GAUI X5 Blades guide

[Rebel10]

Searching through various threads and posts, I think a combined thread describing different blades for the X5 (non-stretched) would be nice and a good guide. ...something like the helpful battery thread .

Which ones do you know? How do they feel on the X5? What are their pros, cons and characteristics, for what type of flying would you recommend them etc.? (already included some points by akamullen from here)

• Gaui 520 ........................83g?.............FES stock. Not made anymore. Light weight. Mine came pretty unbalanced but fly great with some tape. Floaty, very quick cyclic response and very efficient. Nice, unspectacular sound. I like them a lot and would recommend them for aerobatic and soft 3D. Dunno about their punch for hard 3D/smack or stability for speed flight?

• Align 520 3G ..............~100g.............. Pretty good all around value blade.
• EDGE 523 ......................??g.............. Seems the most chosen alternative to the Gaui blades. Come well balanced. Less efficient than the Gaui blades due to their weight and size. Edge blades are known for their noise making abilities, and they are also known for their inefficiency. Will be more stable and more pop with less cyclic response, but do not have the smackabitly of a lighter weight blade.
• Halo 510 ........................~85g.............. Provided with the latest premium kit.
  Mounted with two washers into the grip.
• KBDD 515 Extreme.......117g..............??? (will they fit blade grip an bolt?)
• MS Composit Rapid 520...110g ........ ??? (will they fit blade grip an bolt?)
• Rail R-516 ......................??g.............. Good as well, but will need more HS to get the pop out of them since they are a little smaller blade as far as length and chord go. Rail blades fly fairly quiet, and known for there good efficiency.
• Revolution 520 ..............100g............. They fit in the blade grip with no shims needed. Liked but no longer available. Good visibility, the Revolutions show up amazing in the sky.
• RJX Vector 520 ..........~110g.............. Pretty good all around value blade. Should be stiffer than there regular 520, so this will help as well with 3D.
• RotorTech 515 ................??g ............. ??? Same as Compass F-04-515T? (will they fit blade grip an bolt?)
• SAB Blackline 525........100g ............. ??? (will they fit blade grip an bolt?)
• Spinblades 515 3D .......102g............. Came with some formula combos.
• Switch 523.........................??g............... (SW-523mm) Same molds as the Edge blades so basically the same, different paint.
• XBlades x525...................??g ............. ??? by BeastX (will they fit blade grip an bolt?)
• Zeal 520 .............................98g............... ??? (ZHM-520Y)
• Zeal Energy 520 ..............98g............... ??? (ZHM-NRG520C) What's the difference?

[salrica]

The Zeal blades " fart" a lot, not sure why. I can't tell why as I'm not an expert in blades.

The RJX, all are the same, the only difference is the color scheme.
Somebody, in an old thread, got in touch with manufacturer and he asked what the difference is between all RJX (520), "the color" that was the answer.

I switched today from Zeal to RJX just to try and I was wondering about the Zeal "farting", sure enough I didn't hear a thing with the RJX.
I got 2 pairs from HK, the cheapest 520, as I don't care about color$, now I want to get rid of the Zeal and banging my head for not getting more RJX.

My 2C

[Nelsonisms]

Part of me still wonders if Zeal didn't purchase the molds from Edge after their demise and based their designs off of them. That might explain why they seem to perform so similarly. It just seems a little too convenient that they popped up out of nowhere right after Edge folded.

I'm currently running the Rail 516s on mine, but I've still got two sets of Edge 523s and the original set of Gaui 520s as well. I might flip them out over the next few weeks and see if I agree with the comparisons made here.

[Rebel10]

Originally Posted by Nelsonisms

I'm currently running the Rail 516s on mine, but I've still got two sets of Edge 523s and the original set of Gaui 520s as well. I might flip them out over the next few weeks and see if I agree with the comparisons made here.

Looking forward to your experience with them to add in this overview. Broader view helps to make a better choice - both by comparison and also from each individually.

@salrica: How do the Zeals and RJX fly, apart from color and sound?

[cfblades]

The Halo Blades will fit, they are provided with the latest premium kit.
Mounted with two washers into the grip.

Unfortunately I can't compare them to any other blades, because I've only flown these so far on my X5 (still beginner).
In general I like the feeling of the helicopter, can't say how other blades would work on it.
Sorry, would like to post some pics, but it's not allowed to me...

[Rebel10]

Originally Posted by cfblades

The Halo Blades will fit, they are provided with the latest premium kit.
Mounted with two washers into the grip.

Thanks! Woah Gaui didn't keep the Spinblades for long in their combos.... Wonder why...
Anyway, added the info in the first post. Also found a weight for them - seem very light! Wonder how they compare flying to the longer but similar weight Gaui 520s...

[cygnar23]

Loud blades usually equate to inefficient blades.

I have been running the Revolution 520mm blades for 2 years now and love them. I can confirm that the fit in the blade grip with no shims needed. But they are no longer available so I'm in the market for a new brand. I love to auto my X5 a lot so I haven't wanted to try any of the blades that are shorter than 520mm. Also I like to fly the disk so visibility is a big factor for me as well. The Revolutions show up amazing in the sky.

Switch 523mm are on my radar and I will most likely try them out next.

[Rebel10]

Thanks cygnar23! Added a note on the Revolutions and inserted a placeholder for the Switch - didn't know them and will be very interested in your verdict. I just found out my prefered shop sells them .

[Matt Nasca]

Originally Posted by cygnar23

Loud blades usually equate to inefficient blades.

Switch 523mm are on my radar and I will most likely try them out next.

+1 on the loud blades...loud equals wasted energy among other things.

On the 523s, those are the same molds as the Edge blades so basically the same, different paint.

[cygnar23]

Hey Matt tell Tim to make some 520mm Cyclones! I love the 695s on my X7.

[cygnar23]

Here is an update on the Switch 523 and the Align 520 3G:

The Switch 523s are SUPER fast around center. I can do the fastest tic tocs ever with these blades. They make the X5 feel even lighter (if that is possible). They have great stopping power and sound great in the air. Alot of fun to do 3D with. The down side is they pitch up (dolphin) pretty bad in fast forward flight. I use BeastX and I could not dial out the dolphin effect. They auto fine but are lighter than the Revolutions so I had to adjust my timing slightly.

The Align 3Gs are the opposite of the Switchblades. They fly great in fast forward flight! I love doing fast speed passes and doing fast figure 8 transitions. They are slow around center so tic tocs are substantially slower than the Switchblades. So much so people at my field were commenting because they were used to seeing me fly the Switchblades. But they still fly great, just different. They auto better that the Switchblades.

I know you can't have it all but if there was a hybrid between these two blades they would be perfect for me as I like both styles of flying.

Also no need for shims on either blade as the roots are 12mm.

[gtruk]

Interestingly enough, I had a pair of SAB Blacklines at 525mm and just recently got a pair of RJX Energy 520's due to an unfortunate incident with the ground. One SAB survived and holding it against the SAB they are identical. I literally cannot tell the difference. The root is the same, foil, width, and tip with the exception that the RJX is 10-12g lighter.

[nflanagin]

How do you like the way the RJX's stop? I had them on for awhile last year and it almost seemed like they would flex when you would stop hard. But they weren't the newer Energy's.

[gtruk]

Haven't flown with them yet. Going out tomorrow so will report back then.

[Yfbb]

RJX energy blades are really loud. The blade farts are off the charts.

[gtruk]

They were very unbalanced too. It took quite a bit of tape to balance them out, quite honestly. My SAB blades were perfect and required no balancing so....

[Yfbb]

Mines were within .1 of each other but I can believe that there will be bad pairs since the finish on mine aren't quite perfect.

[gtruk]

The weight was the same, just the balance was way off. So I did a few flights yesterday with the blades and did not notice and noise. It was hard to get a good feel though since I'm only flying 10.5 pitch due to some binding issues and I have to adjust all of my linkages so when I get back to the right pitch I'll get a better feel but right now the whole bird feels sluggish.

[Rotorious]

Have you guys tried Cyclone 505's?

[gtruk]

No, but they would be significantly smaller than my 520 / 525's so I probably wouldn't consider it. I have read good things on their larger blades and tail blades though.