TRex 250 Clone review

[pck]

I got myself a TRex250 clone kit from Aerial on friday and would like to share a small review of this clone with you. This is my very first review so please pardon me if it is not written up to your expectations.

I already have the Align Trex250 for a while but since this clone is not expensive, I decided to buy it and see the differences between the two.

First up: The packaging





The top picture is the clone box while the second pic is the original. Wow, i think they even clone the box...

And while the align box have endorsement signatures from Alan Szabo JR and Jason Krause, the clone also have a signature but without the printed name.
Maybe it's the signature of the boss of SKYA himself! haha...

[pck]

What's in the box

What's in the box:

As this is only a kit without electronics, the contents are not cramped up.




All the parts are packed in separate bags.

As with all other cheap clones, this one has no assembly instructions either. But if you have experience assembling TRex helis in the past, this one would not be foreign to you. It's pretty much a scaled down version of the TRex450 (belt versions).

If this is your first 'Trex', then you have to search for the Align manual online as a reference for assembly.

[pck]

Review of the parts

Let's have a closer look at the parts:

Main Body:

The body is carbon fibre material and the thickness is 1mm.



Differences : Screws
While the Align uses 0.9mm hex screws, this clone uses a 'star' head screw. You know, the type of screw used in mobile phones.... Honestly, I actually prefer this type of 'star' screws. I have had many bad experiences with stripped screws with those 0.9mm ones. I think Align made an improvement with offering 1.3mm screws as an upgrade later on. But for this clone, I am glad that I have not stripped any screws yet... (fingers crossed)

Differences: Boom clamp
The original Align came with a plastic boom clamp. The clone kit came with a metal clamp unit, which i think clamps better.

[pck]

Review of the parts

Head assembly:

The head is already pre-assembled in the factory. It's a full metal head pretty much like the align one. Not much physical or visible differences between this and align one.. But I did unscrew a couple of screws just to check for locktite and would like to state here that although i did find 'traces' of locktite, I think they are insufficient and I also found some of screws are without any locktite. My advice is to remove all the screws and re-loctite them again.

However, I think the linkage dimensions are all not set correctly. I am not sure but the lengths does not look right to me at first glance. I will have to check again during assembly...

[pck]

Review of the parts

Tail Assembly:

Tail assemby is also factory pre-assembled. The tail blade holder is metal. Rudder control arm is plastic material. I might change this to the align metal one later. One down point is that the belt that came with my kit looks worn out. I am not sure about the other kit but do check this when purchasing.

I know the first few version of Align T250 had problems with the tail design. Let's see if this tail have it's fair share of similar problems or did they clone the fixed version... I didn't bother to open the tail unit to check. Let's wait and see during flight....

[pck]

Review of the parts

I will cover the remaining parts here :

Main Gear:
The main gear looks different from the Trex. In fact, it looks awefully similar to the Gaui SEV2 main gear. (see the lower gear?) At first I thought that this clone has auto-rotation but later realise that the lower 'gear looking section' is useless. It is not connected to anything during assembly.
Only the top main gear part is connected to the motor pinion.



Bottom plate:
The bottom plate and the skid mount is integrated into one single piece. So if you crashed and break the skid mount, you will have to remove the bottom plate in order to change the skid mount. Is there any benefit to this? I wonder....



Tools:
You get 3 pcs of tools in the package. A 0.9mm hex tool, a star tool, and a philips screw driver. Unfortunately, the package does not come with a ball-link removal tool as with the Align package.



Tail servo mount:
Metal mount.



Tail boom, boom support, tail linkage rod, flybar:
Alu tail boom. Boom support has alu ends.



Anti-rotation bracket:
Carbon fibre material (nice!)



Main blades:
A pair of plastic main blades.



A 15T pinion gear:
The package also includes a 15t pinion gear. What's different abt this gear is that it uses a grub screw to secure the screw to the motor shaft. The pinion gear is suitable for motor with 2.5mm shaft diameter.


Canopy:
Fibreglass canopy. Nothing much to say abt this...

[pck]

Well, that's it. I am in the midst of putting it together. I wll probably post a picture of the completed clone side by side with the original once i finish.

[Super-Hornet]

BTW, that screw is called TORX screw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torx

SH

[RAPTOR2001SG]

Well, that's it. I am in the midst of putting it together. I wll probably post a picture of the completed clone side by side with the original once i finish.

Bro, Tony here, what motor you using , I try to get 2 mm dia pinion for the motor from rotor and jethobby, can't get situatable , maybe need to use Align motor .

[vj3]

whos signature there in clone the box? shop owner?

[vj3]

the metal parts quality looks good enough for me, also the metal finishing, looks smooth, not like my HK450, all plastic.

[pck]

BTW, that screw is called TORX screw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torx

SH

As always, thanks SH!

[pck]

Bro, Tony here, what motor you using , I try to get 2 mm dia pinion for the motor from rotor and jethobby, can't get situatable , maybe need to use Align motor .

I plan to use the stock Align motor which came with my original Align Trex250 combo. That motor already have a 16t pinion CA-ed to the pinion so i will use that instead.

You can get either the Align motor (not sure if rotor sells it) or my personal favourite Scorpion HK2206-3900KV which is a direct drop-in replacement over the stock motor.

[pck]

the metal parts quality looks good enough for me, also the metal finishing, looks smooth, not like my HK450, all plastic.

The quality of the metal parts are not bad. However, the finishing for some of the parts aren't as smooth as the original, but for < S$99 on this kit, I am not complaining at the moment. I haven't got time to finish it today so hopefully, I can complete it later tonight and do a maiden flight tomorrow.

[Ghostfit]

I plan to use the stock Align motor which came with my original Align Trex250 combo. That motor already have a 16t pinion CA-ed to the pinion so i will use that instead.

You can get either the Align motor (not sure if rotor sells it) or my personal favourite Scorpion HK2206-3900KV which is a direct drop-in replacement over the stock motor.

Nice !!!

I've got 2 of these on the way :[url]http://www.---------.com/---------/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9223&Product_Name=FF200_Brushless_Outrunner_5000kv for a Firefox200 ...maybe one on them will go into this clone