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Ron’s HeliProz South . Century Helicopter . RC-Direct

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e-Electric General Discussion > t-rex vs blade 400
 
 
helidude2
Senior Heliman
Location: marietta georgia usa

I was curious what some opinions of these to helis are and which is a better buy.
02-07-2008 08:49 PM
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DMehalko(DM)
Senior Heliman
Location: Colorado

t-rex hands down
02-07-2008 09:30 PM
 
 
helidude2
Senior Heliman
Location: marietta georgia usa

but it costs so much more
02-07-2008 09:31 PM
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LouInSD
Veteran
Location: San Diego CA USA

initially yes... but the Blade will cost you a lot more eventually...
02-07-2008 09:54 PM
 
 
MMike
Veteran
Location: Holland,Mi-USA

Is there anyone that bought a 400, and found they HAD to start spending $$ to fix something unacceptable?
02-07-2008 10:05 PM
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WAFlowers
Heliman
Location: Clearwater, FL - USA

I don't know any of this personally, but I've been following this matter closely because those two are the helis which are available off-the-shelf at my LHS.

For recent details, look esp. for threads with my posts in both the trex and eflite forums.

The gears in the 400 servos are plastic and, apparently, strip easily. Some people are saying the gyro isn't holding the tail steady and requires an upgrade to something better (GY401). However when they upgrade the gyro they find that the tail servo isn't fast enough (so I've read).

OTOH, other people seem to be perfectly happy with it right out of the box.

My impression is that there is no clear concensus as to whether the 400 is good enough without upgrades.

However, it seems that the 400 comes in at a better price point -- that is, cheaper to get into the air initially -- than even the trex 450sa by the time you factor in the radio.

I wish the decision between these two was obvious.
02-07-2008 10:27 PM
 
 
macsgrafs
Senior Heliman
Location: Barnstaple, Devon, UK

I have a blade 400, the servos are crap, plastic & strip so easily. God knows how it can handle the strain of 3D!!!! Had nothing but gyro problems as well. But at the end of the day, spares are DIRT cheap & readily available compared to align prices.
The transmitter is superb, not Futaba quality but great for a 2.4GHz tx & rx. You pays your money my friend.

Regards
Ross

Seems to me that ALL heli's beat the air into submission
02-07-2008 10:37 PM
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
MMike
Veteran
Location: Holland,Mi-USA

I'm guessing there is no "one size fits all" answer here.

Everyone has their own situation.

Just to name a few issues:

How much money does one have? Maybe a T-Rex isn't an option.
Are they up for an ARF build?
Is 3D important?
Are they likely to crash?
02-07-2008 10:55 PM
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
DMehalko(DM)
Senior Heliman
Location: Colorado

Quote 
but it costs so much more

You get what you pay for
02-09-2008 05:29 AM
 
 
davidg51537
Senior Heliman
Location: Omaha, NE

I will have to add some comments here.

First of all, the Blade 400 3D WAS NOT MENAT TO BE A TREX!

It is an intermediate heli READY TO FLY out of the box. And it does that VERY WELL I might add. Mine tracked perfectly out the box and I have no tail wag at all.

Consider this. I paid $360 BRAND NEW for it at my local hobby shop and went downstairs into the flying area and fly it immediately!!! I had 2 flights on it the other night. I have not flown in 2 1/2 years. You get everything in the box. IT IS HUGELY GREAT VALUE for that. It gives you a pretty decent computer radio on 2.4Ghz that retails for about $200. The hobby shop has FULL support for parts that are inexpensive. The most anyone has spent on a crash around here is $25. Heck the servos and gyro are fine. Especially at the price point it is. Heck the jr DS 285's will strip as easily on a CCPM bird. So the servos are not cheap in my humble opinion.

The TREX has had time to grow up and be a good heli. But by the time you outfit one with reasonably inexpensive(not high end) parts, you will have double that in it. Even used you will get a complete setup with alot of upgrades for around $600. So there is really no comparison.

When people realize it is a starter heli that has alot of POTENTIAL for the price, the bashing will probalby reduce.

It gave me an oportunity to get back into the hobby for a small price. I will learn how to fly well before I move up to a larger heli, Probably a TREX600 or even an ION if I really want to.

I had all really nice blinged out helis before but never could risk them to really learn how to fly. I got discouraged and left due to time constraints. Now I have a decent learner that I can grow out of and not be disappointed in the amount of money I spent.

So a long post short, The Blade is good and will serve you well to begin with. Maximize the setup that it is and learn how to set up a heli and you will be so much MORE ahead in the long run.

David

P.S. people have been tuning the Blade in quite well and are not having issues. People buy upgrades right away because they really do not know how to set up a heli. The G110 holds pretty well when you work with it and set it up properly.
02-09-2008 02:01 PM
 
 
MMike
Veteran
Location: Holland,Mi-USA

David

Great comments!

MMike
02-09-2008 08:56 PM
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captainjack
New Heliman
Location: Seattle, Wa

I think the Blade 400 is so very worth the money. I get a great radio that comes with a decent heli for the price. My plan is simply fly the heck out of the blade 400 and then when I drop a few dimes for the t-rex 600, I won't be so worried about replacing parts every 10 mins because my skill will be much more improved. Im skipping the t-rex 450 because larger machines are easier to fly, period. I've learned its better to work your way to the top of the ladder than it is to teleport to the top. I have enough money to buy 100's of t-rexes. I think is stupid to waste money while learning. Also I'll appreciate the T-Rex more when I have earned the right to fly it and also I'll feel more elite when I do move up.

I think the key here is skill level vs money. If your skill level " I fly the heck out of my CX2 or CP!" then move up to blade 400. Skip the t-rex 450 and get a t-rex 600 or some 50 size bird. Heck go for 90 size if your up to it. Align is coming out with the 700n soon. The big birds are best for outdoors because they penetrate the wind so much better (thats if you have the power to weight ratios). If your planing to fly indoor (i.e. gymnasium) then you should stick with the t-rex 450 where smaller is better.

Thats my humble opinion. Take it with a grain of salt. See you out on the open ocean... ooops I mean airfield.

Now I know why they call it a Jesus Nut!
02-16-2008 07:14 AM
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Super D
Heliman
Location: Athens TX

I've never flown a Blade 400, I do have a Trex SE and a TT Mini Titan. Mini Titan is a great heli, cheap, easy to work on, and flies more stable than my Trex.
I'm actually gonna sell my trex, just dont fly it compared to the Mini Titan.

Just another option, and the best price is amainhobbies.

Mini Titan,Raptor50 SE/Hyper
02-16-2008 03:08 PM
 
 
captainjack
New Heliman
Location: Seattle, Wa

Super D brings up a good point about selecting a heli. Stability. I keeps seeing people buy the biggest, baddest, fastest, whatever for their first or second heli and complain how hard it is to fly.

One has to decide what kind of flying she or he wants to do. For example I like to launch my old 3 meter sailplane and trim it out for stable flight, put the radio down on the chair and walk to the cooler and get a soda. The bird is so stable it flies itself. Then on the other hand I pull out the Extra 300 and im on the sticks from take off to landing. The Extra 300 is not a stable bird but flies like its on rails. The more unstable the aircraft the better it is at aerobatics. Thats why I carry more than one bird because there isn't one perfect bird that does it all. I like to fly trainer birds because they are very stable and I do less work keeping them flying. On the other hand when I want to rock and roll, I pull something else out that is unstable to do 3D flying.

Super D has decided to fly more stable birds for the type of flying he wants to do. Thats fantastic that he knows what he wants in the type of flying he would like to do.

Now I know why they call it a Jesus Nut!
02-16-2008 06:07 PM
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Super D
Heliman
Location: Athens TX

2 things that sold me on the mini-titan,1. There are'nt any forsale in classifieds, 2. This video...

http://www.holmesrc.com/files/E325video1.wmv

The ease of build and price were a bonus.

Mini Titan,Raptor50 SE/Hyper
02-17-2008 02:46 PM
 
 
helicraze
Veteran
Location: Victoria - Australia

It all depends on your needs. For me getting a cheaper heli was a waste of money, I tried and tried with walkera owning a total of 15 of them and spending about $4000 in spare parts due to crashing and parts failure. I rebuilt my walkera 4 so many times as each time i would take off i would crash, 2 weeks later i found out the transmitter was faulty! (how did i know i was a beginer flying by myself?) New transmitter and i could hover
In the end I bought a E550 and E325 and guess what??? No crashes and my flying skills improved very rapidly.
You often wonder how did you ever live without certain things, Eg GY401, I thought the walkera G011 was good, now i think its terrible.
I have a KASAMA head and i look at the plastic head on the mini titan and say wow, theres a lot of slop there.

I think the heli would be better choice than walkera.

Thunder Tiger E620SE, Thunder Tiger E550, Mikado Logo 500 3D
02-18-2008 03:05 AM
 
 
slagathor
New Heliman
Location: ayr,QLD,Australia

What most people are saying is if you have the money and are experienced with heli's buy the trex 450 or better. For a couple of reasons, if your just getting into the hobby like myself you don't want to have to do a whole heap of tunning and upgrading to get it to fly OK (your not gonna have no idea what your doing). The B400 is ideal for beginners, you don't want to scare beginners off by saying buy the $1000 heli. The B400 is excellent for what you pay, and clearly the best option for a beginner is the B400 RTF as it comes with a good radio which they can use for further heli's and not have to buy a new one.

Being a beginner your gonna crash a lot, so you want the parts to be dirt cheap (which they are!)and after they do get some experience in the air and want to go 3D they can with there first or second heli. So they don't have to go buy an expensive heli just to learn, they can use there Blade 400 as a stepping stone for a better heli. From what I've seen and heard the Blade 400 flys fine without upgrades for an intimidate pilot, its those who are experienced that say it doesn't fly well. It wasn't designed to be a T-REX! nor was it designed to compete with the trex. Its so that people can get into the hobby and still get a decent heli without spending heaps.
I can't speak from experience cause I'm a beginner myself, i have nothing against either heli, just that im a beginner and have been wondering which one to get. Initially i would have got a trex just because of the hipe. But when i looked around the B400 was the best option.

The Trex looks like a good heli but you have to match a heli with your experience level. As a beginner you want to be in the air as much as possible and the B400 allows you to do that.

Thats how i see it.
Thats all from me, I just love to fly.
02-18-2008 11:11 AM
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
slagathor
New Heliman
Location: ayr,QLD,Australia

Videos

And in Case you haven't seen what this heli can do with a lil upgrades go to: http://youtube.com/watch?v=-6FZpTxoxZc
02-18-2008 11:13 AM
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
WAFlowers
Heliman
Location: Clearwater, FL - USA

Quote 
you don't want to scare beginners off by saying buy the $1000 heli.
It doesn't have to cost $1000. I started from nothing and am having to buy everything: heli, radio, servos, etc. By looking for good deals here and an eBay I'll be in the air with a trex 450seV2 for for much less than that.

Actually along the way I "accidentally" picked up a 450seV1 with gyro, servos and Align carry case. So I'll have two helis complete with gyros, servos, etc. (probably sell one), radio, Align carry case, spare parts and more for approx. $900!

If (when?) I sell the ARTF 450seV1 I'll be well under $1000! Sure, it will still be more than the cost of a Blade 400; I'm not arguing that. My point is that it won't be a lot more than a 400 and, as even you point out, it isn't the same thing; the two helis are equal. That little extra cost is buying me a MUCH better heli, IMHO.

--
Bill
02-18-2008 01:13 PM
 
 
davidg51537
Senior Heliman
Location: Omaha, NE

I am unsure why people still insist Trex is better than the Blade.

Of course it is. It really is in a different class. It like comparing the Ion?Razors and the Trex 600E. Totally different class of helis.

The Blade is fine for the target audience. I think E-Flite realized they needed to get something in this very popular class and actually did a good job with the Blade. The CP was and is a failure, but still many people buy them. I read where some people are happy with them, but as a whole, it seems to not be that way.

Still, consider the price point. $360 all up to fly. You can literally take it out of the box, plug in the battery and start hovering. Can you do that with a Trex, no you cannot.

As far as build quality, after looking over my blade, quality looks good. Parts look fine as well. Price point of all parts for this bird are very competitive with a standard Trex XL? (mind you, without all the CF and Metal upgrades that many Trex owners have). I am talking about the plastic version, no CF or metal upgrades allowed. When comparing parts pricing, they are similar. But cost of buying the components separately are still higher than the Blade, so you initial outlay is higher. That cannot be disputed. Sure, you can find a deal on a Trex, but how many people when entering the hobby know this. Not many.

As far as flight characteristics. I really believe that people can skip the CP and go with this and be more successful. It is okay as far as flight. Is it great? No, BUT, and I stress BUT, it is a mass produced item. It is roughly setup to fly. It still needs to be tuned and trimmed to fly well.

It will allow beginners a chance to get in the air, but it will force them to seek help with it or learn how to trim a Heli in order to fly well. Arethe components top notch? No, they are decent quality. remeber the price point? The parts are decent for that price. Will replacing the Gyro and Servos improve it? Hell yes. It will take a decent heli and make it good. But I still stand by the fact that many people upgrade the Gyro because they either are too impatient to learn how to setup a heli or are just lazy and go for the quick fix.

IT is a decent, learner heli. Much like the Raptor 30 was when it came out. You will see lots of improvement with the Blade over the next year. It will be a good heli in the end.

really, people just need to stop comparing and just fly it. Time will show it to be a success or not.

David
02-18-2008 04:08 PM
 
 
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e-Electric General Discussion > t-rex vs blade 400
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