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EXI 450 Line Review

Xheli has a number of 450 sized heli ARF kits. Their offerings, prices and bundles may change from time to time. This is an overview of various models and my opinions on them.

Click here to view the EXI 450 SE CF Product page at Xheli

Click here to view the EXI 450 V2 Plastic version Product page at Xheli

Click here to view the EXI 450 LE Product Page at Xheli

Click here to view the General EXI ARF kit page at Xheli

General EXI 450 Buyer's guide

Click here for the EXI 450 thread on RCGROUPS.COM

(To view videos, enable pop ups as this will open another browser window to view)
Video of an EXI 450 SE CF maiden flight showing stability
Video of inverted flight with 450 SE CF
Video of an EXI 450 V2 plastic maiden flight after I reconfigured it for someone
Video with some EXI 450 helis (metal head/tail)

EXI 450 Pro (The Align Pro Clone family)
CLICK HERE FOR THE DEDICATED EXI 450 PRO REVIEW PAGE

EXI 450 SE CF
This kit is by far the best overal Kit I recommend. It's price points is good and worth the added amount over any of the other kits Xheli offers.  An almost direct copy of the Trex 450 SE V2. What you get over the cheaper kits is:
My Recommended 450 SE CF setup

EXI 450 V2 Plastic
This is the least expensive version and the one to choose if your are going on the extreme "Cheap" side of things.
I can tell you that plastic will break more often in a crash than Metal.  So if your a beginner, your still better off getting the SE CF version.   A sport flyer who wants to spend less up front and upgrade later (to a metal head/tail) may want this version to start off with.  I would not run my headspeed over 2800 RPM with this helicopter though, I don't think the head will take it for long.  The tail has more slop than the SE CF version as well which will affect your tail holding ability.

EXI 450 LE, ZL & SE versions
These 3 versions have 3 bearing blocks supporting the main shaft. The LE has the traditional inverted motor mount and the SE & ZL has the motor mounted on top. The SE and ZL while not direct clones are similar in structure to the MiniTitan.  Some people favor this design for scale applications because of the larger battery mount that allows the battery to be mounted more forward on the helicopter. The SE has the 3mm feathering shaft (like the Align SE) vs. the 4mm tapered down toe 3mm like the SE CF or Align SEv2.  The ZL and EL have the 4mm (SEV2 style) feathering shafts. The ZL has a programmable head that allows you to change ball link locations to affect roll rates. SE has a full plastic flybar cage. LE has a plastic/metal flybar cage and the ZL is all metal flybar cage. ZL has CF frames and all metal head/tail while the SE and LE have plastic tail and metal w/ Plastic head. The mainshafts on all 3 of these are NOT trex 450 SEV2 compatible and will only be found at Xheli. So if you order these, make sure you get mainshafts for spare parts.

Vertex
This is pretty much an ARF version of the Exceed Genesis. The mainshaft is different than an Align SEV2 so get spare main shafts if you order this.  The tail belt comes all the way around the mainshaft which means there is no front belt pully slippage. It is slightly more efficient and will be a little quieter than the other 450's.

MA450
This is the arf version of the Blueray with a few upgraded metal parts. SEV2 part compatible except the frames. Firberglass frames flexes a little easier than CF so it survives crashes better.  Metal head/tail and blocks as well as tail servo mount.  Servo configuration is different in that 2 are in the back and one is up front. Plastic Canopy.

MB450 V2
This version is similar to the MA 450 but the frames are wider and not split. The innner part of where the main shaft supports is redically different and allows the cyclic servos to be easier (once you figure it out) to be mounted, accessed and serviced.  The frames are fiberglass which flexes a little easier than CF so it will survive a crash better than CF or metal. Head is metal and crash parts save the frames are Align SE V2 compatible.  Head mechanics are similar to the Exceed Blueray.


Mechanical Setup:

Like any ARF heli kit, you MUST re-loctite all the metal to metal fastiners. Indluding the head and tail screws.  This is a must and you should do this for your own safety and the safety of others. This is no different than what MUST do to other helis you might get from other manufaturers other than EXI.  If you find a screw is really stuck, heat it up with a soldering iron tip to loosen the loctite. The feathering shaft screws inside the blade grips as well as the tail grip shaft screws are known to be very tight on new helis from EXI.


Inexpensive Fiberglass blades are good for this helicopter, especially at the beginning when your getting used to it. But Carbon Fiber blades will really show what this helicopter is capable of as well as have less tracking inconsistances compared to fiberglass.  The EXI 450s will support 335mm blades (Xheli and Hobbypartz sell them). This will reduce roll rates but will make the helicopte fly more stable.

You can follow the Align 450 manuals for setup as well as my other 450 tips & Tricks

One thing I did mod on the helicopter was I put a chinese weight mod onto the tail grips