Yikes! Now I know what happens when a tail belt gets too loose!
(no crash)

 

So after 9 months of wear and tear, thanks to @Crash Heligod, I finally had to replace the head on the CX450SE. I was having balance problems, though nothing was obviously damaged, and as it turns out, the aluminum main rotor hub was slightly bent somehow, most likely from one of those good crashings from a few months ago. I found a package deal on RCG of two sets of blades, two good motors, and a like-new FBL head for cheap..... equivalent to what I would have paid for a brand new head assembly.

By the way, that's a standard FBL head on a shorter Align DFC shaft.

 

No.

 

You know...... you might be right. I think it is about time to retire the CX450, but not to your graveyard. Maybe I'll eventually put it up for sale on the other forum to someone who can use it. I've been busy toying with the Blade 450-3D lately anyway.
Besides all that, I just put a down-payment toward a stretched MSH MINI-PROTOS.... complete airframe with all alloy pulleys and idlers, SAB main blades, and a few other upgraded parts... minus electronics for $150.
Send out the Clone........

 

Good on you @Beaver! you wont know yourself with this little beastie. it is a truly great helicopter - you will love the way it flies.

 

I'll like that nice quiet belt drive system too! I hate gear noise.

 

..... and on that note....
So it seems I'm going to have to get one of those MSH/Scorpion 2221-12 2580Kv motors for the Mini P when it arrives. These 3500Kv motors are too fast for the 13t or 14t:120t ratio of the protos.
I'll be watching EBay more closely than I am already.

 

All this research on motors brought me to the realization that this Turnigy H2223 3500Kv motor I've been using for the last 9 months is built very similarly to a Scorpion 2221 series motor. They are almost dimensionally identical and carry similar specs aside from Kv. It's actually rated 600W. It's too bad Turnigy doesn't offer a 2580Kv motor in this H2223 series motor.... for nearly 1/3 the price of a Scorpion.

 

I have a 6s Motor for the miniprotos. Believe me you want to run 6s for economy reasons and get the stretch kit after the first crash. Cost is negligable... and the blades? for econmy you can pick up aligns....very cheap at 19 dollars each

 

I may have to go 6S anyway..... the Mini P I'm buying is already stretched.... Tail and blades!
I'll have to buy a new charger and 6S packs, along with a 6S motor.... maybe even a new esc if my Align RCE-BL45X isn't enough. Higher grade servos go without saying.... I'll have to go with KST DS215MG servos at the very least. No cheap Turnigy servos here! The Mini P may be on the bench for a bit till I get everything I need.

 

It's been just over a year since I started this thread. The CX450-SE has been sitting on a shelf since the arrival of the Mini Protos. Though still airworthy, I will have to order new servos and a few other minor parts to get it back in the air. It's definitely been a learning experience and well worth the the time and money keeping it together..... as @Crash Heligod felt it necessary to shadow me over the first 6 months.

 

Yes it has been a good experience for you @Beaver. You end up learining so much by progressing the way you did. And now you have a brand name heli and can feel the difference too. You would never really understand the difference if you went straight to a mini protos.

 

If I had gone straight to the Mini P, I would have ended up beating the shiz out of it, and had a harder time getting parts. At least with the 450SE clone, there were some parts available at the LHS along with a few Blade parts mixed in through improvisation.
I haven't had to order any parts for the Protos yet.

 

S

Shut the #ell up you boney ba$+ard.

 

I've ordered a set of servos for the CX450... they're cheap MG90S servos, but they will do fine for sport flying, and as a back-up heli. I'll probably go ahead and put the K-Bar back on it. The frame is still mostly complete minus the servos, ESC, FBL, and a new setup profile. Odds are good this version will last awhile given recent trends.

 

Ooookaaaay........
I ran the tracking numbers on the dreaded China Post e-packet shipping, and of course the numbers don't register....... as is common with e-packet shipments if you get a tracking number at all. At least I ordered before Chinese New Year.

 

Shoot an email off to them, normally they will track it... China Post's tracking is really useless ( It will only show departure and arrival, Not transit) They may have given yout the wrong number ...

 

I'm really not "that" worried about it, e-packet deliveries I've had in the past have showed up every time for the most part. It only makes me nervous not being able to track........ simply because I'm naturally suspicious that way.
Nice to know you're still around, BTW, haven't seen you around here much lately.