Is Copterx 450pro RTF - ready out of the box?

[Tom Sawyer]

Back after yet another sabatical I decided to have another go at helis...

This time chose to walk before running and bought a pheonix sim and now I have a more sensible sized Copterx 450 pro RTF on order.

Can anyone advise if these things are really RTF? I just read one post that says you have to strip them down totally and start again as they dont know what thread lock is!

Incidentally my reasoning for the 450 pro was that I wanted something reasonably decent but cheap to fix but now I read I should have gone with the SE as apparently its more stable..........Is there anything I can do to the Pro to make it more beginner friendly?

[solentlife]

Thread lock - BLUE grade is advised as screws have a habit of unscrewing in all helis. Do not use RED permanent grade.

The SE V2 is more common for replacement parts and well served by hundreds of Chinese suppliers ......... but the Pro is fine ....

Some will adviser stay away from chinese parts ........ yeh well - I'm not rich and I know I will crash the machine. I can buy multi packs of shafts etc. from chinese suppliers for less than a single item from original manufacturer.... try this ebay shop :

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/chunqianguan

He has just about all for 450's and I have had excellent parts from him.

When buying parts ... feathering shafts, main shafts, flybar shafts, main gear wheels, blades etc. - buy in multi-packs ......... you'll need them.
I do not use Carbon Fibre blades ... I use wood or Glass Fibre ... much cheaper and perfectly good for learning on. Keep the expensive stuff for wjen you can bring model home in one piece undamaged !!

[Tom Sawyer]

Thanks again, I was just thinking it was a bit quiet on here.

How are you getting on with the stock gyro?

I have heard the standard item is not that good?

Is it a 'bin it' item or will it be fine to get me through my early stages?

(Incidentally I contacted the model shop about the pro and they said they would send the AE version as this would be better for a beginner.)

[solentlife]

Tom ... I don't floy the CopterX Pro ... I fly the Upforce 450 ... which is near identical to Trex / CopterX / many other SE V2 450's .....

CopterX is a recognised brand and a friend of mine flies their SE V2 ... he loves it. I would be surprised if the Gyro was bad .... CopterX would I think use a reasonable gyro re-labeled.

There is another point - buying RTF for a beginner gets half the start-up done. I don't agree with those who insist you should build your own. That opens the door for mistakes and failure ........
You can as I did over time swap out parts for better so you end up with a better machine without wasting money at start when you are going to crash a lot.

Get training gear as well ...... it may not stop all crashes .. but saves maybe 50% of those not so straight 'dumps' ...............

[Tom Sawyer]

Finally the Copterx made it through customs and I did a quick check over it.

Every package had been opened (customs?) but it all seemed intact and a quick check revealed a few loose screws which I tightened with the best intentions of a complete rebuild prior to first flight....

Couldn't wait that long and with my son visiting and the battery having been charged this morning I did a few pre flight checks, fitted training gear and placed the heli in the centre of my small garden.

First 'flight' on an RC Heli (beyond micro twister and the Phoenix sim), loosing the light fast and a stiff unpredictable breeze and several carefull spool ups and she lifted off then a slight drift and I let her down.

I repeated this about three times and decided to quit while was ahead.

So, flight number 1 was a success but I am not sure about the Gyro as sometimes it let the tail drift and other times it went into a violent twitch only to seemingly reset itself again when I shut the throttle down.

So, it really does fly right out of the box but the next flight will be at the field, in daylight and with no wind!

[matiac]

I don't think there's really anything that's truly "Ready-To-Fly" without some at least minor tweaking to make it use-able...I was reading this one feller's review on Banana Hobby regarding their 450 Shark heli...this guy actually believed Pete tested each and every helicopter, so he takes it out of the box, charges the battery, hits the "gas", and it skids left, falls over, and deep sixes the mainshaft assembly. Needless to say Banana Hobby NEVER has parts (although Pete would beg to differ), so last I knew, he's STILL waiting for pieces/parts for his brand new heli that I don't think ever even lifted off. Bear in mind it was "Ready To Fly"...