From 450 to 600 ?

[maddog7]

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

That vid was one of the reasons I bought my Fusion 50. :-)
D

[maddog7]

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.

The HS thing is easily managed by just installing longer tail blades, that's what I did on my 600 EFL and it flys very nicely.
:-)
D

[adrianMS]

Maddog Wait til you change over to DFC, the heli will change in character & its not tail blade issue (at least on the 450 & 550) its just a less beginner friendly & more performance orientated upgrade.

[trillian]

That vid was one of the reasons I bought my Fusion 50. :-)
D

I had a Fusion 50 and it flew extremely well, the build was easy enough, it has one of the best flybarred heads out there IMHO. I was actually quite impressed with how straight it tracks in FF flight. I setup the head as close to an FAI setup as possible and used Hirobo paddles.

The only reason I don't still have it is because I just had so many other projects going on and had gone back to flying the nitros a lot more so the Fusion was staying at home and then an offer to swap for something else came along.

[And450]

i was planning on going from a 450 to a 500 DFC, sounds like its still a reasonable thing to do

[Bronek]

Re: From 450 to 600 ?

What do you have now in a charger / PSU? The reason I ask is that if you're charging the 450 packs now with a charger capable of going up to 6s you can probably use that charger to do 500 size packs (6s 2650/3000mah). However, going up to 550 or 600 size may mean investing in more charging power (depending, obviously on what you have now).

If the cost is not a big issue then jumping up to 550 or 600 size means a really big leap in stability, presence in the air, versatility etc.

I have PL6 with MPA and 1000W PSU, so charging multiple 6s batteries won't be a problem.

As for cost, the idea is to spread expense in time by buying servos, FBL unit etc. early.

[PKNEC]

Sounds like the 550 might be a good way to go then as from what I have read it's got the power of a 600 but not the weight.
But still has good stability and presence.
And with your charger setup there's no issues with battery choice

[Bronek]

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).

Jump straight to 700 , that's a novel idea

Yes my power setup will manage charging required to fly a 700 , but I will have a good look at maintenance cost as advised.

I think there is little (just the cheesy screws really ...) wrong with Aligns but want to try different brand anyway. It's not like I would expect sharing spares between Trex 450 and Trex 600 so little benefit from sticking to the brand.

[Bronek]

Re: From 450 to 600 ?

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.

I learned that already

Not very keen on learning how to maintain belt tension etc before I join a club. Same about mechanical setup of flybarred head. Which eventually I will (join first, learn second), don't know yet when

[AcidDrink]

Re: From 450 to 600 ?

Jump straight to 700 , that's a novel idea

Yes my power setup will manage charging required to fly a 700 , but I will have a good look at maintenance cost as advised.

I think there is little (just the cheesy screws really ...) wrong with Aligns but want to try different brand anyway. It's not like I would expect sharing spares between Trex 450 and Trex 600 so little benefit from sticking to the brand.

You are set then. Tbh really hard to find a bad heli in 600/700 range, I think logo combos offer great value in 'higher' range, while Align is always the king in mid range market.
I personally choose what looks and sounds the best and have the least amount of upgrades available after market :-)

[Bronek]

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

thanks for the offer but I think I'd rather buy my own Anyway, I replaced my ugly front with my heli's back, looks better doesn't it?

[PKNEC]

Anyway Bronek,are you any closer to a decision on your next project.

[Martyn (Bomber)]

i was planning on going from a 450 to a 500 DFC, sounds like its still a reasonable thing to do

Very sensible, always nice to go up in stages

There is a guy at my local club that can only hover with his 600 nitro and although this was the norm years a go when there wasn't anything smaller than a 50, I still don't feel comfortable when he's at the club hovering

[maddog7]

Maddog Wait til you change over to DFC, the heli will change in character & its not tail blade issue (at least on the 450 & 550) its just a less beginner friendly & more performance orientated upgrade.

I understand where your coming from Adrian but I didn't realise you were on about the DFC. The one I have is the older style EFL pro non DFC and they had issues with the tails blowing out if you didn't run 2500 HS. I run mine at 2000 for a bit of duration with 104mm tails and it flys really well. I suppose it's not as nuts as Align intended with the 2.5k hs but it's still got plently of knob, tracks perfectly and can easily handle all I can throw at it. I did think about trying the DFC head but was a little concerned with some reports of issues with the A arms. Just waiting it out at the minute.

[Mike Sanders]

Bronek, I did exactly what you are contemplating. I started with the Align 450, it has a flybar and a belt driven tail (easy to set up more forgiving in crashes than a tt system).

I could only hover it tail in when I joined a club a year ago.(The excellent MK). I was advised that a larger helicopter would be more stable and easier to learn on. After a lot of research I bought the Align 600 e pro, also with flybar. The advice was correct, it is much more stable and easy to place accurately than the 450. It was a significant step up from the 450 but for the better. I got used to it within a few seconds of it taking off for the first time. It is a real pleasure to fly. I am now slowly progressing towards lazy 8's and nose in for a few seconds.
I have only crashed it once (loose screw). It was relatively expensive to rebuild, £100+ but that was mainly because the torque tube is fairly expensive. I don't have any problems with the screws or bearings (apart from the aforementioned, lack of loctite)
I have crashed the 450 10 times, all due to pilot error. The average rebuild cost has been about £20 as I use cheap blades. I tend to be more ambitious with the 450 because I know that it is cheaper to repair!
Like you, space in my garage is a consideration. That didn't prevent me from buying the 130 x, mainly for flying in the garden. The weather has prevented me from flying it much yet, 7 flights, four crashes, two of which necessitated a repair.
My charger is only 90 watts but I parallel charge my 2*6 cell packs in about 45 to 55 minutes. I am pretty patient.
Generally, I don't think I will go flybarless just yet. Apart from the financial considerations, I think I will wait until I can fly properly. I will walk before I try to run.
Good luck, whatever you choose. I preferred your previous avatar.