How rugged is it??

[Ron_R]

I am seriously looking at this Heli as I really love the 180 CFX and think Blade has turned a new leaf with these designs and the quality of their Helis.

I also hear great things about the Gaui X3 and that it is a "tank" and does very well in crashes. This is probably the most appealing part of that Heli for me, as I'm not crazy about how it looks.

That all being said, how does this Heli do in crash? Do the servos hold up well? I had horrible luck with the 300 CFX and stripping out servos just by looking at them funny. Has anyone had one that just fell out of the sky for no apparent reason like my 300 CFX did a few times before HH replaced it?

Don't get me wrong, I've been at this long enough that I know that our Helis are fragile and will break in a crash, but some crash better than others. So what's the verdict?

[leadmonster]

That's what im wondering how this bird will hold up. Seems to have good electronics.

[Nelsonisms]

The thing's been out in the wild for all of a few days. You're going to have to wait a while before enough crash reports pile up to be statistically significant.

[Ron_R]

Originally Posted by Nelsonisms

The thing's been out in the wild for all of a few days. You're going to have to wait a while before enough crash reports pile up to be statistically significant.

Fair enough.

It usually takes me all of a flight or two to compile a crash report!

[MotorG525]

all the of modern 450's crash very well, I wouldn't expect anything less out of this one. Your going to lose the boom, canopy, blades, skids maybe the occasional feather shaft not much more then that. That's on grass offourse

[jadewarrior]

Originally Posted by Nelsonisms

The thing's been out in the wild for all of a few days. You're going to have to wait a while before enough crash reports pile up to be statistically significant.

Yup. I was going to say basically the same thing, but you said it perfectly.

However, if I had to take a guess, I'd say the 360CFX will crash better than a stock X3 in a crash that gets the tail boom. A belt tail heli like the 360CFX will generally always fare better than a TT driven tail heli like the stock X3. Less parts, cheaper to fix and easier to set up (vibe-wise) with the belt drive. Of course, the X3 does have a Gaui factory belt drive conversion kit, but I'm comparing stock apples to apples.

[Centurian]

Have a feeling the bearing block/servo mounts may be a bit fragile but should be easy enough to straighten out a few times... Time will tell.... Wonder when the 3blade parts will be in and when a guy will be able to score a deal...

[Major Wingnut]

Main gear, main blades, skids, servo link, canopy mounts, boom and a cracked canopy. Held up well for as hard as it went in. Hold was hit in advance of impact. Electronics all working perfect after impact. All in all I am happy as hell to have a machine with this much performance and a WAY LOWER cost of replacement parts than when drilling in my 550 or larger machines.

[HarryR]

Originally Posted by Ron_R

Fair enough.

It usually takes me all of a flight or two to compile a crash report!

I second the motion !!!

[cdaivs]

I to am I likely to have a crash report every time I leave the ground. Was curious, so just looked. Appears the Gaui X3 would set me back about $200 more than the 360 by the time I got it ready for the 1st crash? I'm already looking for something bigger than my 180CFX, but think I'll wait to see how the 360 is holding up before I jump on one.

[Mark Ball]

If it's as tough as my 500x, I'll take one.

[jimmy77611]

Deleted my misinformation.

[Nelsonisms]

I had a very similar view of the 550X when it came out. Some guy brought one out to the field and we had it sitting right next to a Logo 550SX, Gaui X5 and Trex 550 Pro DFC. At the time I commented that it seemed a little cheaply made next to those helis and of course got the old smackdown from the fanboys on the forums. It won't surprise me if this one turns out to be more hype than it deserves as well.

[jadewarrior]

Originally Posted by Nelsonisms

I had a very similar view of the 550X when it came out. Some guy brought one out to the field and we had it sitting right next to a Logo 550SX, Gaui X5 and Trex 550 Pro DFC. At the time I commented that it seemed a little cheaply made next to those helis and got the old smackdown from the fanboys on the forums. It won't surprise me if this one turns out to be more hype as well.

As an owner of a 550X coming up on 600 "not exactly easy" flights, I can assure you it's not hype that it's a good flying, reliable heli. As far as "cheaply made", I'll agree that it isn't as refined in the CNC metalwork. The parts are simple and bland, but they are cut cleanly and fit well. They do lack the nice finishing passes, beveling, anodizing, etc other manufactures put into their parts. Heck, I'll even say it's not that aesthetically pleasing in the overall lines, either. As for crashing, I've crashed mine more than once and it didn't crash any better or worse than the Logo or Gaui (the stock X5 isn't a true 550 anyway; smaller/lighter generally crashes better) you mentioned because I fly with guys who have both of those helis and I've seen them crashed under similar conditions, as well. It's a solid, run-of-the-mill, largish-for-the-class 550 sized heli and that's about it. To me, nothing really stands out about it other than its dead nuts reliability, which has been very refreshing for a Blade heli. It's the first one I've had and never once had to call product support for anything.

Does that make me a fanboy or even a fanboi? I don't really care. I think my record here stands that I am not a Blade cheerleader. But, they did get a lot of things very right with the Pro Series. Well, except the longevity for the best helis they've ever made...which makes me dislike Blade even more...

[Swop77]

Originally Posted by jimmy77611

Here's my .02

I got the chance to check out a 360 up close last weekend. The mainshaft is very small diameter, the same as the Dominator 450. This means it's probably going to bend on just about every crash and take out the top main bearing. The rest of the heli looked very fragile too, much like the Dominator. The main gear also looked very thin, and made of cheap plastic.

I've crashed my x3 4 times now, and so far I've only replaced main blades once, main gear once, skids once, and one servo once. Thats it. I had a dominator before the X3, and it took out blades, grip bearings, main shaft, main bearings, at least 2 servos, tail boom, skids, every single crash. I have to disagree that ALL of the modern 450's crash well. I've spent WAY less on my 4 X3 crashes then I did on one Dominator crash. The X3 is by far the most robust and rugged 450 on the market today.

The Blade looks to be similar to the Dominator in fragility, to me.

Isn't the x3 main shaft 6mm ? Same as the 360cfx?

Dominator 5mm main shaft?
Just wondering ....
Maybe I miss something.

[jadewarrior]

Originally Posted by Swop77

Isn't the x3 main shaft 6mm ?

It is.

[Swop77]

Originally Posted by jadewarrior

It is.

thank for confirmation.

Was wondering about the " small diameter" comment about the 360cfx main shaft.

Same diameter as the x3, should hold up well then...

[vronny]

Yes the main shaft is 6mm & feathering shaft is 5mm for 360CFX Seems like someone miss quoted this heli

[jimmy77611]

I stand corrected. It looked to be 1mm smaller, side by side.