500 Gaui X5 Build

[leedude1]

Well I picked up a Gaui X5 Formula kit for my 50th and told everyone that I wouldn't start the build until I found the issue with my CFX 180. So with that 180 back up and running I decided to cut the tape on the X5 box so to speak.

In doing so, I've decided that I would post the build as it went along and share any issues and progress as it happens because this forum has been such a help to me, I figured whatever can be used in the upcoming pages by existing or future members, fantastic.

So as I mentioned this will be a long process as I do not have hours and hours to sit at one time but I do promise to get this done and continue to post my progress and go right up to the test flights (Yes Tony maybe even a video or two) probably take me longer to figure that out than the taiwanese line drawing instructions the bird came with.

Any way I have started an album for the build and not sure I can post the link here or just the respective photos, but we'll get that figured out and Ill try to be consistent in my approach.

The bird was purchased at a greatly discounted price due to the fact that the box was opened and servos and gyro were missing. I was fine with that as I will be using a BeastX Spectrum AR7210BX to avoid the additional wiring required for a separate receiver. I haven't as yet decided on which servos Im going to use, and I have heard there may be some fit issues with certain brands of servos so may just go with a new set of stock servos, which from all accounts seam to work pretty good. Seeing as how I don't throw my birds around to hard (at least not on purpose ok a lake got it the way once) I don't need to go super duper on these. Let you know what I decide when I get there.

So I have posted the first pics .. Basically a quick gander at the instructions (they are fugly) just saying..LOL... I would say you need to have at least done one build before getting to this one folks or it will be a tough go...and Im probabaly going to need some help at parts in mine also. I actually find the exploded parts list to be a better diagram and better detailed than the instructions section.

I did a major component check to make sure nothing appears to be missing. My next step is a detailed parts list/inventory so that I don't get to a section and suddenly have to stop because I'm missing a set of screws.

I noticed it has the older swash so will purchase the upgrade offset one. Ill post back up once I get going.

Check out the photos in the album, not sure if I can link it into the post or not at this stage.

 

[D.O.G.]

That's going to be a sweet bird leedude1. I love my X3 and I'll bet your going to love that X5. I'm jealous because I can't afford one but happy for you to own one. Good luck and show pics of build, please.

 

[trainrider06]

Sweet Mike! Can't wait to see her hit the air! i sure like the looks of those Gaui's!

 

[leedude1]

Well folks, I've been able to start the build over the last week as I have been on vacation and had a little more time to play as were.

I have take a few photos and added them to the build gallery/album for reference as there have been a few points that I felt are important to note when putting this one together and the provided instructions are not really as clear as they can be. I do however like the exploded parts diagrams at the end of the manual and actually refer to them more than the beginning or the manual.

I will refer to specific photos and sections where issues, potential errors, or special care is needed.

#1 The screw at the top of the frame in line with the main shaft bearing is a 4mm NOT a 6mm. (see main frame photo) all the others are 6mm and the small print makes this hard to notice.

#2 the conical gear that drives the TT is a laid out a little different (at least by my experience with the 450l or the 180 in the way it's put together and there are NO views or reference to it in the main pages but as I said, if you look the exploded parts pages at the rear of the manual you can see what needs to be done. (See main frame photos)


In the main frame things are pretty straight forward and the pieces are really a nice fit with no concerns or snags.. They suggest mounting the metal parts to one side of the frame first and then mount the second side. I would agreed that this does make things easier as the frame is REALLY narrow in comparison to say an Align.
The sides are different and there is a distinct left and right so care is needed... As I move forward I realized there are a few sections that require attention as things are not necessarily perfect pairs and small differences need to be noted for orientation and final fit. Mistakes will likely see you pulling things apart later on in order to correct these oversights eg. landing skid CF supports if not looked at carefully the screw holes will not line up as one end is longer than the other.
My tendency of dry fitting everything first to see how thing s go together and then disassembling and loctite after has already saved me a couple of times

Main Grips:

This again is my anal approach to these things in the build.
I NEED to pull these apart I cannot blindly trust the manufacturing process and assume it has been done perfectly . I'm glad I did
The spindle bolts must have been put in with Red Loctite or welded there, because it took me putting one thorp driver in my bench vise, heating the screw head for over 35 minutes with a soldering iron and then forcing till I almost farted to get one screw out... then once removed was able to use my Align 450 spindle wrench and the "butane end" of my soldering torch quickly to loosen up the second.
Well as I mentioned I'm glad I did pull them apart because although the thrust bearings were well packed with grease the excessive amount used and maybe either shelf time, a mix of oil and excess grease that just caked up, or a little of the red loctite that got into one radial bearing, but it was jammed up tight.

I have to thank Tony on his Brake cleaner tip for finally getting the bearing cleaned and freewheeling again.
I have a disassembled shot with the sequences of the parts, there is a small washer between the radial and thrust bearings that just looks minuscule by comparison and not sure why it need to be so small but hey I aint the engineer

I will continue to post up as I move forward people.

 

[PLANETGETLOW]

Looking forward to this. Guai and Goblins have my interest

 

[murankar]

When building kits I like to dry fit everything together. Once I get to a point that thread lock can be applied without disrupting it later I do so. There really is not anything I hate more than getting everything thread locked and then having to bust it loose to install something during the initial build.

 

[leedude1]

Agreed.. but every time inevitably I find myself undoing a few along the way.

Like today, I was putting in the main shaft and found that it needed a little shift. Although I find the tolerances on this bird bird to be MUCH tighter than the Align I felt I needed to shift the frame every so slightly...Normally I would have put the shaft in when mounting the sides but didnt ... and there you go undo a few screws give a little tug then redo a little loctight hey part of the fun right.

Should be doing a little soldering and getting some of the electronics out of the boxes ...servos centered etc..

 

[murankar]

Normally if you get to that stuff within an hour or so you should be fine for a re-tighten. To avoid it I always install the main just so I know the blocks are lined up during assembly.

 

[trainrider06]

She's looking good Mike! Thank you for sharing!

 

[Smoggie]

Nice heli, I'll be watching it come together with interest. I've never owned a Gaui but maybe one of these days if one comes along at the right price!

 

[leedude1]

Honestly that's the only way I could afford this one ...a great deal on an open box with some parts (electronics) etc, missing...LHS owner gave me a super price, and offered to discount the replacement parts I needed. Plus the family put together some funds for my aging process (it would appear there is an advantage to getting older ).

Anyway Im still on Vacation so will be continuing to work on it when not running around with the family,,,ya know, zoo, movies, BBQ ..Mohito and a Corona.

It is nice to have the time actually.. Im much further than I thought I would be, I've had quite a few free afternoons that dont hurt the process at all.

Well Im glad there is interest and yes Ill keep posting as I move forward..


P.S:

I've been traumatized by that seized main grip bearing I found, and plan on pulling everything apart as I continue to move forward. A great lesson in due diligence..that could have been very costly a few flights in.

 

[leedude1]

Well more progress and a few more hiccups to talk about and of course a few more photos of where we are.
Finally got tired of burning my fingers while soldering, so got myself one of those fancy jigs that does it all a, bullets, deans and the kitchen sink... love the thing it has made life a little easier. It almost makes me look like I know what im doing . So soldered the deans to the ESC in order to test and center the servos.



When I mounted the servos the first time, I did not like the fit at all and actually had issue with a couple of screws that bottomed out. It appeared that the mounting holes were not tapped out fully see the photo for the screw holes that are "shallow". I realized while researching (as there is no mention in the manual) that they want you to install the rubber grommets and brass inserts in order to hold things off properly and once done, things started to look much better from a fit perspective.
Just a helpful hint I found inserting the brass inserts easier when slipped over the shank of a small diameter thorp driver rather than pushing them in by hand.





I like to number the servos as I knew I was going to be pulling them back apart after and found it less confusing later when connecting to the Beastx as things just matched up with the channels . I did the same with the servo arms as would have to dremel off the extra posts on the servo arms that were provided in the kit because I wasn't going to do it right away. A little masking tape and everything was easily located again when I go t back to it a few weeks later.




So I checked the fit of the ESC and the gyro and although I would have liked to place the gyro on the top of the boom as with my 450, I realised the ESC wires would not be long enough to reach that position so I will install as per the manual suggestion on the bottom plate as I don't want to start extending the ESC wires. I think once done it will be a cleaner install for the wires like that also however it will not be as easy to get to things when setting up the head. In reality, because the frame is so narrow it actually has more surface area on the bottom plate anyway... soooo that's where she's goes. Im waiting on some servo wire braid, should be here in a few days, and will be able to get to that before I move on.

View attachment Test fit.jpg

The instructions ask that you mount the servo horns after the motor... but people, as you can see from the head on shot that it is just not possible. The screws to the horns are just not accessible once the motor is installed so mount them before the motor or you will be pulling it off to do so later.
Motor mesh was not to bad and although it took a few attempts to get it where I liked it, it isn't as bad as that. Insert all the screws to the motor mount , just snug up one.. and I marked the underside of the motor mount with a lead pencil at the center of the head of screw that I tightened, tested the fit, and then loosened it and moved my mount a little back or forward from that reference line which gave me a good guide to work from. A couple of attempts and were good to go.

View attachment servo arms and motor.jpg

So, with the motor and the servos installed I did a quick install and check of the head and linkages to see what hole on the servo arms needed to be used. The best fit lies at 18mm on all the head servos.

View attachment IMG_20160920_214430.jpg

Ill post up again as I move forward ..











View attachment Test fit.jpg

View attachment servo arms and motor.jpg

View attachment IMG_20160920_214430.jpg

 

[leedude1]

So folks I've received the sleeving for the wires and managed to get them all done. ESC mounted and servos in. Not sure if I should cut the servo wires and shorten them once I get the ar7210 in or just play around with the wires and see how clean I can keep them. I dont hate the look so far.. I sleeved the motor wires because I hat to run them over the battery stop and didn't like the way they were running over some of the CF...does look have bad either.
View attachment Wired 1.jpg
View attachment Wired.jpg

Starting to get there... I ordered the upgrade washout arms , I just figured its a better match to the new V2 swash.. I know its all in my mind but hey, I figured this is going to be a show case bird for me so why not. Worst case I have a spare I can use in the advent of a mishap.

View attachment Wired 1.jpg

View attachment Wired.jpg

 

[D.O.G.]

SWEEEET!

 

[leedude1]

So all the wires are sleeved and I'm pleased with the work overall. It took me a lot longer than I originally thought but with the frames being so narrow I found there was more rubbing than I would have liked, so took no chances, and figured she was going to be as clean a build as I could make it.

View attachment fully sleeved.jpg

I'm pleased with the final result in terms of wiring and the clean look. I still have good/easy access to the AR7210BX for set up without being forced to remove things.. and added a remote DSMX receiver as well.
View attachment Clean.jpgView attachment Satellite.jpg

I did the install of the TT and found I had the spray a little silicone down the boom to get the bearing mount down as it is a tight fit.

I actually found the mesh on the tt drive to be a little more of a challenge to set than the main motor because although it's easy to set the screw to hold the boom once the proper mesh is reached. It became a challenge when you needed to "adjust it" to square it up or turn it slightly to line things up, because when you did this you in inevitably would move the boom a little a then perhaps it was just me but I would second guess if I had moved it forward and rechecked which of course restarted the process. Anyway, not complicated but time consuming more than anything.
I couldn't wait to get everything on and see what it looks like finished as I had so little left. So I went ahead and slapped the rest together and snapped a few shots. I like the David and Goliath shot Nano Vs X5 man this thing is big.

View attachment David and Goliath.jpg

I've reprogrammed the stock ESC and built in BEC to push 6V as the as stock setting was 5.25. In order to do so I had to use another receiver to bypass the AR7210BX Failsafe that would not allow me to start at full throttle in order to enter the ESC programming mode.

I've balanced the main blades and tail blade while waiting for a few tools so I can tear apart the tail grips to check for seized bearings there and the newer V2 head before doing all the final adjustments and setting up the Gyro.
Well I will post up once I get the new head and pull the tail apart. As well list final deets when I get there.

People this has been a super fun build all in all and can not wait to finalize every thing and get it in the air for look see.

Ill post up as I move forward.

View attachment fully sleeved.jpg

View attachment Clean.jpg

View attachment Satellite.jpg

View attachment David and Goliath.jpg

 

[Smoggie]

That's a slick looking heli. Looks like the maiden flight isn't far away, good luck (not that you need it I'm sure)

 

[trainrider06]

looks great Mike, and thanks so much for the detailed build and tips! i always like the look of those Gaui's. that solder jig is a nice tool huh? love mine!

 

[PLANETGETLOW]

Wires turned out nice. I believe that taking time to route wires and make them look clean and hidden is key. Can't wait to see it fly. My old X3 was a very good flier

 

[leedude1]

Yeah I agree, in the past I didn't really bother to much with the wires and I guess after seeing some real clean builds it inspired me to really check things out for the best options.

Mostly because I knew I wasn't going to rush through it and didn't have a timeline as such, it made the time spend in sleeving everything and running then re-running wires worth it. If you look back at some of the older shots you can actually see the different attempts and then I started examining options. If the frame was a little wider I probably could have hid even more but actually i'm really happy as it stands and I wanted access without having to pull the whole bird apart.

Ive placed a piece of the 3m gyro tape on the servo plugs and top of the gyro as a precautionary measure to avoid things potentially working their way out. I had seen this somewhere. not quite sure where and thought it was an excellent idea that I decided on a bird this size it just made good sense.

Rodney, you got the same jig?..my LHS hooked me up with it after I told him about my feeble attempts with cloths pins and and other kinds of things.... this thing work like a charm. Small but it was really worth the dime.

 

[leedude1]

Well I did a maiden the other day at the LHS just to get it in the air and see if she'll work ... wow this thing has BIG ones... Im definatly going to wait for the flying field before moving it around. Just held it in a hover to see if there were any shakes or vibes This thing is a rock and honestly got the peacock thing happening when she just sat there. Set up was spot on.

O have ordered a custom Canopy for it and it should be here in a few weeks.. I also picked up 3 batteries for it and have already cycled them 3 times so just at this point im just itching to get things happening... at a temperature of -25 ish here with the wind, I have at least another month before any real time will be allotted to serious air.

I changed out the connectors to EC5's and ill post up the photos when I get the new canopy folks.

Im flying the X7 on Phoenix to try to get a feel for it even though I know it will differ Im hoping it to be close or at least to help me get used to the look of it in the air.

Im out for now people.