Fair Critique

[Steve]

I was wondering if people would b able to give a fair critique of their helis - the pros AND the cons, no matter how great they might think that their heli is. Maybe this could be condensed into a buyers guide if there are enough entries. My thoughts are - take a heli that you own and fly regularly, state its manufacturer, model and retail price from Midland Helicopters and then give 5 good and 3 bad/poor points about it. Short bullet points are sufficient. This is about building,flying, maintaining and generally living with a particlar heli, and is designed to be a an honest and fair critique.

If you're just going to write 'None' in the cons section, then there's no point in contributing to this.

For example.......

Hirobo Scedu Evolution 50 HPM (£199.99)

Pros:

1. Glass blades come with the kit.
2. All swash controls are push-pull.
3. Flies very competently straight out of the box.
4. Paddle weight is adjustable to suit the required flying style.
5. Spares availability.


Cons:

1. Main frames suffer badly in a crash.
2. Stock head damper rubbers are very soft.
3. Undercarriage is very narrow.
4. Wash out arms can seperate from the wash out block - metal upgrade block is a good idea.
5. Heli can be very 'pitchy' with the lightest paddle option.


JR Airskipper 50 (£299.99)

Pros:

1. Fantastic build quality.
2. Smooth, precise flying characteristics.
3. Choice of GRP or plastic canopy.
4. Choice of CCPM or mechanical swash setup in the kit.
5. Stacked G10 frames.

Cons:

1. Aluminium tail pinion is a known failure point - make sure you get the steel version (free replacement from your supplier).
2. GRP canopy is poor quality.
3. Weight.
4. No main blades included in the kit.
5. Spares availability.


The above are my thoughts on these two helis. I've lived with both these helis for some time, so I believe my thoughts are valid. Other people might have a different list of pros and cons for the same machinery, and that is fine. I can summarise everyone's thoughts on all models at the end (whenever that is?).

What do you think? Is this worth pursueing? Can we do it without it degenerating into the usual typical 'mine is better than yours' argument?

[jamiem]

without going in to it all again (ive posted it before!) i can and do give the pros and cons of any helis ive owned. Being that i own both a trex 600e and a knight 3d (the most sworn of enemys!) i feel i can give a very unbiased opinion of both

There are however a lot of people that seem to be blinkered, and can do nothing but push a certain heli/product down peoples necks

[Steve]

without going in to it all again (ive posted it before!) i can and do give the pros and cons of any helis ive owned. Being that i own both a trex 600e and a knight 3d (the most sworn of enemys!) i feel i can give a very unbiased opinion of both

There are however a lot of people that seem to be blinkered, and can do nothing but push a certain heli/product down peoples necks

I know Jamie, which is exactly why this thread is designed to be a fair assessment. That's the whole point of the request.

We'll see how people respond. Might be a complete waste of time.

[David Drew]

What a great idea. Done properly this could be the 'Paddy Power' guide to helis' Would answer all those 1st heli questions.

Must keep it objective though.

One format. To the point.

Like it

David

[Ade_Law]

Interesting idea mate. on the sceadu do you feel the glass blades are worth having? think i prefer not having them and have the choice of either fitting JP cheapies or radix or any other blade for that matter.

Compass Knight 50 3d (£289.99)

Pros:

1. Very good ATRF needing dismantling
2. adjustable head setup allowing it to be a full on 3der or a stable puppy dog and pushpull CCPM on shared shaft for great accuracy
3. Excellent plastic canopy with glass and prepainted glass as cheap upgrades.
4. great support from distributer
5. Single stage belt drive durable and great in autos

Cons:

1. batch issues with some components in the past
2. not enough places selling parts
3. they need aligns head of marketing
4. issues with early knights although fixed have stuck in peoples heads
5. everybody asks you why you arent flying a 600n!

Compass Knight 50 sport (£189.99)

Pros:


1. Very good ATRF needing dismantling
2. adjustable head setup allowing it to be a full on 3der or a stable puppy dog
3. Excellent plastic canopy with glass and prepainted glass as cheap upgrades.
4. great support from distributer
5. VERY strong frames

Cons:


1. batch issues with some components in the past
2. not enough places selling parts
3. they need aligns head of marketing
4. issues with early knights although fixed have stuck in peoples heads
5. everybody asks you why you arent flying a 600n!

and yes thats my unbiased view....

Ade

[Andy from Sandy]

Hirobo Sceadu Evolution 50 HPM

Pros:
1. Build quality is very good.
2. Instruction manual is excelllent not just for the build but setting up and additional equipment required.
3. Out of the box and excluding the radius block nothing needs to be upgraded to get a 3D competent machine.

Cons:
1. Air frame is noisy from main gears and wire tail control rod.
2. The radius block can be broken if heavy handed.
3. A dial indicator is required for proper hub/clutch/start shaft installation to eliminate vibration.

[pompeyjohn]

okay; I am guessing that the price is supposed to indicate RRP for the kit alone, so have followed suit...

Mini Titan E325 (£105)

Pros:
1. Very stable in the air, but can also do wild 3D.
2. Tail boom can be removed very quickly and easily.
3. The belt driven tail unit is a work or art.
4. Cheap in comparison to trex's.
5. Battery tray can be moved forward/backward for centre of gravity balancing.

Cons:
1. The ball links are a horrible little - non standard - size.
2. The standard is all plastic, but for the tail boom.
3. There is only a small community supporting it.
4. There appears to be no custom canopies or fuselages for it.
5. The standard wood blades it comes with are awful. Any other blade you use will need a couple of washers to shim it into place.

[Steve]

Interesting idea mate. on the sceadu do you feel the glass blades are worth having? think i prefer not having them and have the choice of either fitting JP cheapies or radix or any other blade for that matter.

The blades are fine for what they are. The fact that they come with the kit is what puts it in the pros section - you don't necessarily have to spend additional money on a set of blades, because they're included.

Just my opinion of course.

[David Drew]

Can anyone paste the results into a comparison chart?

Easy reference.

[Steve]

Can anyone paste the results into a comparison chart?

Easy reference.

Let it run for a few days first, then I'll look into it.

[Steve]

I will also add the following, although I haven't owned one, but I know one very well at our club. It's added just to offer the comparison with the HPM version

Hirobo Scedu Evolution 50 SWM (£224.99)

Pros:

1. Glass blades come with the kit.
2. Flies very competently straight out of the box.
3. Paddle weight is adjustable to suit the required flying style.
4. Spares availability.


Cons:

1. Main frames suffer badly in a crash.
2. Stock head damper rubbers are very soft.
3. Flies identically to the HPM version, so why spend the extra £25?
4. Wash out arms can seperate from the wash out block - metal upgrade block is a good idea.
5. Heli can be very 'pitchy' with the lightest paddle option.

[pompeyjohn]

Blade CX2 (£100)

Pros:
1. RTF. Includes 2.4ghz radio gear and charger.
2. Extremely stable.
3. Huge supporting community.
4. Many upgrades available.
5. Good video manual on DVD makes setup and learning simple.

Cons:
1. Due to being a contra-rotating heli, will not fly in *any* wind without upgrades.
2. Extreme movements can cause blade strikes unless using an extended modified inner shaft.
3. The stock landing gear is very poor.
4. The radio and gyro unit suffer from heat caused by the motors, causing yaw.
5. The throttle on the included radio is not smooth, and goes up in click/click increments - unless you modify it (which is easy and takes five minutes)

[jamiem]

Ok ill do mine then, you twisted my arm!

T-Rex 600E Ally Frame Kit

Pros:

• cheap kit
• decent tail blades included
• very good manual
• highly reliable
• cheap parts (and easily available)

Cons

• terrible quality plastics
• ally frames bend easily in a crash
• expensive to setup (lipo cost)
• phasing problem means it doesnt flip straight
• upgrades required to make it fly straight
• bearings are sometimes of questionable quality

Compass Knight 3D

Pros:

• ARTF out of the box
• Fully adjustable head
• Rubber mounted engine to help reduce vibrations
• highly reliable (for me so far - 3 gallons in)
• cheap parts
• brilliant backup from the distributer (Climb-Out)

Cons

• terrible quality tail blades included
• parts availability not great (mail order only realisticly)
• poor manual (in my older kit - apparently a better one is included now)
• some screw heads not great tollerances

ill add anything as and when i remember it

[Steve]

Jamiem - which versions of your helis please?

[jamiem]

what do you mean? i headed them t-rex 600e ally frame and compass knight 3d