Total cost for my LMH 116 heli (not including electronics): $75.
Total repair costs (last 2 months): $15 for two blades, $7.50 for spur.
Total cost for my ECO8: $110, no repair costs yet.
Both in great shape. Total cost in the air for both helis including 2 brushless motors and a LIPO pack is less than a fully upgraded corona.

For the life of me I cant understand investing the kind of $$$ that is needed for belt-drives, swash-plates, carbon crutches/blades/tubes, titanium shafts, etc. These are great additions to the Corona and help the performance. But they come at a huge cost IMO. The end result is a heli that performs much better.....better that is than a stock corona.
But compare it with a stock CP "next-step" heli? No way it is the better machine. Perhaps someone can post a video of a fully upgraded corona that performs at par with one of the stock CP 3d-capable machines. I bet the stock CP helis perform better, and cost MUCH LESS than a fully-upgraded corona.

Being a car hobbiest I see the same sort of thing all the time. People taking a stock inexpensive VW-beetle for instance and throwing in a chevy-350 long-block/tranny and frame. The end result is an expensve car that performs great....when compared with a stock VW.
.....but line it up against a stock SS-nova with the same motor, or even a tweaked Honda or Toyota and the stock-hot chevy/honda/toyota configuration is hands-down the better car. In looks, performance, value, return on investment, etc.

Sure you can "upgrade" as you break stuff...but let me tell ya I'd still rather pay $6.50 for another stock spur than $60 for a belt-drive conversion.
Take the $60 I save and put a down payment on a real CP heli.

Pullin'

obviously you have more time than money. For myself, time is more precious. so I like upgrade that increase durability and down time. I have 3d capable eolo with full upgrade, but my upgraded corona gets most of the flying time because I can do it in front of my house. and it flies really well. (I can do small funnel now) and the fact that I can't break it easily allow me to be really aggressive, as simle crash won't damage anything. (I have not had to buy a part in long time for my bt corona) while I enjoy working on heli, I'd rather fly... and my corona is almost a good flyer as my eolo.

obviously you have more time than money.

Indeed I have plenty of time....time saved from tweaking an entry-level heli. More time to fly.
As far as money is concerned? Plenty of that saved also....flying my stock LMH heli, have an ECO-8 RTF, and still have spent less money than many of those who have just a corona w/upgrades.

I'm not saying the corona is a bad heli.....quite the contrary...its great as-is.
Why do you need "upgrades" to fly in front of your house?
And how do "upgrades" make it crash better?
Does CP swash make it stronger?
Carbon boom?
Belt drives?
These are not designed to improve it's crashability, they are intended to improve performance.
The corona is tuff as it is.
I have two crashes (bad ones) stock, and all I have is broken a pair of blades , popped a few nylon ties, and stripped a bunch of servos.
Just out of curiosity, how much green do you have in your corona now?
What is a stock EOLO going for nowadays?

Pullin'

http://www.ballistictechnology.com/FlightVideo.htm

Here is a flight video. It is an MPEG. So, it is choppy. But, you will get an idea of what the tricked out Coronas can do.

Matt........

Not this conversation again. Its really simple, durability. You put the Eco 8 into the ground and you put the Corona into the ground, which one is going to be the bigger discouragement ? A few crashes with the Eco 8 and you can have a tricked out Corona besides that you could save the parts you replaced and build another Corona. So, in essence, you could have two Coronas. The Eco 8 seems to me to be pretty fragile. There is a freedom that comes with flying the Corona such as low cost repair bills, low downtime, park size flyable. The only difference I basically see between the two is inverted flight. For casual flying some basic aerobatics, loops, rolls...its the route to go...

As for durability, my titanium main shafts are nearly indestructable. My carbon flybar is exptremely durable. The belt drives do not strip like gears, and with the new Kevlar belt, broken belts are pretty much a thing of the past. I sell almost no replacement parts at all! The parts just seem to survive.

I must say, I agree with you for the most part. But, there is a certain charm to a tricked out item. Some people prefer that over a stock, but higher tech, heli. No big deal, to each his own.

Matt...........

Oh, you askd about cost. If a customer contacts me and wants "One of everything" it is pretty much about a $500 proposition (sometimes more!). Is that expensive? You bet! No-one said RC helis were supposed to be cheap. However, I agree there is a better way to get performance out of a $500 investment. So, that is why I am developing the new CP hlei I have been talking about.

No biggie, dude, I know where you are coming from!

Hey, Pullings, would you like to try a flybar (on me)?

Let me know!

Matt.............

I'll soon be getting a 2nd hand Eco-8 with Aluminum frames (and a lot of other upgrades). The frames itself should fix-up most if not all of the flimsyness... I guess I'll find out, it'll be my 3D heli using 4S3P Lipo

I've seen the video of the tricked out Corona and that thing can move! . It just needs inverted capability.

Chachin..

I personally feel like my B-Tech upgaded Corona flies ten fold better than in stock form. I currenly own a Quick Sweet 16, a high end .30 size CP E-heli, and a Raptor .30 V2. The B-Tech Corona gives me as much enjoyment if not more because the hugely increased durability allows me to feel like I can really push it hard. We all are entitled to spend our money the way we want, and I have a lot of fun tricking out my little Corona. Just like the guys tricking out thier VW with a small block, who cares ??, its what they like to do. Sometimes opinions are best kept to ourselves. Just a thought..........Rob.

I'm glad you enjoy our hobby, and that cost is not an issue for you.
As far as keeping opinion to ourselves....it's a public forum that is open to discussion AND OPINION. But please, feel free to post some facts (numbers) also. I would love to know what upgrades you use and how much money it cost you.

Thanks

Pullin'

Thanks for the video. That is impressive for a corona. I am looking forward to someday being able to fly like that. The hardware is not the limiting factor for me...it is the skills.

Many thanks for the input. It shows restaint on your part not to take this thread personally.
Thanks for the flybar offer. I dont think I can use though(?). Just to be sure, what does it do?

Thanks

Pullin'

The flybar eliminates the nose up tendency in forward flight. It also increases cyclic accuracy. PM me your address and I will shoot one out to you. It is a cool item that does not diminish the Corona's charm and flight characteristics.

Matt.............

Oh, Pullings, don't let everyone get you down. The issue is, this topic comes up quite often and it is like religion or politics, everyone has a very strong opinion on it.

I make parts I would like to own. So, I like my stuff. Many of my customers are the same way. But, not everyone is the same. No big deal. The point of any hobby is as a diversion from the more mundane or stressfull parts of life. Wether that is through upgrades to an RC heli or needle point, the point is to have FUN!

Matt..........

Numbers and fact are irrelavent, and yes it is a public forum where public opinions can harm reputations. Like I said we all are entitled to spend our money the way we want to. Try loops and rolls and high angle stall turns sometime with the Corona and it is obvious how fun they can really be with the additional upgrades.........

Numbers and fact are irrelevant

I take it you have never heard the phrase "the numbers dont lie?"
By all means spend your money on what you want....dont let me discorage you.

public opinions can harm reputations

Huh?? In this case they present ideas that can assist the consumer in becoming educated before they commit. If I pay $500+ for a corona upgrade, I would hope that my expectations are in line with what the actual payoff will be for the upgrades. So far this thread is bringing out some of the details.

Try loops and rolls and high angle stall turns sometime with the Corona and it is obvious how fun they can really be with the additional upgrades.

Why??? Do it better with an ECO-8 for half the price. And throw some inverted 3D as well!
And still keep a stock corona for poking around the yard.

Pullin'