Not very happy with my new heli. (rant)

[jeffk]

Well, I'm into day 2 of the build of my new MX450XS and I really have to say that I'm pretty uninmpressed. The heli was bought as a Tower Hobbies "Ultimate Combo" and included a Futaba radio w/servos and gyro, a motor and and esc. The heli itself was listed as an ARF (yeah, okay). Here's a short breakdown with the issues I've encountered:

The tail rotor pitch mechanism is binding so bad that I don't know if the heli will be flyable.

The threads in one of the holes in the boom support / horizontal fin mount were not cut properly causing the CHEAP screw to bottom out early and snap off 3/4ths of the way into the hole. No, I didn't force it, the el-crappo screw just busted off. This required me to spend 15 bucks on a replacement part that I'll have to wait for.

With the frame assembled as it is, the servos are pretty much impossible to mount. I was forced to remove the maingears and head, then remove several of the airframe components just to get the spots to hold the pitiful little nuts they give you for the servo mounting screws.

Once installed, the standard servo screws are too long, and unless trimmed, will hit the mainshaft. Some of us don't yet have a vast stockpile of misc parts and rely on what we're given with a kit to actually complete it. How about including some correct length servo mounting screws? I was forced to trim the servo mounting screws for clearance.

The servo-swash linkages are so flimsy that they bent in the process of putting the ball ends on them. They're now crooked and useless. Looks like another trip to LHS to get some more.

Speaking of the ball ends, they suck. Most of them are loose on their associated ball (which are aluminum).

The motor included in my combo is the Helimax recommended Ammo motor. There's literally a picture of that motor along with description and part number on the side of the Heli's box. So you'd think that the motor would mount right up, right? Not. The holes in the motor mounting plate in the heli are too small. This required me to remove the motor mount plate completely and re-drill the holes so that the motor's screws would go through them and into the motor.

Once the motor was mounted to the mount plate and bolted back into the heli, I found that the motor mounting screws were now obscured by the upper frame rails which are directly over them. This makes it almost impossible to adjust the pinion backlash.

In the process of adjusting the one swash linkage that WAS straight, I learned the hard way that it was too tight. Even with ball-link pliers, it was so hard to get off of the ball, that it popped loose like a cannon, causing me to strip out the servo it was attached to. Now I get to disassemble most of the airframe to get to the inaccessible plastic nuts and pull the servo out. The heli is now in more pieces that when it arrived two days ago. I'd have been better off getting a Trex, I think.

Off to LHS to buy a new servo tomorrow. Maybe I'll buy a friggin' Trex while I'm there and trash this POS.

[warpspeed]

I know you're peeved but I had to laugh my ass off when I read your post. I had almost all of the same problems you did and there were several times I was of a mind to introduce the thing to Mr. Sledgehammer. Perseverance paid off though, and I've been abusing it ever since. Yeah, it's no Rex, but once sorted it's not bad and at least it doesn't eat belts.

Definitely my last Helimax purchase.

I've found when working on this particular bird a bottle of aspirin and vodka are indispensable.

Good luck!

[jeffk]

Yeah, I was bit steamed, but I've cooled off now. I still think I should have gotten a Trex and if I could return this one, I would, but since I can't I'm determined to make it work. I'll be going with different servos and new balls and links. hopefully that will improve things and I'll be able to fire this puppy up.

It's weird in that I'm not so worried about flying this heli anymore. It's almost as if it's no big deal if I crash it and destroy it. Then I'll have an excuse to buy a different one

[Scottlclem]

I had my mx 450 up on Ebay for 2 or 3 days before I canceled the auction. I had hovered the heli only trying to get the blades to track and the tail would not hold solid, but that was due to a cheap GWS gyro which worked perfect on my old Shogun 400 but for some reasons beyond my understanding would not hold the MX450's tail. I got a Gy-401 and that cured my problem there.
There's some posts here on this forum that will help you deal with the blade tracking issue and slop thats in the head.
I'm glad I didn't sell my Mx it flys great and can do way more than this heli pilot is capable of.
The Align 325 wood blades will bolt right on your Mx and there around 13 bucks a set.

[Maxx26]

I say hang in there once you get it in the air you'll be happy with it.

I am on my 2nd mx400 pro.
It was my first hard crash and I was glade it was the mx and not one of the big ones Just think of the mx as an expedable flyer !

enjoy !

[jeffk]

I appreciate all the encouragement guys! Actually, I had the day off from work today and I went up to the LHS. I picked up some HS56s and after a few hours of fiddling, managed to get them installed. The linkage balls will line up properly now that the Futabas are out. I did keep the Futaba as the rudder servo though.

Anyway, it's pretty much back together. I picked up a Trex linkage kit and I need to set those up and get the electronics wired and mounted but hopefully the worst is behind now.

The only other issue I ran into last night: I had purchased the optional gyro mounting tray, not because I necessarily plan to mount the gyro on it, but I thought that it gave the heli a more finished look... anyway, as I attempted to remove the screws holding the tops of the tailboom mounts so that I could install the gyro platform, the heads of two of the screws snapped off in the blocks. I had to order a replacement block set.

All in all, I have chilled out a bit and I AM looking forward to flying the beastie.

So far my repair bill has grown to about 90 bucks, not including two of the servos I picked up.

[istandalone]

I've found when working on this particular bird a bottle of aspirin and vodka are indispensable.

actually a blowtorch, crackpipe and some rock would have made my mx450 build a bit more chill. kidding, about the crack that is. i've had every problem mentioned above with my mx build. my last problem is getting the blades balanced enough to get her in the air. i balanced them with a digi scale, then cg balanced them with a blade balancer. but if i put them on the heli and spin up it wobbles too much to go more then 1/10th stick, and it doesn't do that even at 75% throttle with no blades just stab bar on it. i think i'm gonna order about 4 sets of align 325 woodies, and pray that's my problem.

[fiveoboy01]

I've had the SAME problems with mine.

Screw heads break right off when trying to loosen them. I ended up buying the boom mount blocks and the boom support/fin mount blocks before I even flew the thing.

Are you SURE you have the right Ammo motor? I did not have to modify the holes in the mounting plate to get mine to work. It DOES suck that you can't get to the damn screws though.

My JGF500TH showed up today. The Ammo motor will sit on the shelf, it's good for flying around, but the headspeed is pretty low with it.

The stock blades are junk. I couldn't balance mine without adding the equivalent of a brick to one of them. I trashed them for some Align Pro 325 woodies.

To their credit, I emailed heli-max pictures of the two aluminum parts which still had parts of screws stuck in them, and they sent me replacements free of charge.

I've ordered a full set of 2mm socket head hex screws. Next time I ball it up, all the screws are getting replaced. Not only are they cheap and break, but phillips heads suck.

As far as the tail, I put a few drops of silicone shock oil on the shaft. It is pretty smooth and has been getting smoother with each flight. I haven't had any problems with the tail going out of whack, I'm using a Gy401/S9650 with it. I did buy the microheli boom mount which is designed specifically for the S9650/T-rex 450. It works fine on the MX' boom. Locks the servo down nice and tight. I also threw out the junk tail pushrod and bought the align carbon pushrod set for it. WAY stiffer.

All in all, the heli stinks to get together and set up, but flies pretty well. At least as good as the pilot

[DarkHeli]

I would have to agree with you guys on the cheapo stock parts. I had a few screws strip out on me THE VERY FIRST TIME I UNSCREWED THEM. They are rather crappy, but like everyone said, its a good flyer. luckily I didn't have a lot of problems with mine, but I REALLLLY took my time in building it (already 4months to be exact) mainly due to lack of funds.

remember, patience is key guys...

[whattheheli]

i have had to do many mods but now that my mx400 is more like a M-REX 450 SA lol the only parts i have not changed to align are the main frames and some of the plastic parts inside of the rails . but now all of that is done i am feeling happy about the heli !! but still would like to go get me a T-Rex 450 se

[Scottlclem]

Whattheheli how do you like the Dx7? If I remember correct you were running a Futaba setup.

[whattheheli]

so far i like it ! easyer programing and nice feel ! been kinda scared to fly since i rebuilt my heli cant help but feel like the thing will come apart again ! had a main blade come off in mid flight and boy was that an eye opener !!!!

[istandalone]

how much of a PITA is it to set up the logitech 2100?

[whattheheli]

not that bad ! set mechanics so you hover with little rudder input in rate mode and set endpoints and your good to go into hh i had some drifting issues before i installed the dx7 where when you put it into hh the tail servo would drift but the dx7 seems to have taken that away !