Build advice

[btheli]

I'm getting ready to build an X7. This is my first 700 size heli, and I would appreciate any comments/recommendations you might have for me. Here's the plan:

Flight Style: Sport, learning 3D
FBL System: Spirit
Motor: Scorpion HKIII-4035-450KV
Pinion: 11T
Target Headspeed(s): 1800/1900/2000
Pitch: 12ish
ESC: CC Edge 160HV (because it's HOT in San Antonio)
Governor: CC (Spirit FBL very soon)
BEC: WR Super Mini G2 (or CC BEC-PRO (V3) 20A)
RX: FrSky X6R
Cyclic Servos: BK DS-7001HV
Tail Servo: BK DS-8005HV
Main Blades: Stock
Tail Blades: Stock
LiPos: 2x Pulse 5000 45C
Anything Else: Optipower Ultraguard

[omerco]

CC edge is a relatively hot ESC (less efficient). Can't compare it to the active free wheeling types like Scorpion, YGE and kontronic the lasts will be cooler. for your flight style it will be OK.

Also CC governor is not the best out there - the FBL one will serve you much better.

DON'T use the CC BEC PRO - i lost 2 helies to that piece of sh#$%# (yes- V3. yes- connected to 6S). more then 1200$ damage. its not really a 20A BEC by the way - read the small print...

Other then that your setup looks great for what you want of it.
If you think you will need more in the future your motor will limit you, maybe also the ESC if its really hot out there.

[TimM]

Hi,
From what I hear the X7 is fussy about the tail blades. I don't know which blades are Stock. If they are stock from Gaui then they should be fine. It is worth checking. There are threads about this.
I have Edge 105 se tail blades and no problems.
I think any good quality main blades would be fine. I have Edge 693 se main blades but I don't think that is important.
Edge blades have just about disappeared anyway, so need to find alternatives.

Forgot to mention I do have the CC Ice2 HV 160 and it has been fine, using VBar 5.3 pro silver, using governor and hobbywing sensor. I live in Ontario though so don't know about the heat.

I have the Western robotics Hercules bec and no problems. I just bought the WR Super Mini G2 for another 700.

[btheli]

Originally Posted by omerco

CC edge is a relatively hot ESC (less efficient). Can't compare it to the active free wheeling types like Scorpion, YGE and kontronic the lasts will be cooler. for your flight style it will be OK.

Also CC governor is not the best out there - the FBL one will serve you much better.

DON'T use the CC BEC PRO - i lost 2 helies to that piece of sh#$%# (yes- V3. yes- connected to 6S). more then 1200$ damage. its not really a 20A BEC by the way - read the small print...

Other then that your setup looks great for what you want of it.
If you think you will need more in the future your motor will limit you, maybe also the ESC if its really hot out there.

Great advice, thanks. I'm running the WR Super Mini G2 on my G570 and it's working great. It's a tad more expensive than the CC, but the reviews on the WR and excellent...and I'm not doing this to save money.

[btheli]

Originally Posted by TimM

Hi,
From what I hear the X7 is fussy about the tail blades. I don't know which blades are Stock. If they are stock from Gaui then they should be fine. It is worth checking. There are threads about this.
I have Edge 105 se tail blades and no problems.
I think any good quality main blades would be fine. I have Edge 693 se main blades but I don't think that is important.
Edge blades have just about disappeared anyway, so need to find alternatives.

Forgot to mention I do have the CC Ice2 HV 160 and it has been fine, using VBar 5.3 pro silver, using governor and hobbywing sensor. I live in Ontario though so don't know about the heat.

I have the Western robotics Hercules bec and no problems. I just bought the WR Super Mini G2 for another 700.

I just got my kit last night and I haven't had time to even fully unpack it yet. However, I know it has the Halo 690 main blades and the 105 tail blades. I'll go look for those threads and do some reading to see what the issue is. Perhaps some running low head speeds?

Spent lunch today reading about ESCs. The price variation between CC, Kontronic, Scorpion, Hobbywing and YGE is shocking. To make matters worse, I found quite a few reports of shutdowns even with the expensive Kontronic. I've hastily concluded that no ESC is immune to improper gearing and collective mashing. Therefore, I will probably stick to CC because I understand it, can set it up quickly, and for the logging (which I always download and look at).

What about upgrades? When I built my X3 there were a few upgrades that were very highly recommended (head washers, side stiffeners, threaded OWB) although not absolutely required. Anything like that for the X7 I should be aware of?

[omerco]

X7 is perfect out of the box no upgrades are needed - assuming you have the latest adition with improved OWB.

With the headspeed you plan on running you shouldn't have tail problems with the Halo. Mt kit came with 700mm mains by the way.

As for the ESC - I agree about the prices. i find the scorpion 160HV to be the best compromise. I run it for 1.5 years now and its very strong and had 0 failures.

keep you pitch range to +-12 for start and see how your ESC is handling that before you go higher, although with your motor you should be fine (the 4525 ultimate is much more AMP hungry).

[btheli]

Wow, no required upgrades is impressive!

Not much activity on this forum, I guess since the X7 has been out for several years everyone is more focused on newer stuff. Personally, I'm really excited about this build and this heli! Hate to be late to the party, but I didn't even realize CP helis existed 2 years ago!

What's the improved OWB? The first X3's had a smooth OWB/hub that you had to glue (which of course did not hold under stress) and the "improved" OWB was a threaded connection. Is this it? If mine has no c-clip then I probably have the upgraded one?

The tail blade issue (reported here) seems to have been solved by changing to a different blade. Must have been an issue with weight, CG, or airfoil shape. I'll have to wait and see what mine does.

What about the canopy? It seems with most heli's the stock canopy mounts turn out to be a pain and some aftermarket solution is far better. What are you X7 vets using or recommend?

[omerco]

Owb should be threaded today or with 3 vertical pins holding the sleeve. post a pic we can tell.

recomended tail blades are edge, rotor tech and radix, but that's more relevant for higher rpm's.

I'm using rc boyas on the canopy.

there are some build tips. look in relevant threads.

[RuudM]

it is a realy nice machine��
i juse a tailsupport bridge and rc booya for canopy.
halo blades 700+105 that came with the kit are perfect for it.

enjoy your build��

[blade450]

I have the stock formula canopy, the green blue one.
Of all my helicopters, this canopy is by far the easiest to put on. It's flexible, so you can make it a bit wider and slide it on fairly easy.

[laoch33]

Hey I'm slowly building mine since the new year as the parts come in :p basically same setup as u but wth vbar & bigger motor & gd old DX7.
There have been a cupl issues sorted by gaui already (let the pilgrims take the arrows lol), which were the OWB and a batch of weak gears (crown & TT), so there might be a bag tht says "upgrade gears" in ur kit that u should use instead of the others. If u pull the OWB apart u can see three pins as mentioned: theres a pic in one of the two threads on OWB.... there should be the new one though so no need to do anything.. No harm in checking though.
One "upgrade" and some suggestions I picked up though were Re: boom supports:
In the manual it says screw in boom supports to horizontal fin boom clamp with 6mm bolts. You should use 8mm bolts,6mm is too short and have pulled threads from clamps.. With 700 theres a lot of vibes naturally on the boom supports, so use red thread lock on them and a great tip is to tie zip ties from boom support to boom support near where they screw in, at respective ends(the zip tie loop can run under the boom so barely visible if u use black ones). This could save you big time.. And only costs pennies, whoop!
The CC160 will only fit under cano when pushed out beyond front of frame; there is the option to rear mount it on the side.. It's not uncommon & can save it in a crash. Theres a frame mod to slice a chunk off the front of frame too..I didnt do it for fear of weakening th frame.. I read one person crackd frame in a crash where they modded it.
Motor long shaft: if yours extends out the end of support bearing block, it's best to cut the shaft to length so that it cant rub the wires that will no doubt be running through th wiring channel below(that passage way is great).
Lastly, I'd say use green or red loctite on any important screws where the manual says use "regular thread lock", like anything on the tail for example, people have said the blue just doesnt cut it sometimes. Make sure to clean the grease off every bolt before thread locking, as they do come filthy with th stuff from the factory! Soak 'em in brake cleaner/ alcohol yattayattayatta.....

Good luck with the build! Keep us posted

[omerco]

Originally Posted by laoch33

If u pull the OWB apart u can see three pins as mentioned: theres a pic in one of the two threads on OWB.... there should be the new one though so no need to do anything.. No harm in checking though.

I posted that pic but haven't seen any other similar since. I think today the hub is threaded without pins and you should have no problem.

One "upgrade" and some suggestions I picked up though were Re: boom supports:
In the manual it says screw in boom supports to horizontal fin boom clamp with 6mm bolts. You should use 8mm bolts,6mm is too short and have pulled threads from clamps.. With 700 theres a lot of vibes naturally on the boom supports, so use red thread lock on them and a great tip is to tie zip ties from boom support to boom support near where they screw in, at respective ends(the zip tie loop can run under the boom so barely visible if u use black ones).

+1 that's what i did on 2 helies never got loose since.

Lastly, I'd say use green or red loctite on any important screws where the manual says use "regular thread lock", like anything on the tail for example, people have said the blue just doesnt cut it sometimes. Make sure to clean the grease off every bolt before thread locking, as they do come filthy with th stuff from the factory! Soak 'em in brake cleaner/ alcohol yattayattayatta.....

I use green only for the spindle bolts, Tail support 8mm screws and tail hub screw (where the hub connects to the shaft). all the rest is blue. there is already a guy here breaking frame screws because prior owner green-locked it all....

One more thing which can easily be missed - there is a small screw locking the tail shaft crown gear pin entering the hole in the tail shaft! some missed it - and bang!!. you need to get it out clean and locktite.

Cleaning the screw is very important!

[AUSS1E]

Take EVERY screw and soak in alcohol. Then wipe them down and then apply locktite. Use either the stuff that comes with the kit or some red on the important ones (the ones that will make you crash if they come out). I know it's basic info but I skipped the alcohol step and it cost me 3 crashes

[laoch33]

Originally Posted by omerco

I posted that pic but haven't seen any other similar since. I think today the hub is threaded without pins and you should have no problem.

Oh! I took looked into mine in my formula kit and it had the pins. Goes to show, you should always check what they actually gave you!

I use green loctite on my 450 screws which are only 2mm. If used right (like finless bob's way; put a blob on 2 or 3 threads and twist between your fingers) they should come loose with a pop, and not be too tight. It works great on the tails where it can get really oily.

[omerco]

I used blue in my 450 and later had to cut them with a dremel after ruining the hex head because they wouldn't come loose.

I don't think there is a reason for green on other spots then the ones i wrote, but that is me. each will choose his own way

[laoch33]

Originally Posted by omerco

I don't think there is a reason for green on other spots then the ones i wrote, but that is me. each will choose his own way

I use blue on most screws on the 450's and on the X7 main frame, on the "boring bits" lol. And yes sometimes the green sticks Realll goood and I do have to break out the soldering iron to heat the bolts it sucks when that happens. There's always a little devil on my shoulder saying, "Put a bit more loctite on, it'll be fiiiine"

[btheli]

So only get 2 bolts to line up on the Scorpion 4035-450. Is there a mount or mod to address this? Searched and didn't find anything.

[newbheliusr]

Two of the bolt holes are 30mm and two are 25mm. They all need to be 30mm for the stock mount.

[btheli]

Are you saying I need to modify the stock mount?

[newbheliusr]

No, not at all. I am not exactly sure what you should do. I had the 4035-500 that came in the kit. It's bolt pattern was 30mm for all 4 holes. Which is different than the 4035-500 from scorpion. I was just stating the bolt pattern.