UK Heli Log

I was looking for a couple more Trex 250 batteries but unable to source any Outrage 860mAh 30c (which are great). I decided to give the Align 850mAh 30C a chance, given they were just so dam cheap (lets face it, the cells are probably sourced from the same factory).

On initial inspection when compared to the the Outrage equivalent the balancing tap and JST power connector are on opposite sides. The power cable whilst perfectly fine is not insulated with the nice supple silicon that the Outrage battery is, which makes it slightly stiffer, not a big issue really. The Align battery is 1 gram heavier (when I weigh it) than the Outrage, so the COG setup is essentially the same, which made life easy for me.

Flight testing proved the Align battery to be equally as good as the Outrage with identical flight times of about 4 minutes hard 3D (I could squeeze a bit more but I tend towards the safer side). The only thing that remains to be tested is the life span of the battery in terms of the number of cycles.

Overall the battery is value for money, I tentatively give an 8 out of 10 based on the fact I have no idea how many usable cycles it will get.

Rating: 8/10

After a few flights and tweaking with the Trex 250 it is clear the tail is not amazing. The new V2 Trex250 kits have the latest generation (2nd or 3rd I’m not sure) tail with chinese weights built into the blade grip. In theory that improves the tail dramaticlly in terms of power that is required by the tail servo. This youtube video clearly shows the theory applied and working.

With that in mind I decided to try the MicroHeli complete tail solution, which is a whole new tail box minus the tail output shaft which needs to be supplied from the original kit.

There is lots to like about this upgrade initially:

• Zero slop in the blade grips or anywhere
• All CNC metal
• Blade grips have longer blade bolts and nuts to secure the baldes
• Tail bell crank moves the tail slider from both the bottom (ball) and top (pin)
• Quality bolts

The upgrade is so simple, the hardest part is putting the belt back on and adjusting limits on the gyro

There is an interesting design that uses a plastic washer/spacer which sits against the tailbox on the tail output shaft. From what I can tell stops the tail from slidder arms from inverting and binding. Obviously there is enough touque to drive the tail so full throw in that direction is not required, also the tail slider on the original Align tail has a small disc which protudes (which the MicroHeli tail does not).

MicroHeli has also decided to used mini phillips screw heads instead of hex…which by the way didn’t strip like the Align ones.

Installed MicroHeli tail upgrade #1

Installed MicroHeli tail upgrade #2

Flight Testing

The tail is very solid and I was finally able to 3D the sucker, fast inverted backwards flight seemed to hold fine. The tail did seem to oscillate a bit in strong wind, which is possibly due to my gain settings, which I’m okay with as I like my gain on the high side. Also the tail still seems to kick on full collective punches (running 100% flat curve) but shortly recovers back to its correct position, which I’m certain is due to the Align DS420 tail servo (it doesn’t effect my flying). I might try a JR DS380G (DS290G US)

Summary

Great quality with zero slop and a massive improvement over the stock Super Combo Tail, however it does come at a price. I still don’t have my overall tail setup perfect so it’s hard to know what effect the DS420 is having on the kicking (but I’m reasonably certain it’s the servo).

Rating: 7.5/10

After about 30 seconds of flight with the stock Align plastic blades it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize they are twisting under load. When the collective is pumped there is a noticeable delay in response which gives the Align plastic blades is a massively spongy feeling(not what you want on a small crazy heli).

So a blade upgrade was needed, I decided to try the Torsion 205mm straight edge blades. On initial inspection length wise the blades appeared to be slightly more flexible then the stock Align plastic blades (just an observation) however the “twisting” flex in the blade was basically nil, which is what I was interested in. Also the blades are a very tight fit when folded, this is due to being wider by the bolt hole probably in order reduce flex.

Flight testing the blade offered a marked improvement over the stock Align plastic blade. The head didn’t blog any more or less and the sponginess and collective delay was substantially reduced. Overall I’d say I’m happy with the result and would recommend the blade. The only thing is I haven’t tried the Align carbon blades so I can’t draw a comparison there.

Rating: 8/10

The Align Trex250 SE has been released, from an initial glance Align have added (when compared to the Super Pro Combo):

• carbon main blades
• new canopy graphics
• silver anodising rather than black
• servo inserts
• version 2 chinese weight tail grips

Other than the new tail there’s nothing new really. In the states it’s currently priced at $439.99 USD, $10 more than Super Pro Combo, which is actually a better deal as you get the new tail and carbon main blades which are really needed if you plan to 3D it.

Very interesting video explaining the issues with the Trex250 tail and modifications required to fix it.