need help building my exi 500

[Newbieflier]

hey guys, i just bought and exi 500 plastic edition kit from xheli. everything else has been out of stock and i only paid 70 bucks shipped, so i figured wat the hell.

ok so just to make it clear this is my first build and i only plan to be hovering and do normal flying , NO 3D manuevers at all.

with that said i have a few question that i hope i can be helped with.

what are some stock parts that are known to be faulty on the plastic kit?

what are some good bang for buck upgrades to replace the faulty stock part?

what size servos should i buy? ex. 9g, 18g ?

is the gy48v servo a reliable servo to fit my needs?

what is a reliable motor and esc that wont break the bank?

i have plenty questions but these will help me get started with my build.

thanks u guys

[xpftp]

the gy48 isnt to bad for basic flight.

the rest i would ask . where do you wish to order from and or how much ..

hobbyking .. for trugny elec isnt to bad i run there 500 motor and BEC .. there 5s lipos as i didnt have a 6s balancer...

hitec servos i have in my HK500

i guess it all depends on the money you wish to spend ..

[Newbieflier]

i plan to keep my budget in the 200 doller range for the electronics. and i want to try to keep my orders domestic and save on shipping costs.

every website i visit looks like they have plenty of parts to choose from, my main problem is how can i tell which part will fit and work on my model?

for example how can i tell which motor is made for a 450 heli and not for a 500 class?

same thing for the servos? and since im on a budget im going to get analog for the cyclic

as for the rest of the electronics,
the esc i think im set on a hobby wing 80a or 100a with ext bec.
the battery i think im going to get a 3000mah 6s 25c that way i dont have to upgrade later.
ill stick with the gy48v gryo

i dont know which radio im going to get yet but i have a seperate budget for that.
same thing with the balancer charger

like i said i am new to the hobby and any bit of information helps.

[xpftp]

check there site they have some of this stuff in usa wharehouse..

ESC i use

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...SC_w_UBEC.html


BEC i went with this one after my ESC burnt the BEC side.. but the ESC works fine for the heli itself ..
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...for_Lipo_.html

SERVOS
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...P?I=LXN667&P=8

Tail servo i use a full size analog .. as iam not a hardcore 3Der and still learning sideways tick tocks and such lol
the ESC isnt to bad

LIPO only for the fact i didnt have a 6s balancer at the time of ordering .. i dont think you can fit a 3000 6s in a 500 but i might be wrong i think 2650 is biggest .. comfy fit ..
these fit bein there only 5s ..

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...arehouse_.html

some stuff you can get from usa wharehouse .. but there shipping order now isnt to bad ..
but if you wait much longer might take sometime


yeah its low end stuff . but for me it works. iam not a hardcore flyer .. if you was a hardcore flyer .. then you would spend will over $600 for elctronics and lipos .. as you would want the best or close to best ..


also if your keepin the gy48 gyro ... get sillycone and open it up and layer the sillycone so it drys good .. stuff it full .. its the best thing you can do for this gyro.. i did it to mines and it helps a lot .. there is a video on youtube some where .. gy48 mod or something

[Newbieflier]

wow this really helps out alot and takes the guess work out of my build. it will really get me started on building this thing. i am a newbie flyer and the 500 is what i chose to jump from the co axle helis. i chose it because everyone says its bigger, more stable and easier to see which is all a plus for me.

well thanks alot dude.

[xpftp]

your welcome.. iam sure give it a few more days others will give more ideas..

but to make sure.. you never flown a CP ? if this is the case may i say "WOW" on the size of your 1st CP heli..
when you spin this up to full the 1st time be sure to have a chair lol you might get weak knees lol .. it is a beast for a 1st heli ..


and i forgot the motor i use .. this is what i use .... again just basic .. i can do loops on a 5s with this motor and stock gearing ..
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...00_Class_.html

again take your time . double triple check things.. this is not a toy .. iam stressin this not to be rude but for safety ... this thing can hurt you bad .. being this is your 1st CP and a big CP at that ..

but dont be to scared respect being scared of it .. it saves you ..

also if you havent watch some of the videos in the vid area. or even youtube .. will help you tons also ..

good luck tho and enjoy the fun of the build .. it is awsome for sure ..

[Newbieflier]

i have never flown a cp heli, i flown a 4 channel fixed pitch but i just felt like it was way too easy for me, and i love the way the cp's can spool up and not leave the ground, its just like the real deal, and thats what i want. the closest hobby shop is atleast 30 minutes away and overpriced in my opinionand everyone who answers the phones are rude so i dont even bother with them.

i have watched 100+ videos and i think ill probly spool up a hundred times before i work up the nerve to get it off the ground lol..

also i just found out that the bolts holding the tail blade gribs are prone to break on the plastic kit so im guessing i will deffinatly have to replace those during the build?


and i am deffinalty going to take my time building this, this is what i like to do and i am mechanically inclined as i fix cars as a side job so this deffinatly cuts the cake. if this goes good as planed i am deffinatly going to build as many as i can afford haha

[Blayd]

OK, first things first....
Get a sim. Dont even think about trying to fly a 500 until you have and practice on a sim. I'm not joking. Dead serious. Spend the money on a Sim now BEFORE you try to do anything on a 500. Or, you WILL spend alot of money fixing the heli, AND maybe hurt yourself.
Build it while you practice.. but I cant stress enough the need for a SIM. This isnt a co-ax... a 500 can go from 0 to holy crap in a second or less...and its a hundred time scareier when that "holy crap" moment is when it just tilted side ways and went bat out of hell banked right....

Parts.. The Turnigy 500H turnigy motor on 5S is a powerful and great mtor to start with.. on 6S, its a monster.
Most cheaper ESC's dont have a very good soft start.. be aware of this...this will affect the way your throttle curves will be set up. I have used Turnigy 85A ESC's, work great, but no soft start. Think about a Hobbywing, or a used Castle or Align ESC.
Servos... The best money I've paid for servos were the Turnigy MG930 for cyclics...I had these on a 500 for three years with no problems. Some say its hit or miss with these.. I've had zero issues with these.. at $15 each, you can afford to buy extras. Great CHEAP servos...upgrade them later. for hovering and learning some basic flight.. theyre great.
Tail servo...I dont like off brands on a tail servo. Buy a used Align 520 or a used futaba 9257.
Gyro.. yours might work, but Spartans are cheap enough now, no reason not to own one. Best gyro out there in my book. You can find DS760 gyros cheap. ( About $45 )
I STILL fly a DS760 on one of my 500's and the Quark on everything else.. ( Quarks about $70 )

Batts.. I fly all my 500's on 5S.. but you will eventually want to go 6S.. the cost difference from HK isnt much. If you go 6S, you need a pinion to calm the Typhoon motor down. Maybe 11T. ( 6S 2650mAh 30C batts, 11T pinion, Typhoon motor 1800kv= app. 2600rpms )
5S, 3000mAh 30C batts, 12T or 13T pinion, ( 2400-2600rpms )
OR.. if you want to fly 6S, ( I recommend you do...batts are expensive, and switching over later is expensive )
Move to a 1600kv motor. Turnigy or maybe a used MX500 Align or a used 1600kv Scorpion.

Charger....I started with a Turnigy Accucell6.. worked great, will charge one batt at a time, I had no issues...but... charging one at a time gets to be a pain when you have alot of batteries...bigger chargers and PSU's are a must if you plan on flying a bunch of batteries.. but for now...something like the Accucell6 will work, you need a PSU for it as well...( HK sells one that works )

An external BEC is optional, almost all ESC's in the 500 heli size range come with built in BEC's. Most work fine. An external BEC is in place of the internal ESC's BEC. I happen to run external BEC's on 2 of my 500's, and dont use an external BEC on one of my other 500's. Either will work, but to keep cost down, you dont NEED an external BEC, as long as the ESC your going to run has one built in.

But.. GET A SIMULATOR!

[krauley]

As Blayd said " Get a sim!"

I was in the same exact situation as you, new Exi kit, co axial too easy, 4 fp too easy. i skipped the sim and went right to the 3 second $150 dollar flight then i got phoenix and probably would have taken lots more $$$$ and time to get flying. TRUST US!!!!
also i wouldnt replace a thing in the kit as long as your sure its not going to break or fall apart because trust me you will be crashing and thats the time to start upgrading parts. my exi 500 is about 90% align now and flys great. another thing i would do is the battery drop mod, you can google it or do a search for it here. it will allow you to put a bigger battery or let the one you have fit without fighting the canopy. Imho while your learning to fly a 6cp the bigger battery will give you slightly longer air time which is a plus for a new "pilot"
good luck