overall appearance

[frito169]

Is it just me or what, when I look at my magnificent X5 it's a sleek clean pretty machine but I really don't like the look of the x7 RTF. All the photos and videos show a sweet flying machine but aesthetically it's a jumbled mess for all the electric system. A perfect example is to look at JC's thanksgiving video and look at the right side of the heli. Another place they could have put some effort into its aesthetic qualities is the ugly tail box/ assembly and that bulbous head of course This heli looks like you could drive it straight into the ground and do little damage but at what cost. Please don't take this the wrong way, I will probably own one, but the more I've seen of this heli the happier I am about purchasing the whiplash Attached are some photos for comparison of the three areas I am disappointed about the designed look. I'm really into a clean look when the canopy is on and you're ready to do your stuff. So far this is the only place I feel Gaui has missed the bar on this machine.

To be fair I assume there are other possible placements for the electronics etc. I just haven't seen anything really placed any differently. There's also 2 things I wish ma had done and that is to use a monster main gear like the X7, although it may be that it's overkill, and rotated their tail servo so there was more room to move the batteries forward for easier cog. That being said my COG is perfect without any mods but I've heard complaints from others about achieving a good COG. For anyone who has one how is the X7 for achieving a good COG?

[Rob Cherry]

Another place they could have put some effort into its aesthetic qualities is the ugly tail box/ assembly and that bulbous head of course.



Sounds like you don't like it! :D j/k

There are many options for placement. Time will tell, we won't have any in our hands for 2 more months. Also know that JC has been using some of the heaviest packs around, the 45C 5000 hyperions (almost 900g each). Using lighter packs you can move the ESC up under the canopy, the intended design. Or remove the 2S pack and save 200g up front, same result. The scorpion ESC is 200g, a heavy beast. A jive or yge are almost half that.

I myself have been looking at the very underrated gens ace 5300 30C packs, 750g each. Take that weight savings, remove the RX pack and put in a YGE, now I'm saving 520g or more than 1lb! This thing is gonna move.

The head looks ok to me, might just be that its black? There aren't too many black heads out there. Now the head on my logo 600 with the giant plastic grips, that's a bulbous head. :D

And...No such thing as overkill on a main gear these days! :D JC ran his X7 with 17.7 deg pitch with the 4525LE motor.

[frito169]

That's good to know. I really hate the esc sitting back there like an abnormal growth. I think some darker packs would help too. I guess I'll just have to wait until the average enthusiasts get their kits built and setup to see the different possibilities although patience has never been one of my virtues. What we really need here in Northern Illinois is a hobby shop that carries all of the mid to high quality helis so we can see them side by side. We can dream can't we.

[akamullen]

When you design a RC helicopter so the frames are VERY close together, there is limited options for putting electronics inside the frames. on a wide spaced frame design there are places to hide things, (IMO, I don't care what the heli looks like under the canopy, just so long as it fly's good) Wide frame spacing like the 700E whiplash, synergy, and a few others are IMO not the best way to design a heli. Frame spacing is a huge part of rigidity, function and performance.

Also if you've ever lightly crashed a wide frame spaced heli (My 700E went in a couple times), you will know that the frames are going to crack almost every time unless you just land hard on the skids, maybe. When frames are very close together you will be able to get away with light crashes and not toast your frames

Example: I use to have a trex 550E, i had a couple small mishaps and the frames were gone both times, the X5 flying the same blades and being the same size, I have put that thing in the dirt 5 times this last summer and I still have the original frames. The crashes were spectacular, the 550E would have been toast every time.). When you crack a frame, its hours and hours of disassembling and reassembling. The 550E has wide spaced frame disease :lol: The WSFD . .

If you space the frames half the distance you will end up with a MUCH more rigid bird. Any one with a gaui X5, fusion 50, Avant or Kasama will concur.

Sorry for the rant, I was board.. Did I mention how much I hate my 700E's frame design.. If only I had a 100K CNC machine to design my own 90E.. I can dream..

[Rob Cherry]

+1 . Thankfully the X7 does have many places to put electronics under the canopy. I'm sure JC had that heavy esc in the rear for COG reasons...

http://www.anythingheli.com/product_images/v/138/2170014__46126_zoom.jpg

[frito169]

ya still got the wires hanging out the back and it looks like the esc is just on the opposite side. From this picture it seems it would be very difficult to hide the esc.

[akamullen]

I may throw the ESC on the front where the RX pack is, I will be running a bec so that should work. I will just have to do a couple hurricanes in the flight to get the air flow up there :roll:. Seriously though.. there are plenty of guys running 700E's with there esc up front, so should not be a problem. I like where the beastX goes...

[Chris Sexton]

I am planning to run my ESC mounted up front where the RX pack is displayed and the BEC just under the ESC, assuming there is enough room in the nose of the canopy. I know this might up the odds of my ESC breaking in a hard nose first crash, but fortunately, I don't crash as much as I used to. I am going to run the CC BEC Pro on 12S and tap right into the flight packs, I run my E7 this way and I have had zero issues.

[Rob Cherry]

ya still got the wires hanging out the back and it looks like the esc is just on the opposite side. From this picture it seems it would be very difficult to hide the esc.

Yah, I only posted that as reference to show there is a ton of room up front. I won't have any wires in the back of mine :) There's a nice esc mounting area above the FLB shelf. location. That FBL shelf, btw, is a nice feature!

I may throw the ESC on the front where the RX pack is, I will be running a bec so that should work. I will just have to do a couple hurricanes in the flight to get the air flow up there :roll:. Seriously though.. there are plenty of guys running 700E's with there esc up front, so should not be a problem. I like where the beastX goes...

Agreed!

Clean install possibilities...

http://dmixdev.com/Rob/x7-1.jpg

[akamullen]

Chris, you should really think about running the bec pro off just one of the 6S packs. I have my 700E set up this way and it works perfect. I have talked with guys at castle about this and they agree its a safer way to run it, no matter what bec you choose. The bec pro is on the edge when running on 12S. it has less voltage to drop when running on 6S.

There is absolutely no down side to running it on 6S, but the downside to running it on 12S is a smoke bomb in the middle of a field. I have seen this happen. ALL of the electronics fry. Its a sad sight to see. And yes it was a version 2 bec pro. but I have not heard of one bec pro going up on 6S.
I may go with a WR on the X7 and run it at 8.4V with the outrage servos.

[fusionsx00]

dave all you need is a small bench cnc router to cut cured 2 or 4 mm cf.

I'm making one right now, there are tons of cheap small cnc routers.

the control is off a pc. and you use a dremil for the z axis.

I've seen one in action, and for the price of one cf x5 frame side you can make 10.

or let's say you think the area in between the motor and servos on the x5 is too thin

and they put a stress riser(sharpe corner) there, well you can make it how ever you want.


I like the x7 frame design, they did what they could, I mean 12s in batts, huge motor, huge esc, full size servos, it has to go some where.

I'm waiting till jan,feb to make my decision.

[fusionsx00]

if you want a super clean install, send it over to nexgen

guy works magic on hiding wires.

I'm in the middle, ill hide what is not too much a pita, and flex wrap the rest.
it blends in nice.

[akamullen]

I am not talking about only doing frames. I want to design the intire machine from the ground up. For that, a simple cnc router will not work. I need a CNC machine that will do everything from blade grips to canopy mounts.. I have auto cad 2011, but have not really done much with it. I would love to design a 90E though. Would be a dream come true, Literally..

[Rob Cherry]

^ wouldn't that just be awesome?

:D

[Chris Sexton]

Chris, you should really think about running the bec pro off just one of the 6S packs. I have my 700E set up this way and it works perfect. I have talked with guys at castle about this and they agree its a safer way to run it, no matter what bec you choose. The bec pro is on the edge when running on 12S. it has less voltage to drop when running on 6S.

There is absolutely no down side to running it on 6S, but the downside to running it on 12S is a smoke bomb in the middle of a field. I have seen this happen. ALL of the electronics fry. Its a sad sight to see. And yes it was a version 2 bec pro. but I have not heard of one bec pro going up on 6S.
I may go with a WR on the X7 and run it at 8.4V with the outrage servos.

I have heard this before, but I have personally never had an issue. The next time I have a reason to have the soldering iron out I might change it, but we shall see.

[Rob Cherry]

^ I've heard as much myself. I've been running a v1 pro bec on 6S for almost 2 years now in various machines. It's in my X5 right now. I'm looking at a WR or a Gryphon BEC for my X7. Anyone around with Gryphon experience?

I was looking at the Gryphon Quasar 10A version...

http://www.gryphon-mall.com/product.php?id_product=59

[fusionsx00]

dave

sounds like you need a good 3 axis cnc with a 4th rotary axis. not a 100k machine , used around 30k

if you know the right people you can get a lease for less than 1000 a month.

and a guy that can design in solidworks and program a good cad/cam like surfcam.

with solid works you can make 3d assemblys, make each part and fit it up in the software. saves a ton on prototypes.

ive been running 4 and 5 axis cnc's for more than 10 years, been on solidworks for around 5.

if i ever did make my own, it would be a game changer

[stevenfox905]

I see the X7 often and IMHO its a beautiful machine... patatoe mashing tail box and all.. sleek, laid back and just looks ready to do business.

The electronics layout and wiring job is up to you... Remember, JC's X7 is still in testing motor has been swapped 2-3 times... esc 2-3 times... ect.. electronics are placed for convenience not asthetics.

and me personally.. I choose batteries based on performance and longevity, not color...
:peace

[frito169]

Boy people get upset if you don't feel the same way they do. oh well the responses are about what I figured. can't wait to see one up close or at my door.

P.S. I choose my batteries based on overall value taking into account power, longevity and price.

[stevenfox905]

No one is upset... people can have differing opinions about what they like or dislike without issue.. I was simply expressing mine and poked fun at the idea of judging a helis looks based on battery color... again, just a joke... By the title of your last post it appears I offended you. I apologize for that, I didnt mean to be antagonistic. We're all here for the same reason, to chat about the coolest new products in our hobby and help each other solve problems. :hug:

[frito169]

Absoluty no issues here just a little fun poking. that's the problem with texting you can't tell anybodys attitude

[Rob Cherry]

I see the X7 often and IMHO its a beautiful machine... patatoe mashing tail box and all.. sleek, laid back and just looks ready to do business.

The electronics layout and wiring job is up to you... Remember, JC's X7 is still in testing motor has been swapped 2-3 times... esc 2-3 times... ect.. electronics are placed for convenience not asthetics.

and me personally.. I choose batteries based on performance and longevity, not color...
:peace

Boy people get upset if you don't feel the same way they do. oh well the responses are about what I figured. can't wait to see one up close or at my door.

P.S. I choose my batteries based on overall value taking into account power, longevity and price.

lol, it's all good guys. frito had some opinion about the placement of electronics, that's about it. Whatever else he said was just matter of opinion regarding his taste, like he said.

Hang in there guys, there's a heli out there for everyone! :cheers

[Rob Cherry]

Absoluty no issues here just a little fun poking. that's the problem with texting you can't tell anybodys attitude

no sweat dude, I knew you were poking fun from the first post. That's why I respectfully laughed and pointed out placement of the esc has many options depending out what gear you chose.

:hug:

:cheers

[fusionsx00]

steve your never gona let the "potato masher" thing go huh?

pretty funny man, now that i look at it. i like it because its a solid billet piece.

it holds the bearings more solid, they hold the shaft better, then the hub and grips

it all starts there.

[stevenfox905]

yeah thats why I like it too. way better than the traditional 3 piece with the sideplates design(which did come on the original prototype).. I see more birds moving away from that design. saw the new tail on the thunder tiger 700 the other day and it had the single piece open design just like the ma does. looks really convenient for gear changes but the X7 tail just looks bulletproof.. actually it might be, lol...