dkshema
rrProfessor
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
| It is going to be up against some stiff competition when Align finally rolls out the production version of its "600" electric, the big brother to the T-Rex. That looks to be about a 50 sized machine, will probably ship with motor and ESC, and is rumored to run about $600 (though I don't think anyone has seen a published price. One of the disconcerting aspects of the 600 will be the price tag of its batteries. And with electrics, everyone knows you need more than one pack to make the heli useful. There's nothing worse than a ten minute flight, followed by a couple of hours of recharging before the next.
This new Hirobo electric looks nice, seems to be E-Voyager sized, but $600 + is going to make it hard for a lot of people to justify buying, especially if the price doesn't include a motor and ESC, as that could add another $300 - $400 to the price tag. A pair of 3S 2100 batteries will set you back another $100 to $200 (Apex vs Thunder Power, for example)for a pair. 4S will be even more expensive.
What MIGHT set it apart is if it were packaged at that price with a decent motor AND ESC so that you could build the darn thing, and go fire it up without having to spend weeks and $$$ screwing around trying to find a useful motor, pinion, and ESC combination to make it fly well.
No doubt it will be a fine heli, Hirobo makes quality stuff -- my EVO and Freya attest to that. But -- if it's priced out of range, it won't sell. As an example, the Caliber 60 and 90 from Kyosho are considered by many to be some of the finest helis manufactured. But, with their healthy price, almost no one is flying them, and the 60 has been available for years. The customer support from Jeff Green is absolutely second to none, but the heli needs to be reasonably priced before Jeff gets in the loop. If people don't buy it, they'll have no need for his killer support.
Dave |
maybe I was just entranced by the shiney metal
