T-Rex 450: Some Align bashing

[mnentwig]

Hei,

copy of my earlier post from rcgroups, if anybody cares.


In my opinion - based on T-Rex 450 experience - Align makes reasonably good equipment, but nothing top-notch.
What they have achieved - willingly or unwillingly - is to establish a quasi-"standard" for parts that fit together to form a heli.
But their product leaves a LOT of room for improvement - in other words, if I first buy a stock T-Rex and then upgrade it to something that performs well, I throw many expensive parts away.

Examples, from 1 1/2 years of T-Rex 450 flying:
- Frame
A HDX superframe instead and suddenly most of the interaction problems are a thing of the past. Spent a fortune on broken Align frame parts (as I did)? Not any more.
- Landing gear
The stock part wasn't tough enough for my first 450-size autorotations. The autos got better, but I'm still scratching my head - why put such a fragile part in the box, when both other companies and Align itself (as an upgrade) sell parts that last?
- Washout assembly
it wears out after a while. Why? No ball bearings. Oops. The PFMOD replacement HAS ball bearings, is more accurate, gives higher roll rate and costs only half as much
- Paddles
Align offers "heavy", "super heavy" and "leaded brick". If that isn't enough, you can always add more flybar weights. The fun starts with 3g plastic paddles, from 3rd party manufacturer (or, of course, CF, but they break easily).
- ESC:
Sorry, their governor simply doesn't work. Headspeed "wobbles" and it confuses the gyro.
- Motor:
The 450 L is a joke. I broke two XL (and I'm not the only one). There are plenty of motors on the market that give more power and survive a couple of crashes.
- Pinion:
This is just ridiculous. After the first three flights, the main wheel teeth get gold colored. The pinion wears down incredibly fast. A decent steel pinion lasts for hundreds of flights, with practically no wear at all.
- Belt:
The stock belt I know (they may have a better part now) was so fragile that you could easily tear it in two with your hands. Consequently, broken belts in flight were common. 3rd party belts (Mavrikk) are tough as nails and last nearly forever.
- Tail:
After, how many, four revisions they still haven't figured out how to make a reasonably slop-free tail assembly? They should ask Microheli about the secret of a 90-degree lever that doesn't wear out.
The tail on my first T-Rex also had a well-known design flaw that chewed up belts after no more than three flights (one has to remove the idle pulley wheel, then it works).
- head dampers. Too soft and don't last
- tail support clamp. PLASTIC! Mine broke in flight, the unsupported boom snapped off at the frame. Result: the mother of all boom strikes. Oh, Align sells a CNC upgrade part? Hrmpf.
- Align LiPos. OK, not the worst, but definitely no top performers.
- GF blades, servos, ... (reportedly, I never tried those - for good reason)

So much for Align bashing...

[Vispilä]

Samoilla linjoilla olen joissakin jutuissa, omat kokemukset ei ole ihan noin jyrkkiä. Trex 450:hän on melko vanha konsepti, siitä ei pääse eroon. Jos ja todellakin jos tekevät sen Align 450v3 version niin toivon tosiaan että muuttaisivat muutakin kuin osien hintaa ja väriä.

Runko: Itsellä oli ongelmia perus rungon korjauksen kanssa, välillä täyttä tuskaa. HDX frame on helpompi ja tukevampi ja halvempi, kannattaa siis ehdottomasti vaihtaa siihen. Huono puoli osien saatavuus, hinnassa ei valittamista.

Landarit: En muista miten Alignin omat toimi, ittellä 3rd party landarit

washout: ei mitään kulumisongelmaa vaikka satoja lentoja takana.

stabbarilavat: Alignin kevyimmät muovilavat on todella hyvät ja halvat.

ESC: govi ei tosiaan ole mikään kummoinen. 500:sen säätimessä ei ole ollut ongelmia meillä.

motit: Alignin moteistakin lähtee tehoa, pitää vaan laittaa tarpeeksi iso pinjoni ja käyttää laadukkaita akkuja.

Pinjoni: Mulla ei ainakaan ollut ikinä mitään ongelmaa Align pinjoneiden kanssa. Kestävät kulutusta hyvin. Kerran olen kiinnitysruuvin kierteet hajottanut.

Hihna: Minusta todella kestäviä, ei noita ainakaan käsivoimilla saa hajalle. Ei lennossakaan paljoa kulu, liekkö tuon HDX perän ansiota.

Perä: Kyllästyin aina hajoaviin osiin joten vaihdoin HDX täys kuulalaakeroituun perään. Ärsyttävintä siinä laakerien vaihto, mutta ainakin toimii ongelmitta.

Sen verran nyt, myöhemmin lisää.

-op-