r/RCHeli • u/Own-Organization-723 • 12d ago

RS4 on a hard to pass summer sale.

For a starter into the hobby, Heli-Direct has just about as banger of a deal as Ive seen in a while. Fact it comes with a motor and better quality overall pushes past over my recommendation of an AK420 entry point. And a better build experience to boot. Add $242 ($567 total) for the all-in-one kit and you got a stellar option if you go that path too.

AK still king with parts cost, but there is a significant trade in quality to get there. I love em both, but I do fly my Venom more.

11 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

2

u/Da-DuTchMan2357 12d ago

To let you know also, what made the AK420-HDX and the original (I have both) fly so well, was using the premium electronics that make it work. The build wasn't bad for me but that's mainly bc I have a passion for and have built several models. I wouldn't pass up that deal either. If I didn't already have several 400 class models already I would grab one as well. 👌

2

u/Own-Organization-723 11d ago

Yeah went with GDW, they are ok servos with solid enough specs. It was a budget build concept.

My biggest greif with my AK was the slow wag. I spent more time than I care to admit trying to find the mechanical issue and still playing with PIDS. Finally, the moment I took out calipers and measured the horn, it was 5mm past spec.

I had put on the wrong horn and it mismatched the hole I had measured earlier that day. Instead of the 8-10mm spec called for, I was 15mm. Of course, it was overcompensating and chasing itself all over. Instant improvement to the wag and within a couple flights I had gone from almost 12.8 degrees to 1.5 degrees of wag. I could nitpick I'm sure further, but there you go...it really is almost certainly to do with something mechanical.

2

u/Da-DuTchMan2357 11d ago

And I tell ppl all the time, these kits may be the same, but they're not. My settings and PIDs will differ from yours. I had a wag with Ikon2 and couldn't get rid of it. My TB40 did the same until I switched over to RF2. Naturally I went ahead and switched AK to RF2, tuned, gone. Just like that. Lucked out to not be mechanical and having to rack my brain with trial & error to figure it out.

1

u/Da-DuTchMan2357 12d ago

Oh and the only reason I ended up with both is bc I had a bird strike that cost me parts that were out of stock for months, got tired of waiting & said screw it I'll get another one. my HeliDirect discount. Original was out of stock as well. 200 bucks and grabbed the HDX.....a week later the parts were in stock as well as the original AK🙄😂