RJX 450 FBL Head... Discontinued?

[Bee_random]

I just bought this head assembly thinking there were spares readily available (there were a month ago in both the UK and USA) and yet this evening I can't find spares on the Internet. So what gives? Is it a temporary shortage? Or has this assembly been discontinued? Does anybody know?

[DCflyer]

http://www.rjxhobby.com/en/pro_list.asp?id=64


Here's some 450 stuff on RJX's site, but I think you have to order a minimum amount for them to ship it. Subscribing to this as well.

[neverland]

just get the hobbyking copy. its great.

[jolyboy]

I was wondering about this also. The HK head requires a feathering shaft and some other parts. I opted for the new tarot non-DFC head that has break-away links

[Atomic Skull]

Originally Posted by neverland

just get the hobbyking copy. its great.

After using both the RJX 450 clone head and a real RJX 500 head I have to say the genuine article is higher quality. I put it together and it just worked with no binding in the arms at all and the grip bearings are press fit with no slop unlike the HK copy where you have to use green locktite to prevent them from rocking in the bearing housings. The 450 and 500 heads are compatible with Align bearings dampers and feathering shafts (but not the .50 and .90 heads)

Heli Flight Center and CNC Helicopter carries RJX heads in the US. If you can wait you can get the parts about 30% cheaper from HK. However HK has the spare parts scattered all over their site, the quickest way to find them is to search for the RJX part number.

Real RJX stuff on HK will have an RJX part number (spare parts) or say "RJX " in the item description (FBL heads, mufflers, etc). The only RJX clone I know of that HK has is that $12 head, which for some weird reason is only listed in their helicopter parts listings and not on the FBL page (maybe they don't want to piss off RJX by putting a clone on the same page)

I really wish HK would just drop the clone helicopters and start carrying RJX kits instead. If they followed the same pricing as the other RJX products then they'd be in the high end of clone prices. HK would gain some legitimacy, RJX would sell more helicopter kits, and noobs would stop getting junk kits from HK. Everybody wins.

[JWILL]

Helidirect carries rjx head parts.

[Bee_random]

Thanks everybody,
I just did a trawl through heli direct and some old invoices. Looks like everybody has removed the RJX from the description and made it as a very generic "T-Rex 450 PRO". The part numbers remain the same. So searches on "RJX" turn nothing up.
Even searching on the part numbers (all starting EDN-1199), my lhs has stopped doing the complete assembly and some of the spares .

DFC is like some infectious disease. I don't want DFC, but all the suppliers are really pushing it . And now the product I do want is disappearing.

[neverland]

After using both the RJX 450 clone head and a real RJX 500 head I have to say the genuine article is higher quality.

so what. the hobbyking head is about £10, and is still great quality. main thing is it works very well on the 450.

i'm a bit sick of the continual hobbyking bashing on this forum. even when theres nothing wrong with a product, someone chimes in with a criticism. its almost like the forum is made of other rc traders or something.

[Bee_random]

Neverland; do you have a link to the UK hobby king equivalent?

[neverland]

its international only i'm afraid. heres the link...

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...450_heli_.html

i ordered two of them on my last order, because i was impressed with the one ive done already. well, at that price...

one is for a hk450 pro, and the other for spares, or even another HK 450 thats yet to be bought. im not put off by helifreak snobs.

its a good head IMO. i hope they keep selling it and dont go all DFC.

just thought of a joke. are heli pilots who are sniffy about hobby king displaying INVERTED snobbery?

[Bee_random]

I'm struggling to believe those prices! $11 for an assembly??

[neverland]

its true.

i suppose its cheap as theres not much to it, being fbl, and you build it yourself. and they sell lots i guess.

although cheap it seems very good quality. easy to set up and has no slop that i can tell. not sure how it will survive a crash, but same goes for any head. just buy another for parts.

[Bladecpnitro]

I use that HK 450 FBL head as well and its great. The only thing is the kit comes with larger than normal swash balls for the washout arms and the grip links. On the grip links I used standard Trex 450 links but on the swash end but on the wash out arms I had to use the larger balls that came with the kit. The problem is my screws would bottom out before tightening the balls up. I took some thread and wrapped it around the screw close to the head and saturated it with glue tightened the balls onto the swash and its been flawless.

HK doesn't seem to carry just the grip links for the HK FBL head. They are huge at the top like a Trex 600 link or something I'm not sure what they are but it would be nice to have extra parts for all of the head. A Trex 450 Pro v2 (51mms long end to end) feathering shaft works in the head perfectly. http://helidirect.com/align-featheri...rt-p-14268.hdx
Thats the only thing that's torn up on my head in about 5 crashes. The long grip links might bend but are easy to straiten. The grip arms might bend a little, I just adjust the pit links back to zero the blades at center stick and fly away.