Derek's Trex 450 Pro DFC

[Derek]

I was just doing some routine maintenance on my 450 and I actually noticed that the front drive gear, for the torque tube, moves up and down almost 1/4". I can't believe that this is "normal". I noticed this "slop" after putting the helicopter all back together. I don't have any extra pieces from the teardown/rebuild.

Is there suppose to be a small brass spacer underneath the front drive gear that would keep the drive gear "in place"? I'm only asking because I remember putting one one Dustin's helicopter. The manual for the Trex 450 Pro does not show this spacer but I think it surely needs it.

[Derek]

I just got done tearing down the tail and splitting the tail box. I went through my "spare parts" boxes and found two small brass spacers...one was a bit thicker than the other. I put the thicker one on first and there was no way there was room for that one, lol. I put the thinner spacer in place and it seemed to hold the front drive gear solidly in place. So...I put everything back together and I checked for any slop on that gear...now...the slop is much less than what it was...very much less. It's not totally "solid" but it's very close and the two umbrella gears seem to mesh very well.

So....Derek's happy, once again.

I still cant go fly anything because it's still very very cold but the helicopter will be ready for that first semi-warm day. If the temps would just go up about 25 degrees...I'd go flying.

[danhampson]

I don't remember there being a spacer there Derek. But my 550 had the same sort of play in the tail gears so i added some shims to get a better gear mesh, I did that while i was building it (recommended on HF for 550/600 pro dfc models)

[Derek]

Thanks Dan! I spoke with some guys on Facebook. They recommended the same thing.

[Derek]

WOW...I've not posted about my Trex 450 in over a year. That's pitiful! I love this helicopter.

So...i'm gonna post about it right now. This should help make Paul happy to see some news about something other than those "pesky" quad-guys, lmao.

Ok...I'm sure that I flew my 450 around 50 times in early 2015. Then I remember noticing that the tail would not hold "solid" during flips. It wouldn't wonder far but it was far enough that it bothered me....and I never flew it again last year.....pitiful.

Since I am more in the "building, repair, and maintenance" season, instead of "flying" season, I got the 450 down off the shelf, blew off the dust (again, pitiful) and gave it a good look over. I noticed that the tail pitch slider seemed to have some play in it....at least more play than I remember it "should" have. It's a cheap enough part for the 450, so I ordered 2. I also ordered more tail blades, tail bearings, and some other misc parts. I got out my awesome set of Align drivers and began a bit of disassembly.

Speed the story up, I had a good time with my 450 and it has a very clean, shiney, and tight tail. The tail pitch slider is very smooth and solid. There is a minute about of play...very very small, but it's heaps better than it was before. It's still got the first set of Zeal 325mm main blades on the head and now it has super shiny black tail blades and it's mechanically ready to go....as far as the tail end. I may have to go back through the tail settings in the 3gx (I hope to add the Ikon to this helicopter soon) but besides a bit of touch up in the 3gx settings, this helicopter is ready for flying again. YES!!!

I was thinking about getting the micro Ikon and putting it on my 450. I've talked to a few people, including a very nice guy at HeliDirect, and they all talked highly about the micro Ikon on the 450 class helicopters. Although I would need to spend a few dollars to get the "Micro iKON/Brain Servo Adapter - Standard JR/Futaba Connector to JST", that would be no big deal. However, I think for just a few dollars more, I may as well just get the full Ikon and put it on the 450. That way, if the "super unfortunate" happens, I can put the Ikon on a bigger heli with no worries.

[Graham Lawrie]

I was working on my 450 a few weeks ago and mine doesn't have the shims. But I do need a servo

[Derek]

I'm so happy to have my 450 seemingly all sorted again. It really was a great flyer and it surely didn't deserve all the shelf-time that I gave it.

[DOG]

I glad to here that you broke out the 450 finally and got it ready for some flight time Derek. I have a blast with my 450. It's quick and respond great in the tight places. Like where I fly "Back Yard." It doesn't cost an arm/leg "Maybe both" to fix after a crash. I don't have the torque tube, instead i have the belt drive. The belt drive worked great for my learning experience. Especially now since I'm learning how to do forward/backward flips and inverting flying. I practice on the simulator first and once I think that I have the trick done right then I go to my trusty 450 for the real deal. Once I learn how to do things on the 450 and finally grow some hair around my balls then I'll give it a try on the Gaui X3. I know that the X3 is just a stretch 450 but man she is bad ass with the Xnova 2618 XTS series motor that's in it. The 500, I have to get used to that bird before I attempt any tricks. My 450 is my go to bird when I want to buzz around like a chicken with it's head cut off Cant wait for you to get the cob web off the 450 and make a video of your flight Derek. You'll remember how much fun your 450 really is while your tossing around in the air .

[Derek]

Yeah man...I'm stoked about getting the helicopters back out. My 600 was the most fun to fly but I'm thinking it needs new servos..we'll discuss that later. The 450 is just a fun little helicopter and I've had a lot of great flights with it. It was the first helicopter that I dared hold an inverted hover with...just awesome.

[DOG]

Yeah man...I'm stoked about getting the helicopters back out. My 600 was the most fun to fly but I'm thinking it needs new servos..we'll discuss that later. The 450 is just a fun little helicopter and I've had a lot of great flights with it. It was the first helicopter that I dared hold an inverted hover with...just awesome.

When your ready to purchases servos for your 600, check these out. I've been very pleased with KST servos. https://alofthobbies.com/radio-gear/ser ... ervos.html just a thought.

[pvolcko]

What are these "helicopters" you speak of?

Truth be told I'm happy the forum is used, regardless of the type of models that are popular at the moment. I'm still a helicopter guy primarily. Looking forward to the new flying season.

[Derek]

I'm very much looking forward to the new flying season...helicopters included lol

[DOG]

I'm very much looking forward to the new flying season...helicopters included lol

Any day of flying is a great day unless I crash then it's a learning experience for me .

[cml001]

Uh.. Yes, brass shim between the main gear & lower bearing block.. Lol.. I noticed the time stamp on this thread & re read it.. Lol.. Kinda funny u guys made mention of the site & its usage as well as the fact that most have migrated to multirotors. To be completely honest.. A bit discouraging.. While I do love to fly anything.. And I absolutely do not begrudge anyone for preferring or enjoying other vehicles... I'm a heli guy.. I love play'n w my planks & multirotors.. I try to get back on them & various stuff and want to expand on them.. i.e. FPV gear, controllers, etc.. But I can't stay focused on them long.. And if I crash a heli.. It takes priority on the $ spending.. I'm a heli guy. Lol.. Glad to see Derek wanting to get on his 450.. Hell.. U should be bang'n that 600 around. Lol.. Anyhow.. Kinda miss the guys on the heli side of things.

[danhampson]

Helis are cool, but for me it's the FPV side that's taken over. I don't think it's the type of craft, more the feeling of actually flying.

I still love Helis and at some point will pick up my 450 scale build. The main issue with this build is the space, or lack of it. I'm hoping to have that sorted out later in the year.

Each to there own and happy flying.

[Derek]

In regard to the upper post in this thread, I do remember adding a small spacer and there was no more play in that drive gear. Everything helds, and still holds, very solid. No worries there.

As for the flying, I'm still quite torn between my helicopters and my scratch built planes. I'd love to get my new quad issues sorted out and I'll be working on that this week...but that's for it's own thread, lol. I remember having several really good flights with the Trex 450 before the tail began to wonder slightly. I could grab the tail blades, try to move them, and the tail pitch slider seemed to have a great deal of play. I bought a new one and just replaced it the other night. It's definitely much more solid than it was with the slider that was on the tail. I'm going to go back through the 3gx setup, just to be sure that everything is as it should be. I'm very much looking forward to getting the heli's back in the air. If the 3gx setup goes smoothly, and it should, the 450 helicopter will be ready to go quickly. I think my 600 is gonna be down for a bit until I get new servos for it. My 500 needs to be rewired. I'm hoping to order a DFC head and Ikon for the 500 with some money from my income tax return.