I got a very nice surprise today, when FedEx delivered my new Gaui X7 kit a day early. I promptly set my work area up and go to building. Upon opening the box, there were several things about this kit that made me say wow. The first thing was the swash plate. It`s done up in a beautiful read and black anodized finish with a sort of diamond cut on the top of it. Not only is it pleasing to the eye, but it is well designed, and precisely assembled.

All of the link balls had been installed with loctite from the factory, but I took them all out and redid them so I would know for sure.

The next thing that caught my eye, was the adjustable servo mounts. I have never seen this on any other helicopter that I have flow in the past, and I really like this option. It allows for perfect 90 degree alignment of the servo links to the swash plate. Which we all know is very important to getting a good set up.

The front torque tube gear is supported by by a couple sets of bearings. The first set are much like the ones you see in most kits...two bearings on the shank of the gear, but in the X7, there is no transmission. The bearing block is set in the end of the tail boom with CA glue or bearing retainer. The second bearing supports the end of the gear where it contacts the crown gear. There is a steel pin in the end of the gear, which goes into a bearing block inside the frames above the crown gear.

The tail box is made from one piece of aluminum, and is very nicely done. The tail slider is also very nice, and is butter smooth. changing rear tail gears should be easy as well, because the tail box does not have to be removed. By removing three screws in the side plate, the shaft can be pulled out and the torque tube gear can be gently be pried our with a small flat screw driver.

The washout arms are probably some of the best looking I have seen yet. They are finished in a beautiful red anodizing, and they are beefy.
They also have incredibly strong looking bearings in them, and they look like they can take a beating.

The main rotor head is impressive too. The thrust bearings are the largest I have seen in a 700 size helicopter and they are accompanied by two sealed bearings. They should hold up well for any style of flying. The pitch arms are kinda cool. They wrap around the blade grips and are held into place by a single 4mm screw. The spindle shaft is 10mm and the head dampening is hard. The head is also designed to sit down low, so the roll rate of this machine should be pretty fast.

I only had one little issue throughout the entire build, which was getting the shimming right on the main gear and crown gear. I had to try three to four times to get it just right, but I finally got it sorted. This is my first X7 build, so the shimming thing was a real learning experience for me. I have to say, that once I got the shims right, there is absolutely no slop in the gears, and no up and down play at all in the main gear.

The rest of the build was flawless, and the entire build was just so much fun. I do need to do a few more things to the airframe before I can put the electronics into it tomorrow, but it is 99% finished now. Tomorrow, I will finishing up the loose ends and start installing the motor, servos, ESC and other stuff. I should have it flying well before the weekend, and I will try and get some more photos and the maiden flight on video. Below, are a few more photos of the build. I will post updates about the X7 this weekend. Thanks for taking time to endure my ramblings, and have an awesome day :) Safe and happy flying everyone. :)