T-Rex 450, EXI 450, HK 450, CopterX and other 450 clones.

[Nuttcaze]

Since there are soo many clones of T-Rex 450 helis (EXI, CopterX, HK, etc) I figured they all should go in the same place  

EXI 450 (Plastic Version 2) $37.70 - http://www.xheli.com/exi450arfrar.html


EXI T-450 SE Carbon Edition Helicopter Kit $77.00 - http://www.xheli.com/exitsecaedhe.html


HK-450 (Plastic Version) $27.99 - http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8467&Product_Name=HK-450_CCPM_3D_Electric_Helicopter_Kit


CopterX CX 250SE $62.99 - http://www.hobbydaddy.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=12937


Specs
•Length:660mm
•Height:230mm
•Main Blade Length:325mm
•Main Rotor Diameter:700mm
•Tail Rotor Diameter:150mm

[beltcp]

I am thinking about getting one and moving my belt cp electronics over. Good idea or not so much? Thanks.

[P3tras]

Good idea  ;)

[beltcp]

Thanks, You have one?

[vsbkv]

I've got my order in for christmas. vsbkv

[P3tras]

Thanks, You have one?

No, I am still with belt cp. But many people (including Nuttcaze) transfered electronics from belt cp to EXI 450. It is more precise heli. Did you install HH gyro on your belt cp? If no, I highly reccomend installing telebee gyro. Tail will be stable as hell (compared to rate gyro  )

[beltcp]

Hi, I do have a HH gyro. It is a cheap one but it is solid! I had so many problems with the rate gyro. But not as much as some because I learned on a Falcon 40 and the tail sucked. Thanks for the reply I will get a frame soon. Are sg90's OK? I don't have a lot of money. Bye

[P3tras]

You mean sg90 servo? Yeah, it should be OK. You can even use belt cp servos, but sg90 might be better  ;)

[Kelpy]

It seems that some people are starting to get problems with their SG90's.

Tower Pro MG90's are better, and not much more money ;)

[4n6Days]

I bought a belt and after I crashed it, moved my power system over to the $40 EXI. Flew pretty well like that.

Here's some problems. The gyro on the belt is not great. I crashed my EXI due to the esky gyro going haywire. The servos are pretty slow. For $3.50ea you can get tower pros from Hobbypartz. Well worth it. (get a few extras too!!) My esky 25a ESC caught on fire after 45 flights. I bought an Exceed 40a from Hobbypartz. Lastly, in normal mode, the belt CP is hard to bring down in the wind. You loose too much head speed. One way to overcome this is to run in idle up. After the initial shock of flipping the idle up switch the first time it isn't so bad. You'll notice that the heli is more responsive.

The Pros:  For $155 + $40 (or $70 if you get an additional metal head/tail) you get 2 helicopters!!! I'm still using the motor. It's the only remaining part from the Belt. Another plus: I sold all the non-broken parts from the Belt on ebay (including the tx/rx) for $50

Very shortly after I moved over to the EXI, I bought a used DX6i and a AR6110 rx for $150. It was a lot of money, but worth it. If you can't spring for the DX6i, the Exceed 2.4 system that Nuttcaze did a video for is a good alternative, though you can't make changes at the field. Not too big of a deal.... I rarely make major changes once the initial setup and test are done.

Speaking of money, my helicopter fund comes from stuff I trash-pick (or stuff of my own- my wife loves that!!) and sell on craigslist/ebay



If I had it to do over again... I'd go with what Meanbaby recommended:


copterx 450 - all metal - $60
http://www.hobbydaddy.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=150_154&products_id=9070


these are the stuff i have on mines

servos are metal gears, very durable

7.50$ each, get some spares in case

http://hobbyking.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8303

tail servo
http://hobbyking.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=4697
very fast analog, .05 sec!!! and only 12$

esc heres one im using on 1 of my heli
http://hobbyking.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6459&Product_Name=Hobbyking_SS_Series_40-50A_ESC
50a esc for under 12$

motor
3700kv, so use 11t for good balance of power and flight time and hs only 16$
http://hobbyking.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8137

Gyro
gy400, i have 4 of them and love them 20$ shipped !!!
http://www.r2hobbies.com/proddetail.php?prod=rcps61801


Another thing I wish I knew at the beginning was that Finless Bob over at Helifreak has some GREAT setup videos for the trex 450. Not to knock Marc's vids. I love Marc's vids!! Bob goes into more detail about assembling the head. Personally, I like to take things apart and see what makes them 'tick' and to ensure the highest performance possible. If that's not your cup of tea, that's fine. If it is, Finless' videos are worth checking out.
http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=52530
http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=11373&highlight=build

[burton8012]

i wouldn't recommend not getting the copter x AE edition the metal is WAYYYYY to soft bends to easy  go over to the photo section and crash section on the forum and u can see pics i posted of my mangled ae frame and it wasn't even from a crash....u can get the CF copter x  for 80 bucks on ebay from hobby shops in china

[4n6Days]

Thanks for the heads up Burton.




Does anyone have any pictues of how you dealt with the tail control rod? I have a tower pro 9g servo on the tail and no matter what I do the rod has a weird bend. Any tips?

[4n6Days]

Anybody?

[Blackrain0119]

Maybe posting a pics or vid would be better so we can determine what really is going on . When you say bend you mean the linkage rod? It could be your travel adjustments, could be your endpoints, its really hard to picture whats going on. So if you have vids or pics it would be better..

[4n6Days]

It seems like with the stock servo mounts and the stock linkage rod guides on the boom, there's no way to get a straight shot to the tail.  I'll try to get some pics.