With the introduction of the Trex 500 electric helicopter in 2008, Align stirred up a frenzy of enthusiasm over what was to be termed the “500 class” RC helicopter. Midway in size between the “450 class” and “600 class” machines, the 500 was an excellent compromise for folks who wanted the stability and sweet handling characteristics of a larger helicopter (like the 600 or a .30-.50 sized nitro machine) and the fly-anywhere portability of the “450″ sized birds (let’s not forget that lipos are MUCH cheaper for a 450 than for a 600E also).

Pilots were chomping at the bit to get their hands on the new helicopter, and it’s been a success. However, just as there are those who will fly nothing else but Align helis, there are plenty of others who refuse to jump on the Align bandwagon. What could be done for these folks?

Enter the MSH Protos.

The Protos (Greek for “first”) is a “500 class” electric helicopter that boasts several improvements over the Align product. First and foremost would be price. The initial Protos offering (and the one featured in this review) is built on a molded plastic, carbon impregnated frame. This frame is VERY lightweight and rigid, and helps give the Protos an advantage not only in cost, but also in weight over the Trex 500.

The drive system of the Protos makes use of a single belt traversing the entire drivetrain. This means that the pinion gear on the motor drives the main belt, which drives the maingear, and them snakes back through the boom to drive the tail rotor. One of the primary benefits of this system is a significant reduction in noise. In flight, the Protos is VERY quiet and the sound of the blades slicing through the air all but drowns out what little noise the power train does make.

The stock 800KV outrunner motor produces tons of power, and MSH makes several pinion options available should you choose to run anything other than the stock motor on 6s LiPo batteries. MSH lists the Protos as being able to fly on 4s-6s LiPo power, as well as the new A123 batteries. The kit is available as a combo with motor and ESC (the MSH 80A ESC), or as jut the kit itself. Either way, the kit also includes a set of VERY nice SAB carbon fiber 425mm blades.

The Protos has a very strong following among its owners, and this is due not only to the beautiful flight characteristics of the heli, but also to MSH’s dedication to improve on the design and issue updated parts whenever possible. Stronger parts, parts that proved prone to breaking, and things that users asked for have all been implemented. Though the updates are not free, simply buying the updated spares is generally a sound policy, since when the old part breaks, you fix it and upgrade it at the same time.

My Build

As most of my readers will know, I purchased my Protos in October of last year and due to personal issues, it sat uncompleted until this spring. Improvements have been made to the design since then, as well as a new version with a carbon fiber frame. However, I must review the model I have and I will strive to provide as much accurate information as I can, including updated parts references whenever I can.

The equipment I’ve chosen for my Protos build was based on several weeks worth of reading posts on various internet forums, following recommendations of respected pilots, and following the recommendations of the helicopter’s designer.

I chose to equip my Protos with three Futaba S9650 digital servos for Cyclic, as well as a 9650 on the tail (more on this later), a Spartan DS760 gyro, The stock MSH 800KV motor, and a Scorpion 90A V2 Heli ESC (more on this later, too). The folks at Outrage RC were kind enough to send me one of their 6s 3000 mAh LiPo packs and I included a Spektrum AR 6200 receiver.

There are many Areas in which the MSH Protos stands out, and these will be pointed out during the review. On that note, on to it!

First Impressions