Blade 500x

[Terry Kelly Jr]

Is the Blade 500x a good helicopter to start with on collective pitch ?

[mike4884]

To start with? Not really it would be to powerful. Mt first cp Heli was the 300 x and that was scary . for a first and as much as u want a bigger bird... Get yourself a nano cpx or even the 130 x not to many people would probably agree with the 130 x but if u are good at tinkering u can have her flying good. The 500 x is a great Heli it might just be to powerful for u and if u crash cost of parts aren't that cheap

[Terry Kelly Jr]

I should have worded it different..I have a nano cpx already..just wanting to up the odds with a bigger bird..that little nano is a handful sometimes and have been told the bigger they are the easier to fly...believe me I can crash with the best though when it happens it is usually more than stellar. .lol

[Gladius]

I'd recommend that you jump to a 450 first. If you are still crashing a lot, that's going to be A LOT cheaper to crash and repair. Plus, it is less intimidating and a little safer.

[ronm3313]

I think it depends on how often you're crashing your Nano. Do you land most flights or do they end in a crash? Can you hover in all the orientations? Are you doing forward flight and circuits? Any inverted? Any backwards flight?

If you've got the Nano down then I think jumping to a 500 is OK. It's becoming a popular path. However Gladius is right about the crash cost. A 450 crash cost is lower.

[ahahn]

My own opinion is that the the 450X is not a bad first hell.

I just got a nano she the price dropped and when the BL option came out. Of all my helix (mCPX, 130X, 300X, Furion 450) it is indeed the most squirrelly of the lot. I would have recommended the 300X, since it was so inexpensive and a pretty steady bird, but now a newer one is coming out and not available yet.

A 450X is probably the best bet in terms of repair costs, at least compared to the 500X. I have a 500X (really good prices right now) but haven't had a chance to get out to fly it. It probably is more steady than the 450X, but FBL systems have really changed the game when it comes to the smaller helis these days.

Finally I always thought the mCPX was a good bird, certainly more stable than my nano is, and not bad at all to learn on, sort of a "real" sim IMHO. Also can take the hits when flown over grass.

[Gladius]

Originally Posted by ronm3313

I think it depends on how often you're crashing your Nano. Do you land most flights or do they end in a crash? Can you hover in all the orientations? Are you doing forward flight and circuits? Any inverted? Any backwards flight?

If you've got the Nano down then I think jumping to a 500 is OK. It's becoming a popular path. However Gladius is right about the crash cost. A 450 crash cost is lower.

I can usually repair my 450 for $30-40. On my 500, blades alone cost that much. I've only really crashed it once, but my repair bill was definitely over $100.

[sharicasmi]

I wouldn't recommend the 300x. That was the first helicopter I flat out gave up on because it had too many problems that would cause sporadic vibrations. The new 300cfx has an over geared pinion/main gear combination, so that 320h motor just SCREAMS under those conditions. If you can keep up to maintenance on a 130x that's what I would recommend. It's got the best blend of characteristic for people of intermediate skill level. Very mellow and stable flight characteristics and decent crash durability. Then go to a 450 then a 500 and then a 700.

250's are more like flying a brushless mcpx. They are very touchy and sensitive like the nano ncpx, but the power is ridiculous. They also crash like a 450 so I wouldn't recommend a 250 unless you're quite confident in your skills.

500's were a big scary leap up from 450's.