiplx]

Gaui X3 is a nice flying 450 size, and darn tough too, especially if you mod it slightly and fit some MSH Gorilla Gear skids. Mine has survived well over 20 bounces and tipovers as I'm learning autos without any damage at all, and I've had to cut the darn thing out of the long grass after some of those 'landings' too.

There are a couple of second hand X3's for sale at the moment too for bargain prices, hard to beat for the money IMO.

[Grumpy]

The biggest heli that would fit in your 900mm limit fully assembled is something like a 425mm (blade length) '500' class heli such as the trex 500 Dominator or Pro, the Dominator is 863mm nose to tail. A full size 500 with 500mm blades would be too big, though you could of course take the canopy off to fit it in (would have to come off to load the battery anyway so no hardship there)

You could use your ESC in a 500 size heli, though the batteries are too small. the 3s 2200mAh batteries could be used in an old school 3s power 450 though most 450 class helis these days are moving to smaller mAh 6s batteries. The ESC would be too big for a 450.

[myxiplx]

Surely the Dominator is only going to be that big with the blades fully extended? For transport there should be plenty of room, length wise it's almost identical to an X3, the X3 just has a slightly larger body and canopy

[myxiplx]

One of the two X3's in the for sale forum here is being split now, but a spare airframe for £90 is still worth having imo (I'd buy it myself but I already have three X3's plus a tub of spares):

http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/sale/1...astle-esc.html

http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/sale/1...rting-out.html

[Granpappy]

Trex 500L Dominator is a nice heli that will fit. The ESC that you have would be okay. You will need some 6S 3300mah batteries though. The only weak point on these helis in my opinion is the torque tube umbrella gears which can strip fairly easily if your tail hits long grass on landing. I've got a little extender on the vertical fin so haven't had this problem for a long time.

[Grumpy]

Surely the Dominator is only going to be that big with the blades fully extended? For transport there should be plenty of room, length wise it's almost identical to an X3, the X3 just has a slightly larger body and canopy

No, the 500 Dominator is a FAR larger heli than an X3. The the Dominator is just under 863mm nose to tail, excluding blades:

[ianflorio]

Thank you for your replies. I have owned a 450 class (325mm) bladed heli before and find I don't really get on with them. I was thinking about the goblin 380 possibly 3 bladed head to add stability, the trex 500l or an msh protos 500. I hadn't considered the x4 but will do some research into that model as well now. The spec on the x4 says it will take 2200-5000mah but does anyone know the max dimensions of batteries for it? Also what are the crash costs like for an x4 please?
Thanks again
Ian

[Grumpy]

FWIW, three blade heads don't make the heli any more stable.

IMHO they are a bit of a fad based more on aesthetics and the desire to have the 'latest thing' rather than any significant tangible benefit in performance, in fact the biggest change is usually a loss of flight time. But i admit that this comes from someone who hasn't flown one so is just based on reading and theory.

[Peteski]

Early reports of the 3-bladed Goblin 380 are generally very positive. I'm building one now, but it's going to be much more expensive to crash than a Gaui X3. If crash costs are most important to you I'd get an X3, they are low maintenance, tough and cheap to repair. Probably the ultimate beater. If size is most important, then maybe something like a Protos, Align 500, Goblin 500 or Gaui X5. The Gaui X5 seems to be universally praised. What are you flying now? Presumably something too big to carry in your boot?

[Paz26181]

FWIW, three blade heads don't make the heli any more stable.

IMHO they are a bit of a fad based more on aesthetics and the desire to have the 'latest thing' rather than any significant tangible benefit in performance, in fact the biggest change is usually a loss of flight time. But i admit that this comes from someone who hasn't flown one so is just based on reading and theory.

I'm not sold on 3 blade either.

If you've had a 450 size before I'd go from something swing 425 blades.

[Granpappy]

I'm seriously considering a Gaui X4 II myself to replace the 500L which I'm putting a 4 Blade head on. I've heard good things about the X4 II and they are pretty robust. The earlier version didn't have the same pack capacity as the II version. They are 900mm canopy tip to tail. I love the 500 size (425-450mm Blades) for messing about with. I find them very versatile for all sorts of flying.

[ianflorio]

Currently my smallest is a goblin 570 then I have a goblin 700c, Rush 700 and a trex 700n. Because I'm a mobile engineer there is limited space in my boot. I can fit a heli down one side between the back of the seats and the tail gate. I hadn't considered an x5 but I don't think it would fit unless I remove the campy.
Crash cost isn't that important to me although £45 for a set of 3 blades might make me hold back and I really want to push with this machine learn new stuff and then transfer it to my bigger machines.

[ianflorio]

I'm seriously considering a Gaui X4 II myself to replace the 500L which I'm putting a 4 Blade head on. I've heard good things about the X4 II and they are pretty robust. The earlier version didn't have the same pack capacity as the II version. They are 900mm canopy tip to tail. I love the 500 size (425-450mm Blades) for messing about with. I find them very versatile for all sorts of flying.

Do you know the maximum pack size lxhxw of the x4 ii? I'm not a snack pilot so a heavier slower heli would suit me especially if I get longer flight times