Trex 550 AND 600EFL

[Sharpedge]

Are there any addicts out there that own both 550 and 600EFL? I don’t want to start a war on which is better. I’m just after an honest opinion from people who have both, or had both. I like my 550 (converting to FB) but want to go bigger, 700 is not an option as it costs too much. I won’t enjoy flying it if I’m too scared to push for fear of crashing. I know that the crash cost of the 600 will be slightly more than 550 and that it’s now 12S and requires 2 packs. Will it be a waste of money because they will fly about the same, or does the 12S setup make it a different beast entirely?

[Zeeflyboy]

Size wise it's not a massive difference, if your main reason for change is to go bigger then look at one of the many new 700's around now... I'd be tempted by a synergy E7 or a gaui X7.

Performance wise the 600 pro is an animal, but I've seen 12S conversions done on 550's too

[Sharpedge]

I just feel that my 550 is not as dialled in or as well finished as my 500efl. I’ve had a long hard look at this a few times and you’re right there is not a great deal in it. Almost double the cost in packs for just about the same flight time.

[SaneAdam]

I have both but have not flown the 550 enough yet (crap weather) to really make a good judgement. The 550 is a hell of a lot lighter but similar size wise so the power between the 2 kind of balances out i think at this stage. But I'm using 2 4400's in my 600. Got 2 opti 3500's on order to try and get the weight down. I think once i have those it will be easier to tell which has the edge power wise. Also i have 3gx on the 600... which i am starting to dislike more and more compared to the beastx. Got a beast on the 550 and i love how it feels. There will be more accomplished pilots that will be able to call this better than me I'm sure.... but saying that... I'm yet undecided as to which i prefer. The 550 is like a bigger 500, whereas the 600 is a completely different machine. The 600 has a much lower profile also. I also need to cycle my opti 5000 to really see what the power is really like with the 550. Both amazing machines though.

[Sharpedge]

With the 600 main blades being that little bit bigger and the heli a little heavier I assume that it will be much better in the wind. I had the 550 out a few weeks ago in some horrendous wind but forced myself to continue as it was good practice. I would not even have thought twice about flying the 500 in that wind.

SaneAdam, I take it that you have been flying the 600 in the crap weather. I got myself a second opti 5000 for the 550 as it was clearly better than then my nano-tech 5000s.

[Nick B]

The 600 is much bigger in the air than the 550,must be the big cano.

[ChrisB]

I have both,flybarless running V bars on them.

I rate them both very highly,the 550 is a very good reliable model,lots of power.The 600EFL Pro is bigger in the air and has a fair bit more power,whichever you choose would not dissapoint i am sure.

[johnsandywhite]

I don't have the 600EFl but I have both the 550E FB and FBL. The FBL is the dogs and I absolutely love it. Convert your 550 to FBL and you will see the difference. WIND makes NO difference at all. I have flown in some REALLY strong winds and had no problem. BTW. I am a novice with Helis.

[sunny_manku1985]

The same here, I have a 550 and at this stage in my flying I wouldnt consider a bigger heli. I was also looking at the 600, before I purchased my 550. The only thing that put me off about the 600 was the battery cost. And to be honest, it's not much bigger. I fly my 550 in serious wind, and it just holds its own. So much power in that thing!

[SaneAdam]

SaneAdam, I take it that you have been flying the 600 in the crap weather.

Not really. had the 600 since september and there has been some really nice days since then so had some good flights with the 600. Only had the 550 2 weeks and its been pretty rubbish weather wise for the past 2 weeks

[swale]

I cant really comment on the 550 I know you specificaly asked for people with both.....but have seen a few at the patch and to be honest I feel its not even a fair comparison the 600efl is miles newer moderner and very powerfull I love mine

[ady]

i`ve had n flown plenty a 6s 550 and a 12s 550 which was running 600e pro gearing , i now own a 600e pro , they both brill heli`s to be honest ,

here is my 550 that i used with mdf sideframes

[chadvandonkey]

Can I expand this a little... I'm considering buying either a 550E FBL or a 600EFL pro and am interested to know what the flight times are with comparable batteries i.e. for arguments sake a 550 running 1 x 3300mah versus a 600 running 2 x 3300mah. The 600 is heavier but with twice the mah should it not run slightly longer - anybody have experience of this?

Cheers.

[ghost2212]

On my 550 running 5000mah 6s packs i can get 6 mins with good power at around 80% throttle curve, If i increase that to 100% it drops to about 4:30.

Also remmeber that although the 550 is labelled as a "550" in stock form it only has 520mm blades as opposed to the 600 so a bigger difference than the names suggest. I dont have a 600 so cant comment unfortunately on that unfortunately.

What kind of flying do you do?

[Sesame]

I own a 550fbl which I think is an excellent machine, its the right size to be stable, plus costs are reasonable,. Im using mine on a 5000mah 6s.

Although I dont own a 600e pro I have had the honour of helping setup 2 machines recently a fbl and a flybarred version, the first thing I would say is the same as someone else commented earlier the 600 is an animal when you flick it into idleup and have a high headspeed you really see and feel it. as you would expect the 600 flys very well with oodles of power.

all I would say is ask yourself how experienced you are as the 600 can be a very intimidating machine to fly. however if your used to big machines it should be no problem.


p.s. where the heck do you put the batteries for a 12s 550?