Do aluminium parts worth to upgrade?

[Kostya]

Hi,
I have another nooby question...
I am trying to fly Esky Belt CP. But the question is quite general.
Is it worth to upgrade to aluminium parts? Are they more reliable (cost efficient)?
Some people are saying if you put aluminium part somewhere the next crash would break something more important... There is some logic here as well...

Aluminium parts look cooler. But do they help with something else? :)
Should I go for an aluminium upgrade once I break the plastic part?

[jasmine2501]

Looks are not important - not one bit. Metal parts can be more precise, but as a beginner, you don't need that. Obviously they are more expensive to replace. If the composite parts don't have any slop or problems that you notice, I wouldn't bother to use metal parts until you get good enough to take advantage of them. The flex of composite parts can also make the helicopter a bit more forgiving - easier to fly.

[Skarn]

I personally prefer metal parts....they simply don't break as often in my experience. I too heard people saying things like "if they don't break, other things wil...". But again, from MY personal experience, whether you use plastic or metal, the same parts tend to break....flybar, blades, feathering shaft, main shaft main gear. When I had plastic stuff on, I broke that stuff as well....with metal, none of the metal breaks.

Skarn

[arbilab]

I was looking at Belt CP last night (and drooling). My memory isn't what it used to be, but aren't the principal parts already aluminum? Which parts are the composite or plastic ones you're thinking about replacing?

Edit: Something changed. Googled it just like I did last night. Same site (xheli), even same heading ad. The one I was looking at was $400 2.4G 'carbon version'. All-aluminum already. Roughly 12 hours later, it's been replaced by the standard version, almost all plastic, substantially cheaper.

Not that it matters, both are sold out/backordered. HLI tells me China doesn't ship anything during February and doesn't crank up again until late March. I can't even get V4 skids until then.

[Kostya]

You are right. Only Carbon Edition Belt CP comes with aluminium upgrade installed. The normal one is plastic.

[Kostya]

Regarding the aluminium upgrade... It looks like it can be a good idea to replace some parts with aluminium but to leave some plastics parts to "absorb" the damage. :) Sort of "consumables"... :)

[Kostya]

HLI tells me China doesn't ship anything during February and doesn't crank up again until late March. I can't even get V4 skids until then.

Probably because of Chinese New Year... Does it come at the end of February?

[arbilab]

It is some kind of national holiday where nothing gets done.

Every single one of these suppliers and their products have issues, best known about in advance. The retailers too. Far as I can see, nobody stocks the V2 carbon RTF. There is the standard V2 and the V2-C minus electronics, but those are also hard to find and often sold out.

Might have to wait until V2 is no longer the newest product. Maybe I will be qualified to fly one by that time.

[Kostya]

It looks like there is a Esky Belt V2 Carbon Edition RTF on Esky website. http://www.twf-sz.com/english/products.asp?prodid=0309

Not sure if it's available somewhere...
I hope I am getting Esky Belt V2 (plain one) soon.

[osterizer]

Another thing to note about the aluminum head parts on the ESky helis- they do bend, and they're very difficult to bend back straight (it's not the bending back that's hard, it's the straight part that's tough). I put hundreds of flights on my King 2 with the metal head and enjoyed it a lot, but I finally got done replacing expensive parts and shelved it for the last year.

Now there are less expensive heads for it, so I might recommission it, but the point is still there- aluminum gets busted up too, and it's a lot more expensive to fix. I still wouldn't recommend an aluminum head to you if you're crashing regularly in hovers and circuits. When you're cranking up the head speed for aerobatics, then is the time to switch to aluminum, both for the sharper control and because the plastic head isn't strong enough to safely turn more than about 2500 RPM.

[Kostya]

Good point, thanks.

I saw some cheap aluminium upgrades for Esky Belt CP.
But they are not from Esky. These upgrades are manufactured by third party. So I always was wondering if the quality is similar to OEM parts.

[arbilab]

The only way I've been able to find a B-CPV2-CE in-stock is as a kit. Airframe, no electronics. The sites scarcely specify what all you have to buy to make it flyable. Transmitter? Receiver? Servos? Gyro, if desired? Motors? Battery? Charger?

There is an equation to describe the heli purchase: Satisfaction = log10 x research. Within a class, all the Chinglesh descriptions will correlate by 90%. Conversely, the performance of co-class helis will diverge by 90%. Some designs fly themselves. Some almost cannot be flown. Some specific models vary by 100% as-delivered. They either fly or they don't. Then there's the dealer integrity to deal with. Oy! :eek:

[osterizer]

Good point, thanks.

I saw some cheap aluminium upgrades for Esky Belt CP.
But they are not from Esky. These upgrades are manufactured by third party. So I always was wondering if the quality is similar to OEM parts.

It depends :). There are crappy parts and good, inexpensive ones. You just have to pick out a few and then look around on RCG or elsewhere to see what people who have bought them say. You have to pay attention to the experience level of the people saying any particular one is great or is nasty, but otherwise that's the best way to see what's good and what's not.

[jasmine2501]

That is why I shop at my LHS and avoid online places. I can tell instantly about the quality of something if I can see it in person. When you're shopping online, you have no idea what you're going to get. Look in the Large Helis forum - there's a guy there who ordered a Trex 600, and he got a cheap coaxial... that is an extreme case of course.

[osterizer]

Yeah, I wish I had an LHS that carried all this stuff :). I'm happy if they have the receiver I want, though. I tried out my first set of DS821s because that was all the LHS had and I was in a hurry.

[Kostya]

Shopping at LHS sounds great. But it depends on your LHSs. I didn't find any local shop with a good range of parts. I am not lucky enough.
And I am not talking about prices which are usually at least twice higher compared to on-line shops.

[jasmine2501]

It is an advantage of a bit city with several active clubs. Our shops have prices lower than online, and carry most of the popular stuff. They don't carry 'cheap' stuff though - so if I want a HXT900 or Turnigy motor or something, I would have to get it online. The Turnigy motor is one of the smoothest motors I have, and I have ordered HS55s online because nobody will give them to me for $9.99 in town.

[osterizer]

I have 3 LHS in a 45 min radius- one's a TRex/EFlite shop, one's more a car and boat place, and the other is mostly fixed-wing.

[Kostya]

I have a couple of shops in about 10 mins radius but one mostly sells trains. And the other is mostly for cars.