Which T-Rex?

[CLM]

Greetings,

I am sorta new to this aspect of the RC hobby, I really didn't put much thought into Helis untill my local hoppy shop got a little BCX in. After running and practicing on that a bit I decided I would like to start building up a Heli part by part over a few months (which I hope to have a bunch of stick time in on the bcx by then). Upon a bit of research I think I want to build up a standard T-Rex, however at that point I get a bit confused. The options Align has in available packages is a bit lengthy and I'm not sure what the differences are. I'm mainly confused by the CDE and HDE.

Any suggestions?

Chris

[tdswan]

HDE is a standard mix heli. The mixing system is similar to the mixing system on a Raptor 50 if you've got the chance to see one. The CDE is a CCPM version. Both fly very well and when set up right, will be very stable in a hover. The CCPM is a little harder for a beginner to get set up, but IMO is the better of the two.

Glad to see you're not looking at the SE. You'll just be afriad of it because of the cost. A friend of mine got one for his first and he won't fly it after a minor landing gear mishap and is looking for a cheaper one to practice on.

[CLM]

Yeah I was going to go for the blade, but after seeing the cp as a twigs and blades, it looked about as durable as some toothpicks, and someone bought the cx I was going to... The T-Rex looks like a nice bird that will take a bit of punishment with inexpensive parts, and I like the electric aspect.

...sticks and blades... *shudder*

I am trying to talk my LHS into going halfsies with me on the realflight g3, we wil find out later on that, but thanks on the t-rex info :)

Chris

[tdswan]

Always glad to help. There is an upside to the twigs and blades, cheaper to fix. The T-Rex is also cheap to repair, but it WILL do more damage to itself in the event of a crash than the CP will.

[CLM]

I'm guessing it will and I will probably stuff it once or twice (or ???) but man those cp's feel so un-substantial.

I think I have it narrowed down to the kit, except for one thing... X or XL?

http://www.align.com.tw/shop/product_info.php?cPath=22_25&products_id=826

Or

http://www.align.com.tw/shop/product_info.php?cPath=22_25&products_id=1147

Thanks for the advice :)

Chris

P.S. for twigs and blades that night ranger 3d looks a bit more substantial I guess.

[Motions]

I wouldn't recommending getting the X as it's Align's 2nd generation of Trex. The XL is the 3rd generation Trex and has been improved quite a bit.

The Blade CP and other "twigs and blades" are much more durable than meets the eye. I started on a BCP and it was extremely rugged and took some very hard crashes while breaking minimal parts. If anyone wants to start with electrics, I tell them to go for the CP's.

[CLM]

Well I have gone and done it, I have a T-Rex XL CCPM with brushless motor and esc kit on the way, I should see it the end of the week.

I now need to focus on the ancillaries; servos, gyros, etc., and mainly the Radio.

I have been searching for a good radio comparison review, but I am sorta overwhelmed.

Chris

[CLM]

Well, I think I have narrowed it down to a Hitec Optic 6. I was thinking of the DX6 but noticed it only had a 3 point curve where the Optic has a 5.

Any opinions?

Chris

[tdswan]

I've seen lots of problems with the frequency cartridge on the optic 6. I'd look inn the direction of JR or Futaba. The Spectrum is rumored to have latency issues in the CCPM mixing, but I have only read about it.

[ground FX]

I can`t comment on someone else`s radio but for what its worth I`ve been
using an Optic 6 w/spectrum module and to this day haven`t had a problem
with it at all, I`m using it for three airplanes and two heli`s and so far so good.
Not saying that there isn`t or hasn`t been problems with the radio but this is the
first I`ve heard of anything concernig the Optic 6.
Any time you mass produce something there`s always a chance of getting a
P.O.S.

[gdr47]

I just started flying my trex 48 days ago after spending 4 1/2 months on reflex sim.....2 hard crashes in 250 flights....lot of tail feathers...4 sets of blades...but there is nothing like it..i have a jr 6102 radio...it does everything you need....buy that radio now you wont need to replace anytime soon.....i have a trex xl

carbon fiber frame
carbon fiber boom
all metel head
all metal tail
new hacker motor
401 gyro
castle creation 35 amp
and all the bling i could find

told wife 49.95 lololololol


ps i hoover...go forward and back....sisde to side...hoover side in...started forward flight back and forth last saturday....this is as fun as sexoopppss almost...lololol

[CLM]

I actually decided on the optic 6, but decided to not get the spectrum module as that seems to be the weak link and instead got a fixed frequency module. It may not have the fancy graphics but it will fly any heli that uses just the standard channels as well as many planes.

I'd rather have the bling on my bird instead of my radio anyways ;)

Chris

[tdswan]

I'd rather have the bling on my bird instead of my radio anyways ;)

Chris

That'll change when you want to move on to bigger heli's. You'll want a 7 or 8 channel radio if you go with a governor or other accessories. I started out with a 6102 and on my 3rd heli, I needed more channels (for what I was going to do) so I went shopping. A 6 channel will work well for now, don't get me wrong. I didn't NEED the 8303 for my 3rd heli but it's nice to have the advanced features that come with more channels.

The metal parts don't make you a better pilot. I thought the same way when I started out. I'd get a Raptor SE or VelociRaptor for my first one and get all the cool upgrades. My teacher talked me out of it and man am I glad he did! I fly all stock parts on all of my heli's and STILL don't see the need to upgrade anything. I've flown the blinged out heli's and I'll tell ya, you've gotta have a LOT of experience until you'll notice a difference. Just my 2 Cents worth. I'm not trying to discourage you, but I hate to see someone throw money away.

Good luck!

[CLM]

Yeah I know, but for about $170 for the optic/electron/2 hs55 combo as opposed to the higher ones I figured it was a decent feature set for my initial plunge into the 3rd dimension of RC. I have been into various 2-3 channel rc cars for quite a while now, however the overall innitial price of stepping up to flight has leered me away for the outright investment. I would love one of the 7 8 or 9 channel radios, but over $200 with my discount for working part time at my local hobby shop, it seems a bit extream to have a transmitter that is worth more then my whole bird. Later on down the line once my skills go above the point of crashing as often and I get a bird that is a bit higher up the food chain I will feel the cost of the big radios will be feasable... But right now I don't want to buy a Ferrari to take my drivers test :)

Heck, I still have to swallow the cost of some lipos and a charger yet, I'm not looking forward to that :rolleyes: The charger I am looking at should also cover me in my other rc ventures so that should help justify the cost of the Triton I'm looking at.

Chris

[DoubleD]

So CDE over SE?

[sgtmike74]

CDE over SE???? Thats a good question and Tdswan really hit the nail on the head. Will the extra bling be helpful at my current level??? How much MORE will I have to spend to replace the shiny parts over standard parts after a crash?? On the flip side of that you could say the CNC will hold better against wear and tear and produce less slop.

If money was no object then yeah go for all cnc, carbon fiber etc etc. If money is an issue as it is with me, then your best bet is to go standard at first and maybe upgrade certain parts to cnc. Not so much for the bling but for the longevity of the part.

If you know your gonna crash 1 out of every 5 flights then go with the cheaper parts. It won't matter anyway until you improve your skill.

Just my .02 cents worth. :D

[tdswan]

CDE is the way to go for a beginner. SOOOOO many people are tricked into thinking the SE is the way to go when the CDE flies just fine and absolutely no novice pilot could tell you the difference. The T-Rex is a great heli and this is why the CDE flies so well. For what you spend on a T-Rex SE & electronics, you could buy a Raptor 50 & electronics!!!

[Motions]

I have to agree that a fully blinged Trex is really not needed. However, there will most likely be some parts that really need to be blinged. When building my first brand new Trex, I had several plastic parts right out of the package that could not be used so I upgraded these parts to metal during the initial build. These were mainly tail parts and it was a wise investment.

I'm sure I just happen to get some bad parts and most kits should be fine. After getting about 6 flights on the bird I just couldn't stand the slop in the plastic parts so I upgraded to all metal.

It's true, metal parts don't make you a better pilot, but they may prevent unnecessary crashes caused by sub-standard parts. I've had 3 major crashes and have not replaced a metal part yet.

If your money conscious, plastic parts will do fine. Just be sure to replace them when they get sloppy.