Eco8 Royal should i buy?

[iflyicrash]

Hello,
I am looking at the eco8 Royal, Hobby Lobby has it on sale for $159.99. Is this heli any good? does anybody fly one that could give thier impressions and setup? I am not looking for hard 3d, just sport flying, loops, rolls ect.
Thanks! Chris.

[Gadget01]

In this size class, I would consider the Protos over the Eco8, no matter what kind of flying. For something a little bigger, but only marginally more expensive than the Eco8, consider the Swift 16, which scales well to a variety of flying styles, from simple sport to hard 3D.

[ivorz]

swift 16. I have the eco 8 older version. It is too expensive to crash. The swift is a great heli and inexpensive.
I fly sport with some loops and run a 4s setup on my swift.

[Greybird]

Go check replacement parts before you buy that heli. Canopy/with decals=100bucks. right and left side frames 72 bucks. Main grips=30 bucks. Tailboom=14.40 Ridiculous. Go to Century heli and check Swift replacement parts. Canopy with decals 26 bucks, r and L main frame=13.99,main grips=7.99, tailboom=3.99. Something to think about.

[Gadget01]

Go check replacement parts before you buy that heli. Canopy/with decals=100bucks. right and left side frames 72 bucks. Main grips=30 bucks. Tailboom=14.40 Ridiculous. Go to Century heli and check Swift replacement parts. Canopy with decals 26 bucks, r and L main frame=13.99,main grips=7.99, tailboom=3.99. Something to think about. Greybird makes an extremely good point here- one that I can relate to very well. I think most anyone who has put an Eco 8 together and flown it would say that it was an enjoyable heli. The Royal incorporates many long-needed updates. Replacement parts that cost 2x as much as most others is just wrong though, but you can find good deals here and there (CME). Don't even get me started on the cost of upgrades and bling.

[iflyicrash]

Thanks for the replies. The main reason i was thinking eco8 royal is because its only 159.99 and can run on 3cells,and if hs-81s will work i have those, but i will check into those parts prices. Thanks.

[Greybird]

FWIW, I used to fly my ECO 8 on a 3S 6000 pack. Flight times around 20-25 minutes. If you are OK with parts price, I am sure the Royal flys nice.