kgtjan01
Heliman
Location: NJ
| rpat,
I have Eco 8, Hornet XP, Hornet X3D, and recently got ARK X-400. Since I am still building the X-400, I cannot tell and compare the flying characterstics between two Hornets and X-400. However, I can comment on what I have been feeling on kit quality while building X-400. The overall kit quality of X-400 is about the same as that of Hornet and Eco kits. I rate myself as a picky person but I cannot really tell which has superior kit quality. Overall they are all equally well produced kits. Yes, I found X-400 main gear slightly off centered but it is not surprising that I found that much irregularity in the main gears in Eco 8 and the two Hornets as well that I have built. Unlike my 30 size gas helis (Kalt ZR and Kyosho 32VR), the teeths of micro main gears are relatively fine and therefore, small amount of irregularity can appear critical. I myself was a bit disappointed after finding off-centered main gear (since I hoped ARK kits are better than Hornets), but the irregularity is not that much that you can overcome it by carefully adjusting the motor position. Currently, one part of the main gear touches the pinion quite tight and the other part with a little gap to the pinion - I think it should be okay. Unlike others in this forum, I didn't have any problem with ball link size - all ball links perfectly fit the balls.
I was wondering what to buy between Trex and X400 but I realized I made a good choice after taking a look at Trex at a LHS this past weekend. Again since I didn't fly these helis, I cannot tell about flying characterstics, but in terns of overall design (and plastic quality), I believe X-400 is definitely on the edge (over Trex). X-400 is in my opinion a real small sized heli without compromise of full size helis. I really like the stacked 4 piece metal main frame and tight moving parts, among others.
In comparison to Hornets, X-400 is scaled down version of full size helis while as hornet micros look unblanced with fragile look, at least to me. X-400 is quite heavy compared to hornets but the overall length of x-400 is only a few inches longer than hornets, and this will surely make X-400 more stable and more fliable in windy situation. Side by side, Hornets look like kids toys, X-400 looks like little version of full size gas heli. There is little slop in moving part of X-400. Hornet X3D does not have much slop either due to the CCMP configuration. Compared to X-400 ($159), I think Hornet X3D (almost $200) seems way overpriced. (switching the price between these two may make more sense to me), I think beginners will definitely take adavantage of the heavy X-400 over Hornets. One pitfall of X-400 is that the manual does not explain much on critical aspects on building such as where to apply lock tites and etc. also no mention on ratio setup and flight adjustments, which may give hard time to beginners, although one can find these information somewhere on the web.
BTW, I also found a few minor parts (such as bolts and nuts) missing from the kit, but it did not overshadow the main advantage of X-400 (The missing parts were priority mailed immediately to me by Dennis at Dee Tee when I mentioned it)
My X-400 is almost in completion and looking forward to trying it. Every moving parts are quite tight so I expect decent flying characteristics. |
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