SAB Goblin Maverick 800

It is almost a shame to build this helicopter it is so beautifully packaged! The instructions are exceptionally well done. The kit assembles well beautifully! I installed a Spirit GTR and geolink, Xpert KD1 servos, hobbywing 130A v4 ESC and an Xnova lightning 4530 525 motor in mine. The instructions recommend a larger pinion gear for higher head speed but I left the stock pinion gear as I don’t fly with super high head speeds. The only issues I have with it are extremely minor. First the antenna mount must be installed on top of the rear servo just right or it interferes with the canopy, second the canopy is a pain to put on because of the goofy latch system, and finally the missiles are 3D printed instead of injection molded. I barely bumped one and it snapped along a layer. They should have been printed horizontally instead of vertically then they would have been much stronger. Knowing how long it takes to 3D print parts I am very surprised that a kit of this quality comes with several 3D printed pieces.

Great performance great power super easy build

As soon as I saw this helicopter I knew I had to get one. This is my first SAB helicopter and I have to say it was an easy build. The quality is amazing and it looks like a million dollars! I’ve yet to fly it as of this writing but it will be soon.

Update to the original review:

Had my first crash on 12/13, just about two weeks into the maiden flight. The tail somehow suddenly lost control. I tried the rescue functionality from Ikon 2 (switched from FC6250HX to Ikon 2 due to the better telemetry integration it has with Hobbywing ESC), but still failed to save the heli. It cost me a fortune as a lot of the parts are damaged: canopy, left and right side panel, tail boom, main and tail blades, tail belt, all the cyclic servo arms.

When re-tuning all the servos (center point, travel) after putting all the new parts on, was surprised to find that the tail pitch slider no longer got stuck even though the center point and travel of the tail servo were off. I then realized when the first time I built it, I probably had not aligned the tail pulley with the hole on the tail shaft properly, which ended up pushing the tail shaft a little bit off to the right side and allowed too much travel for the pitch slider, which caused it to get stuck. That kind of explained the crash: it was most likely that the tail pulley finally came loose after having a few hard pushes on the tail.

Lesson learned: NEVER ignore or work around whatever issue you've observed. Get to the bottom of it and fixe it!

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Have been looking to get a 800 heli after flying the Kraken 580 for about two months, which by the way is also a great heli. Have considered Align Trex 800E DFC Pro, which is very reasonably priced, but decided to pass on it as it's been really old and not a true 800.

Was originally a little bit hesitant on Maverick 800 as I'm honestly not a big fan of the missiles on the heli. But looking through the user manual, I realized they don't necessarily have to be installed, which is exactly what I did.

The build was very smooth, as is with any SAB heli, as the user manual is very detailed. The only minor issue I had was with the tail pitch slider: it got stuck when traveling towards the tail too far. Solved it by reducing the travel of the tail servo.

The heli looks fantastic without those missiles, and the maiden flight turned out be flawless as well. I used the Spektrum FC6250HX from my Blade 330S (replaced the 330s firmware with the generic one though), and the stock tail setting actually works perfectly; I didn't have to tune anything.

This heli is truly beautiful, and with its true 800 size main blades, it definitely has the presence in the air it's supposed to have. I only managed to flip it during the maiden flight but haven't got a chance to do more complicated 3D flights. Will update once I got a chance to.

Es un helicóptero hermoso y con una ingeniería muy refinada.

My first SAB. Kit arrived quickly and looks fantastic. The color manual with clear instructions is a plus. Can’t wait to get it assembled.

The kit looks great colored instructional manual etc, and arrived very quickly after placing the order.

It is almost a shame to build this helicopter it is so beautifully packaged! The instructions are exceptionally well done. The kit assembles well beautifully! I installed a Spirit GTR and geolink, Xpert KD1 servos, hobbywing 130A v4 ESC and an Xnova lightning 4530 525 motor in mine. The instructions recommend a larger pinion gear for higher head speed but I left the stock pinion gear as I don’t fly with super high head speeds. The only issues I have with it are extremely minor. First the antenna mount must be installed on top of the rear servo just right or it interferes with the canopy, second the canopy is a pain to put on because of the goofy latch system, and finally the missiles are 3D printed instead of injection molded. I barely bumped one and it snapped along a layer. They should have been printed horizontally instead of vertically then they would have been much stronger. Knowing how long it takes to 3D print parts I am very surprised that a kit of this quality comes with several 3D printed pieces.

Great performance great power super easy build

As soon as I saw this helicopter I knew I had to get one. This is my first SAB helicopter and I have to say it was an easy build. The quality is amazing and it looks like a million dollars! I’ve yet to fly it as of this writing but it will be soon.

Update to the original review:

Had my first crash on 12/13, just about two weeks into the maiden flight. The tail somehow suddenly lost control. I tried the rescue functionality from Ikon 2 (switched from FC6250HX to Ikon 2 due to the better telemetry integration it has with Hobbywing ESC), but still failed to save the heli. It cost me a fortune as a lot of the parts are damaged: canopy, left and right side panel, tail boom, main and tail blades, tail belt, all the cyclic servo arms.

When re-tuning all the servos (center point, travel) after putting all the new parts on, was surprised to find that the tail pitch slider no longer got stuck even though the center point and travel of the tail servo were off. I then realized when the first time I built it, I probably had not aligned the tail pulley with the hole on the tail shaft properly, which ended up pushing the tail shaft a little bit off to the right side and allowed too much travel for the pitch slider, which caused it to get stuck. That kind of explained the crash: it was most likely that the tail pulley finally came loose after having a few hard pushes on the tail.

Lesson learned: NEVER ignore or work around whatever issue you've observed. Get to the bottom of it and fixe it!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Have been looking to get a 800 heli after flying the Kraken 580 for about two months, which by the way is also a great heli. Have considered Align Trex 800E DFC Pro, which is very reasonably priced, but decided to pass on it as it's been really old and not a true 800.

Was originally a little bit hesitant on Maverick 800 as I'm honestly not a big fan of the missiles on the heli. But looking through the user manual, I realized they don't necessarily have to be installed, which is exactly what I did.

The build was very smooth, as is with any SAB heli, as the user manual is very detailed. The only minor issue I had was with the tail pitch slider: it got stuck when traveling towards the tail too far. Solved it by reducing the travel of the tail servo.

The heli looks fantastic without those missiles, and the maiden flight turned out be flawless as well. I used the Spektrum FC6250HX from my Blade 330S (replaced the 330s firmware with the generic one though), and the stock tail setting actually works perfectly; I didn't have to tune anything.

This heli is truly beautiful, and with its true 800 size main blades, it definitely has the presence in the air it's supposed to have. I only managed to flip it during the maiden flight but haven't got a chance to do more complicated 3D flights. Will update once I got a chance to.

Es un helicóptero hermoso y con una ingeniería muy refinada.

My first SAB. Kit arrived quickly and looks fantastic. The color manual with clear instructions is a plus. Can’t wait to get it assembled.

The kit looks great colored instructional manual etc, and arrived very quickly after placing the order.