Originally Posted by bobepine

I will post a pic of my cheap swash later, and rotor head+shaft. Definitely cheap made in Taiwan heavy junk just by the look of it. The craftsmanship on the Xtreme upgrades look excellent. I will order the swash and rotor head as they both look a lot lighter than what I bought. Too bad the upgrade fly bar is out of stock. I'd like to give that a try. I'll probably get a few other cheap upgrades as the design on some of these parts look like they would improve maneuverability. The horizontal shafts, for example, appear to be a better design and lighter.

Thanks again, Frank. This opens up a whole new can of worms, though. :lol: It's OK, aside from the swas which is a bit pricey at 19 bucks, the other parts are quite cheap. I will also post pics of my Solo Pro when I have it all supped up with a brief review re flight quality. :thumsup:

When you do, please post the results in the Xtreme Solo Pro topic, since this topic primarily discusses the Solo Pro's bigger brother.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...283455&page=51

Will do. Apologies for the off topicness. New here and this forum is huge. Will post about the 328, here, when I find out more from my neck of the woods.

A new "close up" video of Solo Pro 328:

無風でごきげん空中散歩 (5 min 14 sec)

Looks good. Really want to know if it has the subtrim/EPA/gyro gain adj available like the Solo Pro has, I can see myself wanting to squeeze a bit of extra performance out of it.

I have not seen one good video of the 328 flying yet. It seems the pilot are either inexperienced or careful not to crash it. Slow turns using only the rudder and poor throttle management. I can't wait to get mine so I can post a video of that thing going top speed doing fast circles and figure eights using both the rudder and the ailerons at full throttle diving down and back up, etc. Life is short for crying out loud. I get my Solo pro going twice that speed in my basement parking lot.

Bad news for me today. Apparently, the 328 won't arrive in Taiwan until August. I'm blue.

By the way, can someone explain the difference between the solo pro 328 and the Free Spirit by Nine Eagles. There are some really good videos of the Free Spirit flying outdoors and it seems to be flying really well. It's similar in size and if I'm not mistaken, it uses a bigger battery. More power than the 328, perhaps? I can buy a BNF version for cheap here and it works with the solo pro TX. Should I just go for the Free Spirit instead? Enlighten me, please.

Flying my nine eagle free spirits Rc heli's (10 min 3 sec)

Nine Eagle Free Spirit RC heli (1 min 17 sec)

Originally Posted by bobepine

[...]Bad news for me today. Apparently, the 328 won't arrive in Taiwan until August. I'm blue.

We'll patiently wait for seeing your top gun flight performance.

It's true, videos that shows the whole flight envelope of fp helis are very rare.

+ Can you post here where you found a BnF version of Free Spirit, is it on the web?

Hi Helicopcat,

No top gun flight from me as I'm only a beginner. I started on cheap 3 channels coaxial helis about 3 months ago and since then I acquired a solo pro, two msrs and one Trex 100. The MSR # 1 got a real beating because I was just learning 4 channels helis. The TRex never worked well, and the solo pro really got me hooked. It does what you want it to do. That's why I'm really looking forward to the 328. I think that heli will be a blast outdoor.

Here's a video of me flying the solo pro to what I think is its max potential outdoor. It just can't go any faster than this in its stock form.

Nine Eagles Solo fast flight and engineering defect shown (3 min 42 sec)

Have to agree, most videos of FP helis are rather boring.

I'm not sure if the Free Spirit is available BNF, but my neighbor is a sales rep and he has one older sample I can buy on the cheap. I'm tempted but I was saving my coins for the new solo pro. I'm still very interested to know if anyone knows the difference between the Free Spirit and the Solo Pro 328. Looking at the specs, they seem to be very similar.

The FreeSpirit is larger, heavier and uses a component based electrical system. It's old and no longer being produced. I've seen them going for quite cheap RTF, $70 and under.

I own a Free Spirit 220a, but it's just sitting in its box - because I'm too busy enjoying the Quark/Solo Pro/Draco.

I hear it's a pretty darn good helicopter, as expected from Nine Eagles. But they discontinued it, they only produce it's brother now - the Kestrel.

If I ever get around to flying it, which I probably wont for a while, I'll be sure to share my thoughts and experiences.

MRC had them for $70 shipped, but they finally ran out last month.

I'm guessing component based electrical system means different electrical components as opposed to a main circuit board? Also, it might be heavier but the specs on Miracle Mart shows a fly time of 12 to 15 minutes. That's pretty darn impressive. I don't think the 328 comes close to this in terms of flight time with its much smaller battery.

Anyways, the wait for the 328 is killing me. Also, the wind is picking up in Taiwan at the moment because we are now in typhoon season so the opportunities to fly my Solo Pro outside will be increasingly infrequent. I need something heavier that can handle moderate winds better. I might just pick up the Free Spirit to make the wait for the 328 more bearable.

You know, I just ordered a few upgrade parts by Xtreme, and the cost is almost more than buying the Free Spirit. I must be crazy.

Anyways, Frank, I'm headed to my neighbor's shop this afternoon. I will take some pictures and inquire about the subtrim on the 328 for you and others who are also interested. I'll report later this evening.

Originally Posted by helicopcat

A new "close up" video of Solo Pro 328:

Now I am really itching to get my hands on the 328...looks exactly like my soloPro in the air just bigger!!
I think Carly Simon might have said it best... Anticipation

OK, so I was at my neighbor's shop today and I shot a few pics. First, to answer Frank's query, Yes! The TX for the 328 also has subtrim options just like the smaller Solo Pro.

Here's the proof:




Now here's a picture showing a much beefier fly bar which will not so easily bend under G force. In the picture, I'm holding it down as far as it goes and you can see that it nicely clears the canopy. No more knocking for this bad boy.



A couple more pictures of the yellow sample:





And here's to make Frank drool in anticipation. Two more samples!!!! The bastard won't sell me one just yet!!!




I ended up buying the Free Spirit BNF today. It was confirmed that this heli isn't normally sold BNF but I happen to have the right neighbor... Just under 40 bucks with a charger and two batteries. All spare parts available for ME only at 70% off. Prices are higher in Taiwan, though, so my 70% off works out to roughly 30-40% off the prices on Miracle Mart. Yay!

Oh and... About the 328, I suggest buying a few spare main shafts because if you look at the pics, there is a long weak shaft sticking out on this one and I suspect it will break easily compared with the lighter, smaller Solo Pro.

Originally Posted by bobepine

OK, so I was at my neighbor's shop today and I shot a few pics. First, to answer Frank's query, Yes! The TX for the 328 also has subtrim options just like the smaller Solo Pro.[...]

Hi bobepine, have you really tried to activate subtrim mode via the TX rear button?

I say this because we all know the 328 TX seems identical to the old one but it's not compatible with previous NE heli models. So it's possible that they use the same shell but different electronics inside that could not include a subtrim mode.

p.s.: obviously we all hope the subtrim and EPA mode will be fully functional...

Good point. I haven't tried activating it. Hmmm... You have me worried that I'm spreading false info, now. I'll have to go back and try it. I should be able to report before the end of the week. I asked the man in charge, my neighbor, but I'm not sure he even knew this button existed before I showed it to him... He told me it worked but I still want to test it for myself now... It's worthy info, in my opinion, so I shall investigate further.