Gaui x7fz Build Pics

[Gaui-Deanoo]

Hi all!

As the Gaui thread on here has been a bit quiet lately I thought I would liven it up with a few build pics of the new Gaui x7Fz


Right then well lets crack on!

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Everything was packed well in the box.. The first step is the upper section of the frame, Note how all the screw bags are tagged up in size

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The upper part went together pretty easy, The manual shows what size screws go where so cant really go wrong here. The upper section Is the sae as the original X7 / Formula but why re invent the wheel as this is a very strong frame
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They have you build one side up fully then attach the last side frame like so, After this they get you to assemble the lower part of the frame making this the FZ with the sliding battery tray
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And there is the frame done, Nice and easy but very strong. Note how the aileron servo mounts an slide front and back to get perfect link alignment on the head, Simple but very good idea. On the skids I would hint to put one grub screw in the front left skid and one in the rear right skid, Using 4 makes skids to rigid but doing this corner trick allows the skids to flex/twist on an impact so makes them a little forgiving... also makes practicing skid bumps more possible ;)

Next is the tail, I didn't take to many pictures of this unfortunately as it Is very straight forward and seemed to fly together before I knew it haha

2 things to take note of Is

1. torque tube bearing holders are sided so when you push the tt into the boom the force pushes the bearing into the cup more instead of pushing it out
2. Loctite the life out of the TT ends, iv had these come loose on a previous x7 and was chasing tail issues for ages, turned out it was a loose tt end, So Loctite it as well as the nut and bolt, Just be careful NOT to crush the tt when you tighten the bolt up

[IMG]http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=91289&stc=1[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=91290&stc=1[/IMG]


The rest of the tail case flys together, And is beautiful! The iconic gaui pendulum of a tail box stands out so well in the sky, Also to note it is silky smooth out the box too so you may spend 10 minutes playing with this alone, Or is that just me?
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Also note the brass collars on the tail grips are also spacers so make sure you get these the right way
[IMG]http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=91293&stc=1[/IMG]


Next is to slide the boom assy into the frame, The last boom clamp also doubles up as a boom pin with a little countersunk screw I change this to a cap head as it makes life a little easier if you have to strip the model down for transport.. Been caught out with this once before :dispirited:
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Now for the beefy main gear, You need to shim the main gear one on top one underneath the idea is to get no vertical play in the main gear whilst having a good mesh on the tail pinion gear, I found the 2 shims that was in the main gear bag was a perfect fit/mesh but gaui supply plenty more shims in the kit to make the mesh perfect
[IMG]http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=91296&stc=1[/IMG][IMG]http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=91297&stc=1[/IMG][IMG]http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=91298&stc=1[/IMG] The standard gear ratio is 10, 100T main gear and 10T pinion, Combination works well with a 530 kv motor, I am running a 500kv motor so will be using an 11t pinion to get some overhead on the governor

Once you have done that you should have this sitting on your table
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Which means just a few more things to do, Next is the formula head which is one of my favourite heads to build

A little tip is put your elevator link (and rod sized correctly to the book) on at this point as it can be a pain to put this link on once installed on the model
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Put plenty of Loctite between the grip and the arm as this also can come loose as you don't want to over tighten the bolt. Also the lower raidus arm has a 1.5mm grub screw in one side of it, Loctite this all the way down as these links should shit flush with each other

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lastly is the turn buckles on the main grip links , The thread closer to the hole is the opposite thread so remember to screw this one on anti clockwise[IMG]http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=91305&stc=1[/IMG][IMG]http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=91306&stc=1[/IMG]


Last few steps now, Just battery tray blades and canopy
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The battery tray is very strong as it is 2 layers of carbon, The next picture you can see how much room is available as it has optipower 6s 5000mah 50c packs fitted
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So just blades and canopy and here she is sitting pretty!
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The model sits just a fraction higher than the old x7 formula

[IMG]http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=91313&stc=1[/IMG]

I will post a few pictures shortly of electronic placement as I did not have any when I did the build pictures, But regardless it was a very pleasant build and took 4 hours from box to built including taking pictures and tea breaks , Any questions fire away :)

[Gaui-Deanoo]

Here is the motor esc and flybarless I will be running
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[Gaui-Deanoo]

They are really good kits, Quality is incredible my original x7 has never been crashed and 12 months down the line bearings still run smooth as day 1 and nothing has developed any play, Not had an easy life either so I'm really impressed

[gazmk2]

Great looking model that's for sure.

[Rob Barnes]

Superb write up mate and I must admit im very tempted , its one of the best flying helicopters I've owned . Adam Cartlidge still has it I believe ? A couple of questions though , what about spares as last time I had one I ended buying them from Marcus in Germany and also have they improved the one way bearing as they tended to fail . HAving lent Duncan Bossion a couple at AIR a couple of years ago .
I do love the new battery layout which is going to make changing packs a lot easier !

[Grumpy]

Thanks for posting this, it looks very nice! Can you summarise the differences between the 'FZ' and the 'Formula'? And do you have an all up weight excluding batteries?

[_tj_]

Nice thread Deano :D

[Gaui-Deanoo]

Just do it Rob haha. Erm I kinda have your old x7 hanging in my room now dude I had adams old one ...


The one way bearing was replaced when the formula come out so they are all shipped with this bearing now all though my red x7 (one which I have competed with the last 12 months) is still on the old old one way and I have never had an issue with it if I'm honest


Literally the only difference between the fz and formula is the battery tray and lower frame design the boom tail box head and upper frame is exactly the same in both models so you can convert the older x7's to the fz as gaui are selling the conversion kit. It's not in the UK yet but I know it's in the states and fast lad are ment to be stocking them...


Parts availability once agen will be fast lad I have never had any issues getting parts. They was out of stock of a few things before the fz release but looking at what was not in stock is the lower frames and battery plates which The fz is different from the formula but I believe it all is back in stock now :)

All up weight I will do later when I have chance but I belive they will come out the same. Fz may be a fraction lighter as there is slightly less carbon in the lower frame but we shall soon see

The flight characteristics on the fz do feel a lot more locked in than the formula. I love how my formula flys but the cg with the new battery tray on the fz gives it a very narrow and tight flip rate also seems to hold piro maneuvers a little more central.

Rob.your more than welcome to have a few Flights when I see you next I'm sure you won't be disappointed

[Rob Barnes]

Thank you mate and congratulations on your sponsorship deals . Its very well deserved and your flying is just epic , will you still be flying at the field this year ? Im sure Rob and Ant will be nice to you pmsl !

[Gaui-Deanoo]

Thankyou dude :) I'm pleased with them both myself should make this year more interesting!

Yeh I should be dude been flying down stefs lately to be honest, Namely as I can get my car and of the field without a recovery lorry standing by haha

[Hamish]

Nice write up Dean I can't believe how well they fly, its so locked in!

[Gaui-Deanoo]

Electronic installation

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[IMG]http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=91329&stc=1[/IMG]
Motor: Xnova 4530/8d-500kv - 11t pinion
ESC: Castle 160hv
Servos: mks 950 cyclic/980 tail
FBL: Vbar Neo Pro
Other: Optipower backup guard/ [LEFT]Gryphon QUASAR Hyper 75v 20A
Blades: Halo 700mm main/ Halo 105mm tail
Flight packs: Optipower 6s 5000mah 50c x2

Flight info:

Headspeed :1900/2100/2200
Pitch: +/- 13 Deg
Flight duration : 3:30 @2200
Pack % at e.o.f: 30%

Motor is warm, Can hold hand on it at end of flight, Speedo is still cold. Very powerful set up with no bogging throughout whole flight
Servos are very crisp and slop free, Also come down cold




[/LEFT]

[Made2Fade]

Nice write up Dean, would you like me to add a copy in the members workshop/reviews?

[Gaui-Deanoo]

Yes please dude, By the time I wrote It I thought I put it in the wrong category haha

[Made2Fade]

Not at a pc at the moment but in the morning I will copy it over to the members review section. Once I do that there is the problem of other people not being able to comment on the thread but it will be on the front page almost immortalised (for the time being) :) You can still keep this thread going also if you wish? Nice little write up im sure it will come in handy for some, cheers.