450 Heli for less than £100

[SaneAdam]

Defo... its a great way to be in the hobby for people on a budget i agree. Also for people that are just starting off and do not have a clue what they are doing. Its ideal. Costs will put a lot of people of this expensive game

[Cagey]

Wish my Align Trex 450 SEV2 flew like that. OK. OK I wish I could. Bloody good value though isn't it.

[Pabs]

By the time you're flying proper ciruits, tricks and manoeuvres, you'll not be buying budget/clones anyway, you'd be spending money on decent kit. I don't think the clones etc are there for the advanced flyers - but for those on a budget wishing to get to grips with the basics and as cheaply as possible; it's a definate and perhaps more viable alternative.

I repaired my clone 450 this week - paid £3.99 for a new fiberglass canopy, 99p for new rear blades, £10 for 5 sets of main woodies, and £3 for a replacement servo. oh - and £2 for the two tail fins. All prices inc. delivery... £10 repair and 5 sets of blades to keep me going.. IMO, bargain!

[davew]

Chap in our club built a 450PRO on the cheap like that. He knows what he's doing and is a decent flyer. He hates it it was cheap to build and its awful - in fact last night it was on its way to the dustbin

[Darwil]

Chap in our club built a 450PRO on the cheap like that. He knows what he's doing and is a decent flyer. He hates it it was cheap to build and its awful - in fact last night it was on its way to the dustbin

Not a beginner then is he?
Point is that up to a certain level they are ok, especially when you are crashing nearly every time out - it doesn't break the bank to fix them.

[cjcj1949]

HobbyKing R/C Hobby Store : HobbyKing GA-250 MINI-MEMS Gyro

If only HobbyKing told the truth.... This is probably like their GY401 gyro for £10 that is indistinguishable from a Futaba one. Good gyros are coming down in price. Perhaps this is the first. I am tempted to buy one and do a review. Does it work without drift in Heading Hold when temperature changes? Do HK have their own definition of MEMs?? If they really had a decent stable gyro they could sell loads for more than $10. I expect its ok if you can fly really well. A bit like the Twister Storm Competition Class Gyro.

[Darwil]

I think the biggest thing you need to bear in mind is it has to be compared with Helis that cost the same money - not a lot is there?
It costs 2/3 of the price of a bnf MCPX (which has its own faults), less than a 120SR and 2/3 of the price of a Blade SR (which most say is cr4p) - just a few illustrative examples; does this put things more into perspective?

[AcidDrink]

Phoenix simulator costs about 80£ and it won't explode in the air. It's very viable training option.
I've seen a couple of these clones, and frankly, I'd be scared to fly them, especially when they are built by a total beginner.

[cjcj1949]

I've got a clone and I think they are very good. Not all clones are the same and it is very difficult to know what works and what doesn't. I think a cheap clone is a very good way of learning new things. Mine hasn't been so good for reliability and I've had to upgrade parts that have worn out. Many people have quality helis for general use and clones for high risk stuff. There is a lot of rubbish out there, both cheap and expensive. Also lots of good stuff. I mainly use secondhand now, (especially Trex heads as people upgrade to flybarless) and Phoenixtech parts (Gooch sounds good). Japanese stuff was low quality many years ago and was laughed at until they took over the motorbike industry. I expect China will do the same. I remember buy a floppy disk drive for work for about £3000. Tech stuff falls in price all the time and perhaps the Assan Gyro is reliable. When it has as good a name as a Futaba 401 I'll get one, or if someone posts a video of how to make it work reliably.

Gyros have a special problem at the moment in that the sensors vary a lot in performance. The design has to take account of this. It is one thing to produce some gyros that work and another to produce gyros that all work. It's true of all design really. Getting one unit to work is not the same as a design that works with all component tolerances.

[SaneAdam]

You have hit the nail on the head there though... " Mine hasn't been so good for reliability and I've had to upgrade parts that have worn out" This is what most of us are getting at when we say clones are not worth it!!!!!! I would be interested to know how much cash you have in it now you have upgraded parts. BUT..... we agree they are good to learn in the real world. Still think a blade 400 would be the way to go though. I got my blade 400 in a about Feb this year as my first cp heli, brand new for £200.... flew it shed loads and its as good as the day i got it. Don't fly it anymore though as my other birds have demoted it to a paper weight Great first heli though. To be honest i think e flight are the way to go for people on a budget in this hobby.... especially as the customer service is out of this world!!!!

[cjcj1949]

Reliability isn't so good on the cheaper clones. The point I was making was that when you are learning you'll break things before they wear out. Or if you're trying something difficult for you it's easier crashing a clone than a more expensive Trex. As you get better you might find that you crash less, unless you are keen to progress as fast as possible, and then you can find that the extra reliability of Trex or good Clone parts are worth it. Some cheap servos are also more reliable for some people than more expensive ones, and escs as well, not to mention new 8 channel txs.

There is no easy way though. If I was starting with a 450 I'd be very tempted by the Blade450. The new gyro seems to work and is cheap. I'd definitely avoid using a cheap gyro in heading hold. Some of them may be ok, but having a heli doing a 180 on takeoff can be a bit offputting.

I think there is a case for starting with a Trex and working your way down as you learn more and your crashes become more exciting. Once you've reached a non crashing standard you can go back to the Trex and rebuild it, as it will have been abused while learning.

[SaneAdam]

I have not crashed yet. Time, Patience and Pheonix. Been flying for just under a year and im doing 3d stuff now. I know i probably will at some point. I have had some close calls.... Flying buddies say im blessed with extraordinary luck...... But i think its just cos i prepare well and have very fast reactions. Just practice your get out clause in a lot of situations on the sim

[Darwil]

Phoenix simulator costs about 80£ and it won't explode in the air. It's very viable training option.
I've seen a couple of these clones, and frankly, I'd be scared to fly them, especially when they are built by a total beginner.

I made a particular emphasis on the opening post "PROPERLY SET UP" - i.e. not by a complete beginner.
I do agree that Phoenix is THE BEST £80 you will ever spend to do with Helis, there can be no arguments about that; I honestly believe that quite a few people give up because of the costs - everyone says a 450 is dirt cheap to repair, it is when you're used to fixing the bigger stuff - when you've only repaired the small stuff it seems astranomic!!!

[AcidDrink]

I made a particular emphasis on the opening post "PROPERLY SET UP" - i.e. not by a complete beginner.
I do agree that Phoenix is THE BEST £80 you will ever spend to do with Helis, there can be no arguments about that; I honestly believe that quite a few people give up because of the costs - everyone says a 450 is dirt cheap to repair, it is when you're used to fixing the bigger stuff - when you've only repaired the small stuff it seems astranomic!!!

I don't know about repair costs. I never crashed and don't intend to

My theoretical calculations show that crash cost of well specced 450 is about 40-50£. I'd not call this dirt cheap (blades itself will cost about 30£ for pair of Edges), so don't get me wrong, I agree that costs may be a problem for new starters on budget.
What I respectfuly disagree with is that buying cheap clone will lower these costs. Reliable machine will most of the times crash only because of pilot error (they really fly like on a wire), this can be avoided by practicing on the sim.

Cheap clone will be harder to fly and more often crash because of mechanical issues. But having siad that, it's better to have a clone than nothing. Just buy the sim first

[mark_w]

If only HobbyKing told the truth.... This is probably like their GY401 gyro for £10 that is indistinguishable from a Futaba one. Good gyros are coming down in price. Perhaps this is the first. I am tempted to buy one and do a review. Does it work without drift in Heading Hold when temperature changes? Do HK have their own definition of MEMs?? If they really had a decent stable gyro they could sell loads for more than $10. I expect its ok if you can fly really well. A bit like the Twister Storm Competition Class Gyro.

I have this gyro on my 250 clone. I run a low headspeed and just use the heli to fly around the garden (no inverted or backwards). So far it has been fine and was easy to setup. I am not saying it will cope with 3D or anything but for a basic gyro i think its great value and holds the tail well for what I want.