Discussion Exi 450

[sparx]

HydroJoe,

How did you get a $99 airframe to a finished cost of $500?

SPaRX

[mhills51]

My trex 450sa with the Futaba fasst and battery and charger cost me $640

[MiniCwik]

Definitely nice looking heli there hydrojoe ... can we see it fly?

[HydroJoe]

$125 Kit w/shipping + tax
$140 GY401
$50 AR6100
$100 x4 HS-65HB
$100 Motor & ESC

Thats $515. I had some of the stuff already so it diddn't cost me that much. If you ordered the parts off the internet, you could find better prices. Thats what my LHS charges for that stuff.

[sparx]

Gotcha HydroJoe. I always forget that alot of you guys like those high dollar componants .

IMHO, a kit like this only really benefits you if you go with everything on a budget. A Trex S Alum kit would have cost you the same to put together with your choosen stuff.

IMHO, this thing screams "Good Budget Bird"

Kit $100
Motor $25
ESC: $25
Servos: $50
Gyro: $50

( I do not like to consider TX/RX or batteries when doing comparisions because these are personal preference and the costs can vary GREATLY. It is also dependant on what you currently own when putting together a new kit)

That is very doable. I know because this is what I have and I am very happy with it .

SPaRX

[HydroJoe]

My intentions were to go budget style but then I start buying parts and wanted to get the stuff I like. I got carried away...oops. I had some parts so it wasn't too bad on cost. So I guess i'm not part of the Budget Heli Club, but thats ok... i'm happy with it and the cost. I have never seen a T-rex for $100 though.

[stutts121472]

got mine back going had to get a new motor so far this is what money i have in it
$ 99 KIT
$40 batt
$4 pinions
$ 20 motor
the rest of the stuff i already had so under $ 200 not bad for a 450 class heli

[HydroJoe]

Awsome...I just got finished flying some FFF circuits...very nice. Only thing left to do is dial in the gyro. I am very happy with this heli, very stable, very fast. I don't really understand some of the posts i've read so far, suggesting I could have bought a T-rex SA....I still have not found one for $99. What does it matter what I put in it? It's the cost of the kit that was a bargin for me. Even with the componets I have installed, I wouldn't consider my price over the top (my T-rex was ALOT more.) Anyway, even though I had issues out of box I would still recomend this heli

[stutts121472]

the cheapest i seen on the trex sa is $199 i guess i could have went that route but every body and there moma have a trex i wanted something diff. and i'm glad to see that your heli is doing good hydro

[sparx]

Originally Posted by HydroJoe

Awsome...I just got finished flying some FFF circuits...very nice. Only thing left to do is dial in the gyro. I am very happy with this heli, very stable, very fast. I don't really understand some of the posts i've read so far, suggesting I could have bought a T-rex SA....I still have not found one for $99. What does it matter what I put in it? It's the cost of the kit that was a bargin for me. Even with the componets I have installed, I wouldn't consider my price over the top (my T-rex was ALOT more.) Anyway, even though I had issues out of box I would still recomend this heli

The reason I said that is because you can get a Trex S Alum kit from HD for $239. This is the same layout as the EXI. Plastic/Metal Head, Alum Frame, Plastic Tail. For $239 you get the Airframe, Motor, ESC and a battery.

What I am getting at is, if you spent $100 on the Motor and ESC, then you are at $200. Add in the cost of a battery (which I understand you may not need) then you are at the same or more then the cost of the Trex S Alum kit.

I am not saying the EXI was a bad choice. After reading your flight reports you seem to be very happy with it. So I am assuming that you think that the EXI 450 is worth what you paid for it.

To me, the benefit of an airframe of this nature is being able to build it on a budget.

Does that make more sense? Like I said, I am not trying to knock the heli, just pointing out that there was really no cost savings over getting a comparable Trex.

SPaRX

[sparx]

Let me just clarify this as well. I appreciate you taking the time and money to put this kit to the test. The more kits that get put to the test this way, the better off for everyone. It removes the "is it going to be a good heli" reservations. Look how it has helped the CopterX line.

So again, I just want to thank those of you that took the risk and bought this kit to give it a try. I am sure many will benefit from your experiences.

SPaRX

[fregon45]

I will soon be joining the budget club. I just ordered the EXI 450, and now I need some electronics. I already have a nice TX (9C) and a few RX's that would work, but nothing else. So in pricing stuff out, I concluded that the best deal around on electronics is the Esky belt-CP ($190). My plan is to purchase one as soon as they come back in stock later this month, then transfer all the electronics over to the EXI. I'm sure the left-over belt CP frame will fetch between $80-$90 on ebay, so in the end, I should be spending around $200 total for a flying t-rex clone.

So can anyone see any obvious flaws in my plan? Is there any reason the belt CP electronics wouldn't fly the EXI 450?

I know it wont be a 3D monster at this point, but that's not what I'm interested in. Budget and Fun are the main themes here. I considered just buying the belt CP and just sticking with that, but the EXI looked much nicer. So, why not?

Thanks for your input.

[sparx]

Fregon,

That is not a bad idea. The BeltCP electronics will have no problem flying a CopterX. It has been done.

SPaRX

[Bothersome]

Generally, regardless of motor and ESC, you will need at a minimum a 15C 1500 mAH battery. That is pretty close to the minimum battery size that can give enough constant power without over heating for just flying around. You can get cheap servos and a cheap gyro for about $60 total. But you're kinda taking your chances with cheap stuff if you don't know how to properly test out each component.

I don't remember the brand, but it was the unbranded version of the eflight servos you'd find on the CP Pro. They were like $3 each, untested. You'd buy like a lot of 10 or 20 at a time and test each one yourself. You'd probably get a 50% failure rate. The servo pots don't tend to last very long (as in a year or more) either. And they probably use the cheapest motors mankind can make inside them too. But at $6 a pop, it's still a good "get it built so we can sell the product" servo.

Some things can be easily price hacked. Like aluminum frames for helicopters. Other things like a good gyro, cannot easily be justified by getting the bottom dollar units. Granted, they probably punch them out at $10 each (prolly less), but as long as the really good designed ones are working exceptionally well, they're gonna charge you $140 and up for them. Why would another company that makes a comparable gyro, charge $20 when they can get $120 instead? It's just greed, I know. But that is life at this moment in time. So, when you put that $30 gyro on your helicopter, you got to either get used to it's idiosyncrasies or tolerate the occasional crash. But if you are repairing from the occasional crash, then you've lost the savings you made on that cheap gyro (provided it had something to do with causing the crash).

Anyway, there is no right or wrong in this field of getting a helicopter flying for whatever budget, but only that which you feel is good or tolerable.

[stutts121472]

the belt cp elec will work , and if you want cheap batt helidirect sells a mega power 2100 15c rating for like $40.
bothersome got mine ready for this weekend i hope the weather holds out ready to fly