Ha, you guys have it good. If i want to get a package in two weeks i have to pay a seperate shipping company that ships to the bahamas (normally between $20 - $30). Then bahamas customs adds the cost of the product plus all shipping charges, and charges me 45% of that. So a $100 package (after shipping) will cost me $175. I guess thats another reason i like 'cheap' stuff.

I thought we had it bad haha kdean thats harsh, your customs must be wearing rolex's mate lol

It doesn't bother me if its cheap kdean, as long as I'm happy with it

If I Iived in the Bahamas, I'd have to co-ordinate my deliveries so they dont clash with customs officers birthdays etc

Bahamas customs is our biggest form of taxation in a tax free country. I try to find ways to save here and there, but it is an expensive hobby when you have no LHS. Even if we had one the prices would be outragous anyway and guys would still look for online bargins.

Yeah I buy online, even though I have LHS's in the town centre, they don't stock WK stuff so have to buy online, I prefer it though, used to buying online and waiting for delivery its just when things get held up due to customs charges etc, it gets a little irritating but it is what it is lol

Originally Posted by RotaryC

I thought we had it bad haha kdean thats harsh, your customs must be wearing rolex's mate lol

Lol

Did not fly my 500BX due to wind, so i'll spend some time on the bench. I have to replace sime feathering shafts, and get a fb head ready for the transfer. I'm thinking of makeing my fb 500 a belt driven tail (using the hk tail section that came with it). But then that would mean adding another set of parts to my 'spare part order' list. I'll give it a try to see if i like it or not.

I've been looking at the 500 size kdean, will more than likely get one when I'm used to flying my 450 (picking that up tomorrow, which I am pleased about), biggest heli I've ever had was a HBFP 300 size which is not CP no comparison really and compared to my V120 a 450 is huge so that will probably take some getting used to, it looks like I wont have time for any build until next week at the earliest I think the way things are at the moment but I'm looking forward to it.

I think your using a 2801 pro tx/rx aren't you kdean? Does the set up of this translate to a Devo 10 TX with 701rx at all?

Originally Posted by kdean

Did not fly my 500BX due to wind, so i'll spend some time on the bench. I have to replace sime feathering shafts, and get a fb head ready for the transfer. I'm thinking of makeing my fb 500 a belt driven tail (using the hk tail section that came with it). But then that would mean adding another set of parts to my 'spare part order' list. I'll give it a try to see if i like it or not.

Let me know when you get it built. Thinking of going bigger myself, just don't know if its going to be the 500 or the 550. I have everything for another 450 build except for the frame. It's just when you start going bigger it gets expensive really quick. So I take it your 500 hk frame was purchased with a fb head and was trying. I just don't care for how easy the gears strip out on the 450. Are the 500 gears any stronger?. (Tail shaft)

The first 500 i got was the hk500cmt. I thought i orderd a tt version, so i was shocked to find i got a belt version. It did not matter because i also orderd a complete align tt tail section due to the bad reports about the cmt tt gears and grips. When i first started flying it, i was using the stock fb head along with the 2702v. It was crazy stable. I was also just comeing up from 400 and 450 sized helis. After the first few flights i was in love with the 500 size. It also gave me the most problems out of all of my helis. I was flying with a bad servo that would stop working every now and then, so i crashed a couple times before i solved that problem. Then when i got a tracX fbl head installed, the 2702 started doing the lock out thing. I flew it for a while with the lock out problem, thinking it was a power issue and trying different bec's. I've been picking up spare servos and upgrade electronics with the intent of blinging it out, but i found that hk had released the 500tt, with the tail servo mounted in the frame. Almost the same frame as the align 500 pro, but the same width as the old esp. This means all my spare parts are interchangable. So i'm gunna bling out the new frame, and make the old one my 500 beater (until the wife makes me sell it). I already have a guy at the field who wants me to build him a 500, but i like the idea of haveing two.....

The reasons i prefer the 500 size over the 600 (that is close to the 550 size) is because it is stable in moderate winds, meaning i can fly it more days out of the year. Its not so big that it scares other people at the park or field. I dont need a huge space to fly it. And the parts are not that expensive (compared to 600 parts). Tarot also clones the 500 parts. 2650mah 6s packs are affordable. Im now stocking up on 3000/3300mah packs that i can use in the 500 and in the 600.

The tt gears are more forgiving than 450 gears, so you could take off and land in some grass. They also last in a moderate crash. I stocked up on front tt gears thinking it would be like the 450 but they are not getting much use. The tail shaft does have the tendency to bend and get traped in the tail case bearing. I've had to cut through two so far, but with the lock out and servo problems solved, i should be crashing less.

The 500 is the size of choise if i had to pick only one. And not the x5 or logo 500 which are more on the 550 size. If the nameing of heli size was standardized, the trex 500 would be a 450 heli.

For those interested in my new project, i'll post this here and now sence were on the topic of 500 helis.

Here is a link to the kit:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=24878

I've been buying things here and there that was going to be used in the 500 i have now, but for $105 i could build another 500 so why not.

This is what i have waiting around, and what will be installed in the new frame.

Cc bec pro
scorpion 3226-1600kv motor
cc ice 75 esc
turnigy 930mg cyclic servos (very good for cheap)
savox 1357 tail servo (only because of the orange that will match the color of the canopy and the beastX)
TracX fbl head
Coco's custom battery tray (he no longer makes these, and he forgot to sign the new one he sent me)
Align slant main gear 132t (that reminds me, i still need to order the 12t slant pinion)
beastX 3.08
walkera 2801pro rx

I also have an align swash and tail grips incase the hk stuff it not up to snuff.

I orderd 2 metal rx trays and a metal base plate along with the kit. One tray for the rx and the other i will install over the tail case for the beastX. That will keep it away from tail vibes, and make maintainence and repair easier.

It should be a quick build, but i will have to go through every bolt and nut to check hk quality control.

Originally Posted by RotaryC

Yes, customs charge I think, plus an additional handling fee, its only £13.24 but thats not the point, to the best of my knowledge customs don't charge for just processing an item (could be wrong though) and Royal Mail have already been paid to handle to package so why they're charging additional handling charges is beyond me but I wont be using them again, its more the fact its been sat on a shelf in the sorting office for 2 weeks thats annoying - definitely going to argue the costs though, they do it ever time I order something large, never happens with the small expensive stuff - just another way for them to get more money out of you.

Sounds like they didn't "gift" it to you. You got nailed by VATs i'm pretty sure.

Originally Posted by kdean

Ha, you guys have it good. If i want to get a package in two weeks i have to pay a seperate shipping company that ships to the bahamas (normally between $20 - $30). Then bahamas customs adds the cost of the product plus all shipping charges, and charges me 45% of that. So a $100 package (after shipping) will cost me $175. I guess thats another reason i like 'cheap' stuff.

I suppose this is rubbing it in. But when i ordered my Gaui X5 I got free shipping with it, for the same listed price as everywhere else and it arrived in 2 days from PA to FL. I know everyone wants to call it "Walkera Bashing" but honestly. My best buying experiences in this hobby to date were with Rick at Clubheli.com for my X5. He actually had contact with me to make sure i received it okay and that i was enjoying it. He even went so far as to pay for shipping and a HIGHER PRICE for a 2801-pro RX that i ordered from him but he oversold. Rather then possibly delay my order or cause me any grief. HE ATE THE COSTS and even advertised for another website by making a gift order for the 2801-pro RX at helidirect.com and having it mailed directly to me with invoices and everything. That is above and beyond in my book. Then my next best experiences are with my local hobby shops. I actually found a pretty good one near buy. It sucks that you don't have any kind of LHS. But NO LHS anywhere carries Walkera products. Even in Hong Kong from what i hear. Maybe in China somewhere, but to my knowledge it's a street vendor/flee marketed product or sold online as a majority.

Originally Posted by RotaryC

Yeah I buy online, even though I have LHS's in the town centre, they don't stock WK stuff so have to buy online, I prefer it though, used to buying online and waiting for delivery its just when things get held up due to customs charges etc, it gets a little irritating but it is what it is lol

The recent interactions with my LHS have been EXCELLENT. They handed me a new AR8000 because there was one missing from the box. Then when i told the guy about the hassle and shipping expenses today about getting my TM1000 module exchanged though Horizon, he discounted the TM1000 i bought today and said "That should offset your shipping expenses, I'm sorry i can't get it replaced for you but we really appreciate your business over shopping online. Because we know you have a choice"

But once i stopped dealing with people who specifically deal with Walkera. Suddenly there was a sign of customer support! A phone number to call and a technical support line. All of a sudden i had someone to ask questions face to face! I went there and i could physically pick up and test my TX before i bought it. They would have even let me fly the Nano CPX i was looking at if i wanted to buy it, or at the least they would have hovered it for me to show it's working right.

For me, i have an accelerated learning curve and i enjoy researching. So having face time with a LHS is not the biggest deal. But could you imagine how much help that would have been when you first started out over getting a Walkera that has no such thing? In fact, go ahead, take a Walkera to a LHS and see what they say. You won't like it if you like your Walkera heli. I can promise you that. But i'm going to let the one guy fly my V120d02S and surprise the hell out of him. You watch. I should bring a camera, lol.

And i just realized. Your in the UK.. So you wouldn't get any of that support or anything more then a guy to talk shop with. This international thing really does suck for everyone. In 2012 you would think a company that can communicate to and from anywhere in the world could offer some FREAKING SUPPORT! That goes both for Horizon and Walkera. Depending on where you live, even horizon doesn't have support internationally.

Rick at clubheli is a great guy. Smaller business usualy has better customer service. (kind of backwards if you think about it). I wish hobbyking would do free shipping....

I also missed the $33 sale on the 2801pros, but was able to find them in the classifieds. I got two for $30 each shipped.

Originally Posted by kdean

For those interested in my new project, i'll post this here and now sence were on the topic of 500 helis.

Here is a link to the kit:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=24878

I've been buying things here and there that was going to be used in the 500 i have now, but for $105 i could build another 500 so why not.

This is what i have waiting around, and what will be installed in the new frame.

Cc bec pro
scorpion 3226-1600kv motor
cc ice 75 esc
turnigy 930mg cyclic servos (very good for cheap)
savox 1357 tail servo (only because of the orange that will match the color of the canopy and the beastX)
TracX fbl head
Coco's custom battery tray (he no longer makes these, and he forgot to sign the new one he sent me)
Align slant main gear 132t (that reminds me, i still need to order the 12t slant pinion)
beastX 3.08
walkera 2801pro rx

I also have an align swash and tail grips incase the hk stuff it not up to snuff.

I orderd 2 metal rx trays and a metal base plate along with the kit. One tray for the rx and the other i will install over the tail case for the beastX. That will keep it away from tail vibes, and make maintainence and repair easier.

It should be a quick build, but i will have to go through every bolt and nut to check hk quality control.

Okay, i just looked over the heli and what your planning on installing. It looks pretty good. That rotor head and swash that it comes with look pretty decent too. I just have one, in my opinion, major suggestion. I don't know if your doing 3D. Even if your not. I highly recommend you grab yourself some new CF main blades for this build. Those FRP blades it comes with will be very sloppy and have a slow, delayed pitch response. They are pretty bad on a 450 and with bigger size they probably get even more flexible and sloppy response.

They are cheap so they are good for testing or if you think the heli is going to go down for any reason. But otherwise they perform quite poorly.

Good input Integrity, nice to hear you got good support, I know you've praised you're LHS for you purchase previously and its nice to hear, I still like buying online though, I do my research on what I want usually, and am happy with my heli's mate, I have an excellent learning curve mate, I learnt HTML, CSS, XML, a bit of Javsscript and PHP and everything else that goes with those in less than a year which ain't to shabby, learning curve ain't my problem, my problem is finding the time at the moment, really need to read up on things but got so much going on with work (proprietary database being written, new procedures to put in place), its taking a lot of my time, has been doing for a while making sure everything's right.

I'm pleased you had a good experience, I've bought from shops before (used to have an RC car a few years ago) but would still prefer buying online, its more convenient baring the shipping time, I can fix most things myself with support from here and reading up, even though I'm sure setting up the FBL unit will be a headache, it will be more finding the time to sort it out in one sitting rather than a piecemeal basis which is what I think I'll have to do.

To be honest, if I went to a LHS when I started out, they would have probably tried selling me a 3ch job or seen I had a few quid and tried selling me something that cost a grand, because I didn't really know any better back then. I didn't start out with a WK, I started with an Esky HBFP v2, which by all accounts, is supposed to be a good learner (or was 18 months ago), but is very hard to fly (thankfully), but still no support in the UK (unless you wanted to get ripped off) so I'm pleased with my WK purchases mate, they suit me fine

I honestly couldn't care less what anyone else says about my heli's, WK or not, if I took one of my heli's into a LHS and they snobbed me, or slated them, thats fine, I'd know thats not where I should be spending my money, they aint the ones having to fly them, I am and I'm happy with that mate.

Please do take a video and post it up, take your V120d02s in and I bet your LHS guy will like it, he might even start stocking parts after flying it mate (doubtful but you never know!) haha

In this video i posted a few pages back, i'm flying some $10 fg/cf hk blades. Im not stick banging 3D yet, but the cheap blades are good enough for me to practice with.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...&postcount=116

i've got some 3D pro cf blades on stand by, they are also very affordable but stiffer than the fg mixed.

When the time comes i'll invest in some edge fbl blades, if only to test if the difference in performance is worth it.