exi450 or hk450

[lilwillywilly]

Well, i really want the trex 250, was ready to go pick up a new one today, but the more good i read about it, the more bad i read about it for a first ccpm helie. I dont have the room really without leaving the house everytime i want to fly if i get something bigger than a 200-250 size, but at the same time, i dont have the cash it seems i will need for the endless crashes that will insue learning on a small 3d copter like the 250.

so i think im going to wait. and get a 450.

here is the dilemmas. the exi arf and the hk450 are about the same price shipped, exi is actually a lil cheaper.

i really like the fact that the hk450 is unassembled, i love tinkering and building, plus it will be a great learning exp. and really help in the long run to build a kit.
the exi on the other hand is 95% assembled, but again, needs to be dissassembled to check for locktight, etc.
the exi looks like it has a slight adv. in quality, i have a double monitor computer and had the exi on one and the hk on the other, and really to be honest, i think they are the same bird, frame is even the same, just the exi has a couple more metal bits and overall just looks stronger.

I dont have the money to order everything to set up either right now, little less than 150$, would it be worth buying a higher model exi like the 99$ partial metal, and waiting on all electronics, or just buying the 55$ arf, and picking up say the servos, ball links, and maybe some spares?

or hell, should i just pick up the 250, and deal with the higher learning curve? I picked up fp and ccpm on my sim fairly well, and within 2 days of owning my cx2 i was rock steady hovering and doing circuits and figure 8's in my kitchen, weather just hasnt been cooperating for outside flight.

there are SOOOOOOOOO many helicopters out there that it seems choosing one is moree of a task then actually flying one.

Im trying to stick to align, or align cloned birds as my LHS is an align distributor, and i hate waiting for mail order.

[littleT]

if i were you i would buy 2 of the 35.00 clones out ther,buy your radio equiptment these helis are cheaper to buy the whole heli when parts are needed

[babyuh1]

First even though they cost more to repair buy the biggest one that you can afford. The bigger they are the easier to fly. With the little ones every puff of wind is a fight with the controls.
Second, I have the cheapest EXI and am very inpressed with the quality and for a 450 it has the best combination of metal and plastic parts for learning. IT has plastic blade grips and that will save other parts in a crash. It should be a cheap heli to bang around with.
Get one and spend your money on a good radio to go with it and you should be good. You can get your motor and esc, battery, etc from HC though.
JMHO

[lorenzaccio]

I got an EXI450 to setup as a second "cheap" heli, so far its turning into a source of parts for TREX 450SA crash.

Quality notes on EXI:
Initial impression seems almost as nice as TREX SA, more aluminum in head than TREX but plastic parts seem 'cheaper'. all aluminum swashplate on EXI has noticeably more radial play than TREX SA version. Overall EXI has much more friction in drivetrain than TREX with belts adjusted to same tension. Measured main shafts with micrometer, EXI actually closer to nominal 5mm than TREX; EXI = 4.986mm, TREX = 4.963mm. Don't know which is necessarily better but TREX head tolerances line up better, overall TREX smoother and less slop (virtually none) in head.

just my 2 cents

lorenzaccio

[babyuh1]

I'm thinking of buying another one for parts!

[calzac]

I fly the EXI 450 and find it to be a great heli, this is my second one, I upgraded to the Squadron edition from the Standard edition after a crash and ended up straightening the standard frame and using the squadron for parts. It is 100% compatible with the trex se v2 so parts are not an issue, although I haven't had a problem with "most" parts from xheli. I have found that it does have 2 weak parts that should be changed almost imediately... the tail drive gear assembly and the tail case. The tail case will snap, I went through 3 before upgrading to metal. The bearing on the tail drive gear will come loose causing it to rise and contact the main gear. Still with those upgrades it is still well worth the price. It does come pretty much assembled, as for the builing it for experience, I wouldn't worry too much, you are new to cp helis, you will have lots of opportunity to rebuild it...crashes happen to all of us!

EXI450 1 (5 min 31 sec)

[DumbDawg]

My two cents worth... You can't compare the EXI to a TRex in quality... Like comparing a VW and a Porche... BUT... having had the EXI's I'm impressed with them as well... They fly smooth and are easiy to fix, maintain... Plus when you are ready you can replace the parts with better Align parts and in the ed... end up with a great flying, solid and smooth heli...

BTW... Miracle mart has just released a turnbuckle set for the TRex 450 sized heli's... great for fine tuning the birds...
http://www.miracle-mart.com/store/in...oducts_id=3031

happy heli'n

[Pronet]

Need Major Help, Got a EXI 450 6 channel radio Esky the better on
Everything is new ...Here goes, when I installed the new speed control and Motor the blades spin @ full throttle with the throttle stick in down position.. I tried reverse servos, switching motor wires.. nothing works ...any items
Oh the motor is a exceed 400 3500ky speed control 30A ...this is driving me crazy

[life2short1971]

You reversed the throttle in the transmitter?

[DumbDawg]

I'd say check the dip switches too...

[x947]

I bought the dirt cheap exi450 kit and was super impressed with the quality. Then I bought the cnc uprgraded metal head and tail (includes additional belt for the tail). I'm using the plastic stuff to get better on and then droping in the metal parts for the repairs.

Heli kit 40.00 cnc metal head and tail 40.00. How do you beat that ?

[mgrabow]

The EXI is much better than the HK... besides, what is a chinese knockoff of the chinese original (Trex)...

[bobo21]

just bought a exi 450 for 35 bucks on nitro planes . planning on putting my crap from the balde 400 in it meening motor speed control and gyro . does any one know if i am going to have any issues with that? not looking for a hot rod out of it any way just a cheap beater till i get better for my beam 450..

[phoenixheli]

You should have little problem with respect to the power system needed to fly the exi 450 with your blade 400 electronics. I did this with my axe 400. The only difference is that a 450 is meant to have 2500mAh packs. Using a 2000mAh is slightly light and you will need to move the pack forward a bit, but you will still get a solid 8 minutes of lazy flight and about 6 for sport. The axe 400 uses a 3500kv and that is pretty typical of a 450, so that would also include the blade 400. You will still be using the same size tail blades main rotor and pinion(13T). It won't be a rocket of a heli, but it flies fair. My recomendation, as soon as its comes in the mail, is to remove one screw at a time, loctite it, and move to the next screw and repeat. Use CA on the screws that go into the bottom frame plate, as it's plastic to metal screws. Pay attention when using loctite on screws that hold bearings, do not get loctite on the bearings at all. As with all heli's, setting up the head is crucial. Check out finless' head videos. Now, as far as servos go, you may or may not need to buy a new set for cyclic because the stock eflights might be too small for the exi frame. I had this problem with the helimax servos and I bought futaba s3117's. Maybe someone can give you a good answer to what needs to be done concerning eflight servos on the exi frame. You will pretty much fly with the same radio settings and such, but you must tweek the radio before attempting to even start this heli and watching those videos will make you a know it all very quick. Trust me. lol.

[4n6days]

I've been quite happy with the EXI airframe and spare parts quality. The only non-exi parts I have are the autorotation bearing (align) and a carbon fiber tail control rod (Beam).

[Shogun]

I know that I'm digging my EXI450V2!!!!

[B2TheEYo]

IMO, a 450 costs more to own, I know as I've owned four of them, but if you keep your crashes to a minimum, their a solid learning platform. Small enough to do basic stuff in the backyard, and handle some winds.

A 250 can crash and crash, never break anything or very little. Crashes on average cost $10-$20 with a 250, at max, where my 450's cost $40-$70+.

None the less, go for a CopterX or EXI kit, more trustworthy than the HK line, screws are better and CNC is stronger which results in cheaper repairs. Don't listen to crap comments that CNC is more money to fix, as I've smashed my 450s more than anything and never damaged any CNC.

Weigh your options and go for what appeals best.

[TOOL MAKER]

Did you try to program it? Did you get the instructions with the exceed TX?

[babyuh1]

Everyone says that the 250s never break in a crash but I find that very hard to believe with the headspeed that they run and as small and fragile the parts have to be! When I was flying 300 FPs they always managed to break every thing on the head on every little tip over.

[TOOL MAKER]

Did you program the speed controller?