More cheap "500"'s

Not sure if people saw this but last week Xheli came out with another EXI 500 but this time it has a plastic frame and is $78, seems like it should be cheaper since the Carbon Fiber Edition is only $30 more, but that makes you wonder about thje quality of the carbon fiber if its only worth $30 to EXI.



Of course then there's the new HK-T500 that is suppose to be $80 with a full CNC head.

Still can't figure out why ESky is gonna bother to release the 900 which is gonna cost more and have a crap load of plastic in the head and be harder to get parts for, jeez, talk about a dumb thing for them to do.

Still very new to the hobby and with 2 coaxials, 1 fp, & 1 cp, I can say that the next heli will have a metal head. No experience on a heli with a metal head but it has to be a world of difference. Just checked out a 600 the other day and I was amazed at the metal head and how everything is so smooth.

The esky 900 would not have a chance with me when & if it is released with a plastic head unless the feedback was truly amazing. I have 3 esky heli's now & 1 e-flite. Im aggressively pricing 500 / 600 class heli's right now and really undecided between the two classes.

Jeff

this one in now 77 bucks

(Burton, I grew up in Monroe NJ...great town)

Just arrived at the house. Exi 500 for $77, I had to take a shot. First barebones kit that Im building but it should make a great winter project. Head looks really nice (metal) and some of the other parts will probably be upgraded right from the start.

Jeff

yeah good town but last 5 years it turned into senior privite communitys and million dollla houses lol how that exi 500 i was thinking about getting one does it feel like good quality or cheap?

The metal head is very nice....everything looks pretty decent. Cant really compare to a t-rex just because I never owned one but I think it will make a real nice winter project. "Fat daddy" from this forum has the carbon edition and really likes it.

Jeff

not far from Sicklerville where i moved when i got married

these Heli prices are going crazzy!

-pete

Must admit I am waiting for the HK-T600 pretty much decided thats my next heli!

My HKH-500 arrived today
Bought it from
Not sure whether it is big enough, maybe I will just sell it and wait for the HK-600.

I am sure my girlfriend won't approve of two more heli's. She thinks 2 (HBFP and HK-450) is enough

But I NEED to have a big one now that I get the feeling of flying (yes it is an addiction)

Anyway, here a two pics of the kit. It even includes two pinions.





Special thanks to Blazemob, for his tutorial on posting pictures!

pictures didnt show up.

you have to train them now so they understand that you will have hobbies.........It is part of the package ! without compromise, case dismissed - hammer down...next issue

work hard to play hard !!!!

That is strange, pictures do show up in my browser

Yeah, pictures also show up at my computer

Nice looking kit! Looking forward to seeing it go together.

pictures are up now....I couldnt see them at first. It was just two big boxes with a small x in each corner.

Anyway ...best of luck with the kit. I have been hunting prices for electronics all day.

Jeff

I have the carbon edition and I also bought a partial Trex 500 ESP kit.

The carbon parts on the Exi are every bit as nice as the Trex.

The Exi head is very nice, but the shafts suck. First time you touch anything something bends.
The Exi gears also suck.
With Align shafts and gears, you have a cheap equivalent (and in some ways better) to the Trex 500.

There is MORE metal on the Exi than the Trex 500 ESP!! The tail on the Trex is a torque tube setup. $80 to replace in a crash. TOO MUCH money for too little flight improvement! I actually like the Exi belt tail better. It is rugged and smooth.

I LOVE THE EXI 500 Carbon edition!!
The best $140 heli on the planet, IMO.

I have one kit as a spare that I bought before Xheli ran out.

Does the plastic kit have a FULL metal head? It looked to me like there were some
plastic parts on there. Maybe black CNC?
EDIT: I just went to Xheli's site and looked that heli up. It looks to me like the only plastic on the head are the washout arms!! Wow. That makes that heli worth the price just for the head parts.

The tail looks to be plastic. Why do they do that!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's the part that needs to be metal the MOST!! Ugh. Tails are not that expensive, but will make that heli more expensive than the CF version by the time you upgrade it to the level of the CF.

IMO, I would buy the CF version and maybe the $77 one for spare parts. A complete head used to cost $100 from Xheli. I haven't looked lately. Align heads are WAY more expensive.

Best,
Kent

Here's my Exi 500:

Oh, and I sure like the looks of that canopy!
It looks to be FG as well. That's worth some bucks, too!
Amazing what those guys can do in China.
Kent

I think I will indeed build this baby
Following Nuttcaze’s advice: “Only fly what you can afford to crash”. A 600-size heli might be out of my league (for now).
Using components from HobbyKing I can compile a budget but nice 500-class heli. Besides, I already have a receiver (Spectrum AR6200) and gyro (Telebee). And putting two 3S 2400mAh Lipo’s (from my HK-450) in series should do the job as well.

I am afraid the whole kit is plastic, rotor head and tail assembly. But I paid only 80 dollars, including shipping. Which is the same price as I would have paid for the the HK-500 from Hobby King (including shipping). But this one comes with a nicer canopy. Glass fiber indeed

I believe the HKH-500 is exactly the same as the HK-500 from Hobby King.
No full metal HK-T500 yet at HobbyKing, but they are selling a full metal head for this heli at 50 dollars. Can’t find a full metal tail assembly yet in their shop. Only a metal tail rotor grip.

I will keep you informed on the build, but it may take some time before I will start.
Just started a new job and really need to finish my PhD thesis...

Sweet heli Akent
Can you comment on the flight characteristics compared to your Exi-450? Is it much more stable and how does it handle in windy conditions?
Getting prepared and in the mood

Thanks!

Thanks, Mozzi!

The 500 is WAY more stable than the 450, and has a higher power to weight ratio! I run Scorpion motors on both, too! With the 500, I'm running the HK3026-1600kv with a 12t pinion.
You can also dial in how long you want to fly much easier. I run two types of batteries. One is a 2600ma 6s 30c that is my hotrod battery set. The heli will fly for around 6 minutes with these. Then there is the 3300ma 6s that will fly for almost 10 minutes! It is heavier, so I generally use those when I feel like just flying around. At first I did run two of the batteries from my 450 in series. That works fine, but you just have to be careful to charge them both the same.

The 500 is the best all around flier that I have. I have idle 1 throttle set fairly mild (2600rpm headspeed) and it is a dream machine to fly here. I have idle 2 set to 3k rpm headspeed and it is a beast! I am running +/-13 degrees collective and +/-9 cyclic on linear curves in both idle up modes.

I fly the 450 in up to probably 15 mph winds. Above that it seems to get pushed around a little much for me. I don't have a wind speed limit for the 500!!!!!!

I really think if you keep the headspeed down with the plastic, you should be fine. The 500 is a lot bigger than the 450.

You will love your 500! It sounds like you have some good parts for it.
Kent

Thanks Kent! I am convinced!
Lets build the baby
I've already been browsing for parts.

I found this and this metal rotor + tail on
Would make a nice upgrade!

I will be building right along with you !!!

still searching for parts and prices. Let me know if you find any good deals !

Jeff

Dayum!!!
Less than $30 for a head AND tail?!?!?!?

Wow! I haven't even seen 450 parts that cheap.
I wonder if those are any good?

Oh, and Ebay in Dutch? I haven't been there in a while! I did a lot of work in Norway and flew through Amsterdam a bunch of times...

Best,
Kent

Yep 30 dollar, to good to be true... take a look at the shipping costs.. also 30 dollar... that's marketing
So, 60 dollar including shipping, still a good deal. Don't know what the quality is.

And yes, all the way from the Netherlands

I didn't look at the shipping on Ebay like I should have! Yep, that's where lots of them make their money.
Like you say, $60 is still an amazing deal!

I don't remember if you have your 500 yet, but here's some pictures of the size difference between the 450 and 500.