ive been kinda looking at the align 250 as my next heli maybe.would something smaller ccpm be better to learn on? does anyone know anything about this litlle helo? any info would be great.
I know very little about the Align, but I really like the Blade SR, but it only comes in a RTF for some reason: http://www.e-fliterc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=EFLH1500
The Blade SR does come in a BNF version - http://www.horizonhobby.com/products/blade-120-sr-bnf-BLH3180 It is a great first copter and VERY stable - but not CCPM. What do you have now? The new BeastX series from Blade is likely the best CCPM system available. 3-axis stabilization and rock solid, quality construction. They are available in micro, 130, 300, 450, and 500 sizes. Align is a great machine, but pricey for what you get (my opinion). Look around Horizon Hobby's website for info on the BeastX copters. Hope this helps!
And their electricks blow, as I said in a previous posting aline buyers end up replacing it all Look at mine (see here) nothing much but the airframe is still align, even the head and tail is from a third party
Well I fly the GAUI ep 200 and ep255 which are similar in size to the TRex 250 ... Flying the smaller CCPM heli is very different the the typical Fixed Pitch helicopter. Flying the smaller CCPM's is allot faster, I mean the control is allot faster than you will find on the larger heli's. As for learning what I'm saying is it's better you get something larger. It's said the learning is allot easier the larger you go which I find is somewhat true. The larger you go the more relaxed the control ... One last note, fixed pitch heli's which are pretty much "Bind & Fly" but with a CCPM helicopter you will need to learn how to setup and adjust before you even think about flying. It's all doable and in my opinion not that hard to setup and very rewarding but it's just something you have to do to get into the air. All in all flying a CCPM helicopter is very different than flying a Fixed Pitch heli where you will be learning an entity new discipline, you'll be learning HOW to fly from scratch. FYI:
right now im flying the 120 sr. im just lookin to transition to ccpm from fixed pitch. i think i understand the NEED for set up on ccpm. part of the reason i want to transition.i will keep investigating! any info from you guys is always valuable. thank you!
No problem Joe just putting it out there for ya ... As for a recommendation on which CCPM Helicopter to buy I have to say I don't like doing that. IMO it's best you find you own way, I can only tell ya what I like ... That said in order of my preference first we have the GAUI ep200, TRex 250 and I believe now Blade offers a CCPM Heli in that size range however I maybe wrong ... [size=1.2em][shadow=gray,left]w00d[/shadow][/size]
thank you again wood! in the end it will be what i choose,i definately dont want something with poopy electronics. i have limited funds so i would like something to just learn on.ive read alot about the sr having alot of tail blowout,probably not something i wanna learn on huh? well i will keep on my search!
hehe, my problem is I tend to overbuild, cost effective building is NOT my area of expertise ... So I wouldn't and/or shouldn't have said ALIGN electronics were crap, should really say there is just better. From what I've seen allot of ALIGN builders were looking for better and for that reason they end up replacing the ALIGN electronic when needed. My real problem with ALIGN is they don't offer options in there KITs, you get their Air-frame and Electronics as a package deal with very little wiggle room. I would be happier if they only offered an airframe where we got to choose our own components. Regardless you will find allot of people that luv the ALIGN 250 and you will find they will fly very well strait out of the box, but you will also find there is some room for improvement ... ...
haha,i wish that were my problem!im sure align electronics are fine,especially for a newbie like me! the blade 400 & 300 x look like very nice birds as well. man so much to choose from. first i guess i should get a good tx first im running a hp6dsm from a sr....
haha, well my problem is I don't really have the money to keep that up What I like to do is buy a simple airframe and build it up nice over time ... My first heli the TRex 450 took over a year before it's first flight and it's had three major upgrades after that. My second heli I bought used, actually I traded some software for it and improved upon it as the parts wore out. That was my GAUI ep200 ... ... The thing I like to spend the good money on is a good gyro, those being the Spartan QUARKS which were one of the better gyro's one could get at the time. But my 450 TRex gets most of my love as it was my first and everything on that is probably the best you can get or at least near to it Anyhow enough bragging if you want to have a look I have pics of em all in my Signature below ... GPBill has a really NICE Muli-Blade Scale Kit you might want to have a look. Building a Scale KIT is pretty cool and an option Buying a nice frame and building it up nice over time can be an option for you. I know you won't get the instant gratification like you get with a ready to fly kit but you will get a really nice helicopter in teh end. This also gives you a more relaxed learning curve because learning learning it all at once can be a bit overwhelming Meh it's just options, it's as you say there's so much to choose from and certainly your choice
yea instant gratification is nice,just because i luv flying, but.. the overall gratification of building something & watching it fly or drive,priceless! my main thing is the 120 sr is so light,even in a light wind i either get blown all over or i cant make forward flight very well. any suggestions? i live in the applegate & it tends to be windy ALOT!
As we all say, get what works best for you, but I know what it means to not know what works best when you have never tried it. But I ended up with a Blade 450 3D, you can get them at AmpDraw for $369.00 RTF with a DX6i. I chose this because I wanted RTF instant gratification, and easy to work on, and easy parts. It is not cheap, but not crap, but not the best, it sits right in the middle. I buy parts from A Main Hobbies, they have every part, easy to use website with pictures of every part. For my flying style I don't need, or want a spendy heli, I crash a lot, and risk total loss with my FPV habit, but also don't want a loss due to crappy quality. The new Blade 300 looks interesting, but so does the new 500, but the 450X looks cool, but building a cheap HK450 would be neat...........
My two bits... If you've mastered the 120SR, I'd go right to the 450 size heli. I have a couple 200/250 sized ones and I think they are a lot harder to fly than a 450. The best part about the 450 is that everyone makes it so parts are cheap and very available. You will need parts! It's still a pretty big jump from the little 120. I see some discussion above about the "SR" (not to be confused with the 120SR). I had one of those for a day (really) and got rid of it. I wouldn't recommend that thing to anyone. Worst of all is the transmitter that comes with it (no BNF available unless that's new since I got mine). If you had that thing, you'd want to fly it on a real transmitter for sure. I suggest you stay away from it completely. ...Tiger
Yeahhhhhhhhhh, just the the simple JOY of flying ... [quote author=joebollinger35 link=topic=1184.msg8357#msg8357 date=1336065734]my main thing is the 120 sr is so light,even in a light wind i either get blown all over or i cant make forward flight very well. any suggestions? i live in the applegate & it tends to be windy ALOT! [/quote] Even with the smaller CCPM heli's most will find too much wind a challenge, the larger the bird the better the performance in the wind ... This is another reason why "they" will recommend a larger helicopter (at least a 450) when going from Fixed Pitch to CCPm. Nevertheless as with any CCPm helicopter there are the little things we can do to improve the performance in the wind
I will +1 with Tiger, at first I thought the 450 was a big scary, expensive, professional looking thing. As it turns out the reason why the 450 size is so popular is because it truly is a perfect small form factor helicopter. They are light weight, but big enough to have true heli flying style. And it will carry a payload. After almost a year of flying one I will ALWAYS have a 450 electric in my inventory no matter what.
Well I fly the GAUI ep 200 and ep255 which are similar in size to the TRex 250 ... Flying the smaller CCPM heli is very different the the typical Fixed Pitch helicopter. Flying the smaller CCPM's is allot faster, I mean the control is allot faster than you will find on the larger heli's. As for learning what I'm saying is it's better you get something larger. It's said the learning is allot easier the larger you go which I find is somewhat true. The larger you go the more relaxed the control ... <snip> [/quote] Well I didn't specifically mention the 450 size, but is what I was intimating above. So yes PP were ALL on the same page which don't {LOL} often happen on the NET, yes I would also agree with Tiger
i love my 120 its a blast to fly! i would like to fly more,i really would like something that doesnt get thrown around by a little wind. tiger thank you,i was actually looking at the SR i fly my 120 with the tx from one,better than the stock tx but even my noobie butt can tell its just not right! im tryin to find a dx6i tx for a decent price. i have heard that 450 size are easier to fly,but on the phoenix sim not so easy! lol i will keep my earballs open for anything i hear,i thank you all for your valuable info!!! much appreciated
