This past summer I have been learning to fly on the Blade 200S and Blade 230S helis.....I can now lift off , fly a circuit in all orientations and land without using any self leveling modes with these helis...I also practice regularly on the RF7.5 sim.....
I recently decided to move up the larger 450 class helis, and picked up a Blade 450 3D and Align Trex 450 SE v2 models, both are with the flybar ....
I would welcome any guidance on which model might be more friendly or stable to a novice moving up to a 450 class .....I am not yet interested in any 3D maneuvers, just looking for opinions on which model might be better to learn basic sport and circuit flying on and why......thanks for any input....Gary

Both will fly very similar. Almost identical if you're using the same radio settings and gyro. I had a Blade 450x and it was a weapon, ultra fast and Zippy but could be flown at a gentle pace if required. Parts are cheap but not as readily available as the Align stuff.

Originally Posted by Coopz

Both will fly very similar. Almost identical if you're using the same radio settings and gyro. I had a Blade 450x and it was a weapon, ultra fast and Zippy but could be flown at a gentle pace if required. Parts are cheap but not as readily available as the Align stuff.

Coopz....my plan is to fly it as gentle a pace as possible.....I'll be happy to just be able to keep it in a stable hover.....any opinions on weather a flybar heli is more or less stable....thanks

Flybar helis take off better (IMO) than FBL as they don't get confused where the ground is. Only flown fly barred a few times and found their performance was inferior to FBL. Just for hovering and basic flight they are fine though. Once you've flown a properly configured FBL heli you won't want to go back to the old type. Especially once you progress to 3d and fast flying.

Neither. Go 470lp. Slightly larger and more updated. Stay away from Blade helis unless you want a 230s.

Parts for the align will be much easier to find. Tarot parts are very cheap and almost as good as align. Some Gartt parts are good, like frames, others like head parts, are made of mercury infused salt water taffy.

the align 470 seems solid advice. most important thing is being able to get parts when needed.

im glad that i dont crash my beloved miniProtos that often. it has gotten hard to find parts. as much as i love the heli, the align counterpart gets nearly a minute more flighttime with the same 3s pack. just prefer belt tails and no gear noise. my own little niche

I like my Blade 450. I just finished the final upgrades on mine and she flys just fine, 250 flights this summer no crashes. There is nothing wrong with Blade heli's.

Originally Posted by Thickfog

Stay away from Blade helis

BTW, "thickfog" why did you bash Blade helis again..?

Originally Posted by garyv440

I would welcome any guidance on which model might be more friendly or stable to a novice moving up to a 450 class .....I am not yet interested in any 3D maneuvers, just looking for opinions on which model might be better to learn basic sport and circuit flying on and why......thanks for any input....Gary

To you "garyv440 " there is nothing wrong with a flybar heli. They give you more feel and you have to fly the heli which IMO helps you become a better pilot. I prefer flybar heli's. Just a gyro for the tail and that's it. I don't like anything electronic between me and the servo's. Setting up a flybar heli is not rocket science. Once you know how its gets easier and faster to repair. As you are new, your concentration should be on flying and getting comfortable with your skills and not worrying about complicated electronic set ups that FBL systems bring. I won't even get into the upgrade part of it as it's not important in the beginning. Fly them stock till you crash then buy replacement parts. You will get past the crashing stage, but again even the best crash once in a while. Once you are good at flying the flybar heli then move up to a FBL Heli not before. Baby steps. Then again that's only my opinion and you will get a plethora of answers and suggestions. Fly what you want and what your comfortable with and what makes you happy, and first and foremost have fun doing it. Make your decision based on knowledge and not what others think and tell you what to buy. I've been in the hobby to long and have been down that road with a great amount of lost $$ and frustration listening to everybody else tell me what to fly and why I shouldn't fly this or that or buy this or that. It ultimately depends on you and what your looking for in the hobby and what you want out of it and how far you want to go in your skill set. Not all of us are cut out to be 3D pilots. I, myself prefer sport and scale flying. Nice and easy less crashing that way. But that's just me. We are all not the same in our interests.

Just a side note here is another of my current projects:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...Electric/page2

Douglas

Originally Posted by FG

BTW, "thickfog" why did you bash Blade helis again..?

I didn't read that as a bash, it is solid advice. At one time Blades were a great value with awesome local parts support. Align turned the tables with the 470LP, at under $200 for a combo kit with motor and ESC,there is no better value in this size range. With Align you have a choice of 2 or 3 companies making parts that fit. With Blade, one, and look at what is happening to some of the big models, parts are now listed as NLA.

Hm. I realize that. But I'm still a blade heli fan. They have the 330x now and parts will be available in plenty for that and current blade 450/450x owners, like me. As well they now have the 360 3s out and parts will be available for that. If you like Align...fly Align. If you like Blade..then fly Blade. Does it matter what you buy and fly....isn't the hobby about choice...fun...fly what you like and what you want....hm...? Who cares if its a Blade or Align..they all do the same...they all fly. Look this sounds like whats all over the forum in past years...this one is better that one...you should fly this or that..buy this or that and not those or this. Look it's your money buy what you want...fly what you want. Am I repeating myself here...? Oops...I just did. Hm.

FG

I own both a Blade 450 and a couple of Tarot 450 V2's and an HK 450 Pro. The Blade has been converted to FBL with a Kbar & Tarot head but to me it is no where in the same league quality wise as the Tarot's. I have upgraded all of the servos too.

Where I live parts for the Blade are scarce and way overpriced. The other issue with the Blade is the plastic frame in a crash can break which means more cost and time to rebuild. And the stock servos are el crappos for durability. Stripped gears in every crash...

Don't get me wrong I do still really like the Blade and am glad I own one but the 450 Pros are far superior birds and cheaper to fix too.

Align Trex 450 v2 . Price-performance . Cheap spare parts.

Originally Posted by Prtka

Align Trex 450 v2 . Price-performance . Cheap spare parts.

I have owned a TREX 450 SE V2 briefly. It was an impulse buy here from a member. I never flew it. I bought the needed parts for it to get it flight ready. I was not fond of it or what I saw once I got it. Its a good well built quality machine no doubt about it. But I found it too heavy compared to the Blade 450. I just preferred the Blade 450's design and lightness. I liked the servo arrangement of the Blade 450 compared to the Trex. I liked the thicker tail boom of the Blade 450 better. I liked the light plastic frame of the Blade 450. I like Blade helis what can I say. It's my choice and my preference.