From 450 to 600 ?

[Telehandler]

If you want a align ,get one! theres nothing wrong with the align helis,a 600 or 550 will serve you well for years bud,and all these storys you read about bolts and bearings etc are bullshit! if you build the heli with proper tools and not going silly overtightening stuff etc the bolts and bearings will last as long as any other heli manufacturers fittings! a correctly setup align heli will do anything as well as a goblin,alees rush,mikado will do!

[maddog7]

I went from 450 to 600 (Fusion50) size and it was a scary size jump and took me a while before i would brave a move in it ... i then bought a 500 (Trex500 efl pro eventually) and found that these 2 are 'my size'

The 500 & 600 combo is great because they both share the same LiPo's (~2000-2300 mah 6S) ... the 500 uses 1, the 600 uses a pair 12S ..get good flight times from both and eventually scrapped the 450 due to not enjoying it as much anymore.

I too am space limited so find these 2 are decent. The Align 500 efl pro is solid ... only weakness is the umbrella gears if you clip the tail but other than that I can run it slower headspeed for gentler movement or crank it up (as it really likes it) and it is almost too fast for me (still consider myself noob just beyond hovering and into flight)

They Fusion50 is a lot heavier and flies lovely ... it swoops and moves so smoothly and handles the weather so well ... i have it setup in vbar on the most docile settings but i've seen it been flown reasonably agressive and was find ... and i know i am only at the beginning of its capabilities so i can grow with it.

Its suffered a lot of bad press and i'm hoping too that all its problems are behind it... only issue i had was a stripped main gear but i think i accept that was down to an over-tight meshing on my part.

Get what feels right.. Align are better now than they've ever been and any brand / heli will have its neigh sayers etc

Shadow,
If your Fusion main was anything other than the white machined delrin version (which you must purchase seperatley, even now I believe) I doubt it was the mesh that was the problem. My black injection moulded one did 12 very gentle, battery run in flights. On the 13th (not lucky for me eh!) I did my first full power climb out and stripped every single tooth off the maingear. I didn't even use the 4035 as I originally intended, I used the 4025 instead. It's one of the known issues and very probably not your fault. The replacement CNC'd white delrin gear has been fine.
It's also a very good idea (as advised by the main man at Climbout) to boil the tail drive gears for 5 mins too, since doing that, I've not lost any teeth from them either.
:-)
D

[mitch_]

Gaui X5,
fly's big
only 1 batt
perfect heli!

mitch_

[mitch_]

sorry not very subjective, but thats all i fly so a bit biased

[PKNEC]

Hi Bronek it sounds like I am at the same cross roads and have done a lot of research into the next move for me.
A 500 class heli was the outcome, one to keep costs down as I will be able to packshare with my 450 (2 in series)
so I also get use the same charger.
I will move to larger batteries etc but when funds allow.
Another issue was portabilty as we have the use of a field near our house so a 500 would fit the criteria in that area as well.
Another heli that gets glowing reports is the MSH Protos which can also be stretched at a later date to swing bigger blades.
I know you like TT gears but I am a bit fed up with the fragile nature of the tt setup and I am therefore considering a belt drive setup plus our rappy 30 is belt and has had no issues even though it hardly gets out for a hover.
I actually started my project months ago but have only managed to get cyclics (1250 mg) and a Spartan quark.once I get a tail servo sorted I will be looking for a basic kit which up to now includes trex 500 e pro ,msh protos carbon kit or even a 550 pick and mix the only issue with the 550 is battery packs that I have wouldn't last very long so it's not a serious contender.
Anyway just my thoughts and experiences to confuse you even more.
Cheers,
Paul

[waveydavey]

Nothing wrong with Aligns nor the quality IMO. They build well, fly well, repair easily, cost little in comparison to repair so don't rule them out. If I was looking at a 50e I would be looking at the Raptor the 600EFL a Logo and the Goblin. I had a Fusion and as long as you don't crash they are fantastic to fly, have a reasonable bump and in my experience (2 rekits for me, 2 for my Chairman and 1 for a club member) they have proven to be weak and I wouldn't fly another one unfortunately.

[jwatts007]

This 550 fell apart and it was only a little bump after a failed auto from about 10 feet up and it was the skids that took the impact...I am still laughing....025.jpg026.jpg

[panosg]

This 550 fell apart and it was only a little bump after a failed auto from about 10 feet up and it was the skids that took the impact...I am still laughing....[ATTACH=CONFIG]53083[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]53084[/ATTACH]

The pink frame's done it!!

Seriously though, that crash looks bad!!!!

[AcidDrink]

Re: From 450 to 600 ?

I went from 450 to a 700. Took me a couple of flights to adjust, but I'd not go back now, flying a big machine is amazing experience.

What you buy depends on the budget really, buying a heli is one thing, maintaining it another. For a 600 or bigger a top end charging setup is mandatory, otherwise charging will very quickly drive you mad. You want to be able to charge 6 packs at once in about 40 minutes.
You definitely need 6 flight packs minimum or a power source at the field, otherwise you will be looking at the heli, not flying it. 1or two flights is not enough :-)
Crash costs go exponentially up form 450 to 600/700. Have a look at blades and canopy prices, this will give you a ballpark figure if you multiply canopy plus blades costs by two.
I have seen latest align kits at the field and I think they are great quality for the money, (I don't own one).

[scuba steve]

Bronex - i'll GIVE you my 500 or 550 if you change your profile picture......its not a dating website you know

[lee_m]

i went from a honeybee king2 to a 600 size Outrage fusion 50 and ive never looked back, ive only ever crashed it hard once and it was £110 to fix, i love the fusion 50 because the manual is excellent and it has built in swash plate lever
i found a great video!
10 Reasons Why I love my Outrage Fusion 50 - YouTube

[waveydavey]

Well the early manual was wrong in places it hasn't got a built in leveller it's got holes on the side frames and through the bell cranks to set them square you still have to level the swash via the bell crank to swash links. Good flying machine though

[vinny155]

Bronex - i'll GIVE you my 500 or 550 if you change your profile picture......its not a dating website you know

LMFAO

[adrianMS]

Been flying Align 450's for six years now. Had a 500ESP (which shared batts with my 450 & used the same charging systems) which I sold to fund a Trex550EFL. I did have to get new PSU's & chargers to charge the large 6 cell packs, so thats another thing to think of before taking the plunge.
Flight wise the 450's 'well agile' the 500 was just like a bigger version of the 450 but with more stability & visability.
The 550 is like flying the 450 in slow motion it just gives you so much more time to think.
As for TT V's belt debate, I only had a belt on my 450's BUT my TT 450fbl auto's much better (but some of that may be less drag on the head as well as with belt) the price you pay is the front TT gear on a bad landing but you do quickly learn (how to change the gears out quickly LOL) For me low maintenance TT the winner.
My only reservation on Align's product policy is they seem to be going more hardcore. The fb helis fly 'softer' on lower head speeds, EFL versions need more head speed & the DFC even more to fly at their best. Align are making their products less newbie friendly.

[scuba steve]

My only reservation on Align's product policy is they seem to be going more hardcore. The fb helis fly 'softer' on lower head speeds, EFL versions need more head speed & the DFC even more to fly at their best. Align are making their products less newbie friendly.

that's an interesting point, probably why Align are now producing the 450 FB RTF packages