zenmetsu
Member
Tony started this thread, likely in response to my blog.
My take is actually really simple; many have stated that the electronics in the Align kits are not necessarily the best. I have heard pretty good things about they gyros and motors, but I have heard my share of negatives surrounding the ESC and servos. I have read no fewer than a dozen accounts of the Trex 500 ESCs going up in smoke. This is likely not due to a defect of the ESC, but rather that it might be undersized. I have also heard that the servos strip gears easily in crashes.
Tony was nice enough to link me to a Trex 500 that was being sold without electronics. Had I not purchased the EXI kit already, I may have gone this route. Even then, you are paying a $200 price premium just to have the Align name and parts. If the clone parts are comparable in quality, and are interchangeable with the Align parts, then I see little reason to avoid going with the clone and replacing broken parts with Align ones when the inevitable happens.
Fact is, keeping an Align heli stock is going to mean keeping it a "clone" of just about every other Trex out there. Some people like to be different, some people will want better. If so, it would be pointless to pay the premium for electronics that you'll eventually want to replace unless you simply planned on selling the parts.
This brings up another point; I'd totally pay a $300 premium on a $600 kit if the parts were crafted by American workers... $400 if they were located in my own state of Arizona. But Align is Taiwanese, and I have to bite my tongue when it comes to Taiwanese craftsmanship. In all likelihood, the clones probably roll off the same assembly line as the Align parts.
Everyone has their own reasons for buying a particular brand. As long as the person knows the pros/cons of their choices, I think it is a bit disrespectful to challenge someone's reasoning.
My take is actually really simple; many have stated that the electronics in the Align kits are not necessarily the best. I have heard pretty good things about they gyros and motors, but I have heard my share of negatives surrounding the ESC and servos. I have read no fewer than a dozen accounts of the Trex 500 ESCs going up in smoke. This is likely not due to a defect of the ESC, but rather that it might be undersized. I have also heard that the servos strip gears easily in crashes.
Tony was nice enough to link me to a Trex 500 that was being sold without electronics. Had I not purchased the EXI kit already, I may have gone this route. Even then, you are paying a $200 price premium just to have the Align name and parts. If the clone parts are comparable in quality, and are interchangeable with the Align parts, then I see little reason to avoid going with the clone and replacing broken parts with Align ones when the inevitable happens.
Fact is, keeping an Align heli stock is going to mean keeping it a "clone" of just about every other Trex out there. Some people like to be different, some people will want better. If so, it would be pointless to pay the premium for electronics that you'll eventually want to replace unless you simply planned on selling the parts.
This brings up another point; I'd totally pay a $300 premium on a $600 kit if the parts were crafted by American workers... $400 if they were located in my own state of Arizona. But Align is Taiwanese, and I have to bite my tongue when it comes to Taiwanese craftsmanship. In all likelihood, the clones probably roll off the same assembly line as the Align parts.
Everyone has their own reasons for buying a particular brand. As long as the person knows the pros/cons of their choices, I think it is a bit disrespectful to challenge someone's reasoning.
. I bought a spare frame from them as a parts replacement kit. Its still sitting there, so that shows its good quality.
