Ed1955
Senior Heliman
Location: Pocono Mountains, PA USA
| I've owned three HeliMax machines and still own two and...................in my opinion the pros and cons are as follows:
Pros:
Most Trex parts work on the 400 and 450 XS (Huge Advantage)
Both the 400 and 450 are very stable machines provided you have the tail working properly.
Stock HeliMax parts are very available through several suppliers.
Some may not like this one but in my opinion, once you put an Align V2 tail, boom and head on the 450, it basically is Trex 450 SE V2. This is what I fly now.
Cons of the stock 400's and 450's:
Although they are both very stable machines when new, I find that they get loose pretty quick if you fly them often.
Let's face it, the tail rudder set up and control rod is the machines weakest link, basically trash.
The milk bottle canopy is kind of cheesy but you get what you pay for.
My bottom line opinion is that with the long V2 boom and tail set up and the Align Ultra head, there is little difference between the 450 XS set up like this and a Trex, again it's only my opinions. I've flown both the Trex and my hybrid Trex/HeliMax and they are very close in flying characteristics. Of course, now everyone will come back and say why didn't I just buy a Trex to start off with and the answer is simple. If you watch the classifieds, you can pick up a MX400 or 450XS for half the price of a Trex and even when you add those upgraded parts, it's still way under the cost of a new Trex and the beauty of buying experienced MX450's is that someone else has put it together and back up 400's have been found for $150 and I buy them just for crash parts. I have two extras right now.
Just my observations and the real bottom line is that I like all rc helis, just some more than others.
Respectfully,
Ed |
