The first time I heard of Align and saw a picture of their original gray plastic T-REX 450 I was very curious. That first version had tons of potential, but needed some attention to details. Align surprised everybody in the market as they rapidly responded to their customers' and test pilots' inputs and released upgrades and new versions of the original model in short order. After being in the RC heli market for less time than most companies take to develop a single product, Align is already ramping up the product line with their new T-REX 600 that is a 50-size electric heli that breaks new ground in terms of large electric helicopter economy versus performance. This helicopter can be obtained for approximately the same budget as a nicely set up 50-size nitro heli, and performance is similar as well.

FEATURES
The T-REX 600 is one among many new mid-sized electric helicopters that are taking the market by storm. This helicopter has created quite a stir in the online community prior to its release. There are some similarities between the smaller T-REX 450 and the new 600, but for the most part this is an all-new design that departs from Align's previous products.

Fuselage and Mainframe
The main frame of the T-REX 600 is made up of vertical carbon side plates, with a plastic tail boom mount and bearing blocks. Each bearing block has threaded aluminum inserts. Unlike the smaller ‘REX, the 600 does not stack inner and outer frame sets, the frame is one piece from top to bottom. The frame uses a common pivot shaft for all three CCPM bellcranks, and the production version has more lightening holes than the prototype.

Power Train
This big T-REX has the motor mounted in the same fashion as the smaller T-REX. The motor is a runner with a protective case, and the main gear is a split assembly that drives the tail during auto rotations. The main gear does not have a built in cooling fan like the smaller T-REX. The main shaft is stepped down to 9mm at the main gear to allow for a heavy duty one way bearing.

Head Unit
Align has chosen to use a combination of plastic and machined aluminum parts to complete the rotor head. The swash plate, washout base, and rotor head block are aluminum. The rotor head has two mounting locations for the Bell Hiller mixing arms, and the mixing arms have two mounting options for mounting the output ball link to the blade grips. The rotor head has a very solid feel, it does not have any slop or free play. All of the mixing arms are ball bearing supported, and the blade grips are supported by thrust bearings.

Tail Rotor
The T-REX 600 has a aluminum tail boom that carries the belt to drive the tail rotor. The tail rotor is a fairly simple affair. The tail pitch slider has a single point of attachment to the bellcrank, and the pitch slider has a multi link setup connecting it to the tail grips, preventing any binding or restriction of the movement. The kit includes a set of carbon fiber tail blades.

Other Features
The kit includes a very nice fiberglass canopy with a very nice white gelcoat finish. The manual is very complete with good parts diagrams, and during each step you open and use all the contents of parts bags that are labeled to match each step. The kit also includes a blade caddy, Velcro straps for the battery and a tail boom mount for the tail servo.

Testing
There is no question as to how potent a performance machine this helicopter can be, as evidenced by the fact that it showed up in world class competition even before it was released to the market. The T-REX 600 is flown by the Szabo brothers, Jason Krause, Duncan Osbourn, Erich Stolz, Russ McCutcheon, Ian Crane, Nicolas Maxwell, Ray Nemovi and many other world class pilots. It can be flown on the same budget as an average 50-size nitro heli, and although it's too large to be safely flown in your neighborhood, it offers more flexibility for finding a flying field with its reduced noise and no exhaust.

Hovering • Flying the big ‘REX at a low head speed produced a very predictable hover that was easy to handle even in 10+ MPH winds. At higher head speeds the hover is naturally more responsive, but does not exhibit any twitchiness or present any difficulty to handle. The hover feels very locked in, it is as smooth and easy to fly as anything I have flown.
Rating: 4.5

Forward Flight • There is no problem getting the big ‘REX cruising around in forward flight. It feels solid and penetrates well in headwind. The head speed will decay a little if you push it too hard, if you want to maximize flight times it is best to use collective management. Even in some moderate winds, the ‘REX feels very groovy and has a well-balanced feel. It's smooth but responds well with no pitchiness at high speeds.
Rating: 4.5