Mini-Review Walkera Enerco 500

[Xrayted]

I’ve wanted to own a larger heli for some time now especially since the cost of 6 cell packs has come down so much over the last couple of years, but because of my job I have very little time to build. I decided to give the new Walkera 500 RTF a shot so I picked one up from Rchobbyhelicopter.com

My first impression was how much bigger this thing is than my 450’s I’m accustomed to! It comes in a large ally case and mine came with the 2801E computer TX. I already had experience with this TX and I actually like it better than my DX7 because the menus are much easier to navigate and require very few “clicks” to make changes. It has 8 model memory and is a real TX with the same functionality as a DX7 but has backlighting and few little features the DX7 does not.

I spent a couple hours going over the entire heli as anyone should with a so called RTF, and found that Locktite needed to be added to much of the hardware. The belt was way too tight and the rudder and gyro were reversed as well but all of this was easily identified during my setup and programming of the heli and TX on the bench before flying.

I’m using a Kong 6 cell 2600 Mah pack ($119.00) and the heli balanced perfectly with this setup. I put my swash leveler on the heli and was quite surprised to see that it was almost perfect throughout the cyclic range and the servos were set up properly with 90 degrees at mid stick and 0 pitch.

It flew very stable because of its size and it was great to fly with the wind having no real effect on me like I’m used to. The HH gyro that comes with the heli looks like a GY401 and has the exact same functions on it. It held fantastic and I never touched the rudder trim or had to deal with the tail from the very first flight. I just set the HH gain to 75% and flew. I do not fly 3D and only do sport flying so I can’t comment on its ability with hard maneuvers.

The only bad news is that I had a tail bearing failure after a few flights but Walkera is looking into this. A complete bearing kit is about 35.00 for the entire heli so with my psychopathic desire to mod things that really don’t need to be modded, I decided to purchase a CopterX/T Rex 500 complete tail assembly which I could get for 35.00 complete and install it and keep the stock tail as a spare. I also replaced the ally boom with a carbon fiber T Rex 500 boom to match the rest of the CF on the heli and put all white T Rex CF blades, paddles , and skids (I just like the look of the white for some reason) All off the T Rex and Copter X parts were bolt ons with no modification needed. The Rex boom was just a tad shorter than the stock boom.

I have Hyperion speed controls on my 450s with governors and since I already have the USB cables and software to program them, I put a Hyperion 80A on this one and have it set up running 2600 RPM with governor. The heli came with a 14T pinion installed and 13 and 15T with it and the head speed was too high for my liking even with a very low throttle curve so I put a 12T Rex 500 pinion on it to get it down where I wanted it and get the throttle curve up from the low value I was being forced to use.

I also changed out the gyro to a Spartan that I bought a while back to check out. Everybody is raving about this gyro so I thought I would give it a go on this heli even though its overkill for my flying style and the factory gyro worked perfectly.

This heli is a good deal for someone who has no equipment and wants to start out with a bigger heli that comes with a proper radio. I know it’s not a “Rex” and I was equally scared of spending this much money on a Walkera product, but they seem to have really upped their game on their larger helis.

This heli can be in the air in just a couple hours and can be ready to go for about 300-400 dollars less than building a comparable 500 sized heli, not counting the time saving of not having to build the entire heli.
It may not be the best choice for everyone’s situation but it worked for me. Time will tell I guess if this big Walkera gains acceptance

[DrDoom]

what did the kit cost you? how's the quailty of the parts? any slop in the head? nice pictures...thank you. but why so much upgrade off the bat?

[Xrayted]

Originally Posted by DrDoom

what did the kit cost you? how's the quailty of the parts? any slop in the head? nice pictures...thank you. but why so much upgrade off the bat?

895.00 with ally case and computer TX. Just add battery

As far as the upgrades go, it just what I do It was flying fine in stock form and the factory ESC ran cool. I just wanted more progamability for the ESC and Im familar with the Hyperion from my other helis and have the equipment already.

The gyro is absolutley fine on the heli so no real need to touch that. I just wanted to play with the new Spartan and check out its PC setup functionality. I have many other helis so I routinely switch these common parts around and use them on other builds, so sometimes i will use a heli just as a test platform to see how a part functions and learn how to program it, not because it really needed it.
The other Rex parts on it were purely for aesthetic reason as Walkera doesnt have any white CF parts for it yet other than the stock main blades that are shown.

The heli is solid and the head feels nice with no slop. You can easily get -12 to +12 pitch. I do feel the tail bearings need to be bigger. The Walkera tail looks very similar to the Rex 500 tail but the Rex tail has reinforced areas and thicker walls for thicker bearings on the shaft. We have already been contacted by Walkera regarding this and they have asked for info, suggestions and pics for the developers so they are at least being recpetive to possible improvements since this heli is just released. There are a few vids out there showing the heli being flown 3D quite well but thats not for me

The servos that come on the heli are overkill it seems as far as the torque they are rated. The cyclics are the exact same footprint as a Hitec 82-MG but the Walkera metal gear servos are rated at 83oz torque vs. the roughtly 50 from the Hitec. The Walkera tail servo is the same size as a Futaba 9254 but once again is rated at well over 100 oz torque

[DrDoom]

wow..900 for a walkera.. that's gotta be the most expensive heli walkera have. you could get trex500 going for much less but you wont have the transmitter. i'm not sure who walkera is aiming at for this line. most newbies want the cheapest thing going.

[Xrayted]

Originally Posted by DrDoom

wow..900 for a walkera.. that's gotta be the most expensive heli walkera have. you could get trex500 going for much less but you wont have the transmitter. i'm not sure who walkera is aiming at for this line. most newbies want the cheapest thing going.

Yeah if you had nothing, then a T Rex build with DX7 and electronics with ally case would set you back about 1200-1300. It really depends on your individual needs and what you already have I guess. You can get this heli without the case and the original 2801 TX (not the newest 'E" version) for about 799.00 or so but thats before they nail you with over 100.00 shipping from China for it. You can get the kit version with all the electronics and blades with no TX, RX for about 550.00.

[DrDoom]

well the biggest question is how does it fly? and what other 500 have you flown to compare it to?

[Zephrus]

This was actually the next step up I was considering from my 300 gas powered heli How do you like it so far? How does it fly? Always nice to get a little forehand knowledge.

[Xrayted]

Originally Posted by Zephrus

This was actually the next step up I was considering from my 300 gas powered heli How do you like it so far? How does it fly? Always nice to get a little forehand knowledge.

This is my first 500 sized heli so I have nothing to compare to and as I said above Im not a 3D guy. I like to fly high fast circuits.....Just a general sports flyer.
It is very stable. I have one of the Thunder Tiger Innovator 450 scale helis which is the most stable 450 I have ever flown and this heli is just as stable to me. It tracks really well in FFF and the stock gyro reminds me of my GY401's on my 450's.
Its new so I dont have dozens of flights on it yet to determine what the long term results will be. There was a recent article in RC Heli that gave it really good marks. Much better than some of the other RTF 500 class helis I had read about. The floating flybar design is supposed to make the heli more responsive. It also has a much better TX that can be used with anything. I have now converted my 450's to the 2801 RX which are cheap (40.00 and 8 channel) and use this one TX for all my models except the Innovator. the RX's are small enough to put in a 250 bird. Im selling my DX7. It got much better ratings than the Swift 550 RTF, but I know many people fly the Swift so Im just basing that on what Ive read, not any personal experience. I was considering the Swift 550 RTF but from what I read the servos were weak, the gyro didnt hold well and its an all plastic design although cheaper than this heli, so I held out for this one. The Swift is also bigger and really runs 500 blades which I did like about it but this one is plenty big enough for me.
This one is the typical 430mm blades and 1600KV motor. The T Rex parts fit the back of the heli and it looks like the T Rex/Copter X head will bolt right on to the main shaft of this one if one wanted to. I just need to be sure that the Jesus bolt hole matches up on the Rex shaft to know for sure. i plan a vivit to the LHS soon to compare a few key parts. The shaft diameter is the same. Both the Rex and the Enerco tail belt has the same timing so It appears that one could cross parts fairly easily just as I have done if something locally was available or you were in a fix

[Xrayted]

I was able to get 5-6 good flights in today after installing the Copter X 500 tail and the Spartan gyro.
The heli flew very stable and smooth and the Spartan stays locked like a vice

Im getting 10-12 min flights with a 12T pinion and the Kong 2600 packs. The batt and the ESC were at 112F after flight and the ambient outside today was 97F so not bad at all.
Motor temp of 140-150F

[johnIn2SonAZ]

Looks Awesome Tony!
Cheers on the successfull Maiden Flight!
-JohnW

[buildem336]

That heli looks awesome.

[Xrayted]

Originally Posted by buildem336

That heli looks awesome.

Thanks man! Its a load of fun and is really smooth. Too bad I cant pound it around like you could. I'd love to see what can be done with it but 3D has never really been my thing

Great flying with the 4G6 BTW

[bad400]

Originally Posted by Xrayted

Thanks man! Its a load of fun and is really smooth. Too bad I cant pound it around like you could. I'd love to see what can be done with it but 3D has never really been my thing

Great flying with the 4G6 BTW

i saw this heli offered 7 or 8 months back, walkera had a video attached to the web site selling it.
it looked farely capable of some decent mild 3d.
sense you`ve had it for awhile now, what`s you`r take on the quality over all?
ive had the #60 #52 and still have the 5#10, all have been a very nice product for the price.

[buildem336]

Originally Posted by Xrayted

Thanks man! Its a load of fun and is really smooth. Too bad I cant pound it around like you could. I'd love to see what can be done with it but 3D has never really been my thing

Great flying with the 4G6 BTW

Thanks do you have a 4g6 yet.

Yeah I would love to fly a Enerco 500 to see what its capable of.

[Xrayted]

Originally Posted by bad400

i saw this heli offered 7 or 8 months back, walkera had a video attached to the web site selling it.
it looked farely capable of some decent mild 3d.
sense you`ve had it for awhile now, what`s you`r take on the quality over all?
ive had the #60 #52 and still have the 5#10, all have been a very nice product for the price.

So far no issues other than the failed tail bearing mentioned in the initial post. It has plenty of power on my 6 cell and the stock 1600KV for how I fly

This is by far the most expensive Walkera made but it comes with a great TX. If you dont need the TX then it can be bought much cheaper without the TX or ally case but most will still cringe at spending 500.00 for a Walkera when you can get the basic parts for a REX for the same. The problem I see is most guys with big helis dont buy RTF and noobs dont buy 900.00 helis so Walkera took a big risk with this one. Im the rare guy that wanted a bigger heli and had the cash but didnt have the time to build. I also wanted the TX which I now use for almost all my helis and love it.

The difference with this RTF heli from others is that is actually comes with good strong servos(overkill actually) and a great holding gyro with a DX7 like TX that can actually be used. I sold my DX7 after I got it.

This heli is being sold in a strange or possibly almost non existant market so it will be interesting to see how Walkera does with it long term. I would lower the price If I were them to make it more appealing to people