Trex 550 AND 600EFL

[chadvandonkey]

I am a relative beginner who is currently doing rough and basic circuits with a Trex500 and am looking for a bigger more stable machine to grow into. I realise this may be at odds with a 550 or 600 but I'm well aware of a larger heli being more stable and the better your machinery the more it helps you on your way to flying well. My 500 is a cracking machine but I want the stability of a larger heli and to be honest the boy in me wants the best machine I can afford hence why I'm trying to establish if the 600 is worth the extra £ over the 550.

Plus, it's only as intimidating as you set it up and a bigger heli is much better to see in the sky which certainly helps!

[NiceBlades]

I have the Trex 500 carbon FBL beastx and 600 efl pro (3GX), I'm a sport flyer trying to crack some 3D in 2012. I moved from the old 6s 600 to the new EFL Pro running 12s and it certainly has the greatest "WOW" factor for me over any other heli I've owned in the past. I like the TREX 500 its a great machine and takes the Turnigy 3300mah 30c lipo's I use in the 600 so if I crash one I can still go flying, but the one I really want to fly is the 600. I'm still running in the lipo's at the moment and get 6 mins on 85% throttle curve approx 2300 hs give or take, brings a smile to my face and more power than a 700 nitro! If you can put up with 12s and having 2 packs per flight pack its a great machine. Equally I'm sure the TREX 550 is a cracking machine, there are a few at the club and I would have bought one had I not seen the new 600, just my 5 pence worth, Ian.

[Sharpedge]

I fly 5000s on my 550 and have the timer set to 5:20 which takes them down to arround 80% with hard sprots flying. I'm still breaking in the 3500s on the 600EFL so I can't give you an exact flight time. The last flight had the timer on 5:00 with slow loops, flips and rolls with 75% used out of the packs. The first few flights were just hovering about and I could get about 7 min with a low head speed. The last few flights have seen the head speed up to 90% and it is starting to drain the packs a whole lot faster. From a 500 the jump will be about the same for a 550/600. If you plan on getting the 600 I would suggest getting a good psu/charger setup. If you can get past the fact that you need two packs for each flight then go for the 600, if not the 550 is also a good choice.

[chadvandonkey]

Cheers. It's a total nightmare as the 600EFL pro v2 seems to be very rare as a secondhand machine with a fair few more 550's about. I can't stop mulling it over which to go for and my pennies are burning a hole in my pocket so I just want to get it done and out in the field. Either machine would be great but I just want to make sure I don't wish I'd have gone for the other machine. It will also be my first FBL heli too so I'm looking forward to seeing the difference in reality as I cannot feel any difference on Phoenix between the FB & FBL models.

I've got a HPI Reactor 500 AC/DC charger which is really good so far and hasn't missed a beat so a new heli and a couple of lipos it is.

[Stu girdler]

Hi there
I have both and don't fly the 600 as much as the T550. I just enjoy the T550 more, I get 6.5 minutes at 80%. The T600 is a great heli too but I got less flight time for double the packs. The packs are TP 5000mAh 45c. The T600 is easier to see but you should read up on the tail gearing ratio problem it has.
In plain terms this heli is for top end flyers "aligns words" and is designed for high head speeds.
In reality it can be tailored to lesser head speeds with some tail raking and larger tail blades.

Cheers
Stuart

[NiceBlades]

Hi thereI have both and don't fly the 600 as much as the T550. I just enjoy the T550 more, I get 6.5 minutes at 80%. The T600 is a great heli too but I got less flight time for double the packs. The packs are TP 5000mAh 45c. The T600 is easier to see but you should read up on the tail gearing ratio problem it has.In plain terms this heli is for top end flyers "aligns words" and is designed for high head speeds.In reality it can be tailored to lesser head speeds with some tail raking and larger tail blades.CheersStuart

Stu, what packs do you put in the 600? There is no tail problem if you run the heli at 2250+ i.e what it was designed for, and if you don't want to run at this speed there is an alternative which is easy to implement i.e change the relevant gears or run bigger tail blades and rake the heli forward. I get 6 mins of sport flying on my 600 with Turnigy 3300 30c lipo's btw.

[ModelGuard.Com]

I have both, fly the 600 much more often. It feels much bigger to me in the air and it autos MUCH better. The 550 to me autos like a 500 the 600 autos more like a 700.

The lipo slider on the 600 makes getting the C of G spot on much easier, good system.

[sj257]

I use less than 75% of the pack in a 7min flight with my 600 pro. That's on standard align 3300s. When I was flying circuits I was closer to 8:30. The tail on mine has been solid running at the lower end of teh designed head speed.

I got mine at teh stage of being a basic A heli flyer. First few flights were intimidating but absolutely love it now. I've progressed more in 6 months with this heli than I had in the pervious 11 years. I'm now looping flipping etc, and starting to try tic tocs and the like. Piro flips are still a sim only. It's that sort of flying that I'm getting 7min flights with and still only drawing 75% of the pack.

A possible clincher for the boy in you. The other flyers at the patch telling me it's got way too much power when i'm flying at around 80-85% throttle.

BTW, if you do go 600. Fast Lads do a 14s Hyperion charger that is cheaper than a pack. I have a pair of chrgers, 2 leasure batterys connected for 24v and 3 x 12s packs. I can fly constantly with short breaks with that set up for about 9 flights before the leasure batteries run out of puff. My thinking was that the right charging massively reduces time between flights, and the charger investment was cheaper than extra packs. Typical charge time for me after a flight is about 35mins per 12s pack.

Sorry not a comparison, but I hope a little more info helps. I'm a big fan of the 600efl.

Go on, you know you want to.

sj

[chadvandonkey]

I've made my decision and bought a 550 with the final decision coming down to A. Cost of the heli itself and B. The fact that you need 2 batteries per flight with the 600. I'm happy with my choice and the 550 is certainly a decent size machine so we'll see once I get it up in the air. 600 power in a 550 airframe plus being a relative beginner = much fun I hope.

[sj257]

Enjoy!

[Sesame]

FWIW If your a relative newcomer to the hobby I personally think you'll get more from the 550 as the intimidation factor is less. Have fun with it.

[BladeBreaker]

I fly both the 600 e pro and the 550 both flybarless . At first I was unimpressed with the 600 e pro , but since ive got rid of those awful 3g blades its been transformed to something I'm very pleased with , but I prefer the 550 . Since I put "normal" blades on the e pro though Im happier with it