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. :)

A couple of days ago, I announced that I was changing helicopter brands, and that I could not reveal the new company until they officially welcomed me to the team. Well.... as of Monday, December 11 2015, I am officially part of Team Gaui USA. 

I am very excited to be a part of the Gaui family, and I am looking forward to working with them through the 2016 flying season. I want to say a huge heart felt thank you to JC Zankl, and Jack Burnside for giving me this wonderful opportunity. 

Well folks. After 3 wonderful years with TSA Model, it is time to say good bye to the TSA line. While attending OHB 2015 this past weekend, I was approached by a very high profile airframe company and asked if I would like to be a  part of their team. After a lengthy chat with the team manager, I accepted their offer and will be representing them in 2016.  I won`t say at this time what airframe I will be flying for, because they have not yet welcomed me publicly. But I will reveal the mystery very soon. I would like to say thank you to TSA Model for all of their support in the past 3 years. I really enjoyed the time I spent flying the TSA line but the time has come to move on.

The weekend has come to a close and another helicopter fun fly is entered into the books. The 2015 Port St Lucie Helicopter Smackdown. The event is normally a two day event, but this year they stretched it to three days. November 6,7, and 8th 2015. I was unable to attend on Friday ( due to work) but I was there on Saturday and Sunday. The event was bigger than it has ever been, and there were a lot of top local and world class pilots there to show their abilities.

There were quite a few event sponsors as well, who donated lots of really nice prizes to be given away in the pilot raffle. Bavarian Demon, Zeal Blades, Rotary wing RC, Byron fuels, Gaui, Castle Creations, Charity RC Demon Aero just to name a few. 

Saturday was the busiest day, and the flight stations were full all day. Everyone had a great time and I only know of 2 or 3 crashes during the whole weekend. Sunday was a typical last day of the fun fly, and most of the crowd didn`t return. But those of us who did, had a great time and enjoyed open flight stations all day.

We were also allowed unlimited use of the RC short course truck/buggy track witch is about 100 yards behind the flying field. My husband and I had a blast running our 1/10 scale trucks on the track, and hanging out with the racers.

A big thank you goes out to Courtney, Todd, and everyone else who helped to plan and organize the event. Without all of their hard work and dedication, there would not be a Port St Lucie Helicopter Smackdown.

We always have a great time there, and I am already looking forward to next year. 

For photos of the Port St Lucie Helicopter Smackdown please see the event photos section of my website. Thanks taking the time to read this, and have a wonderful day. :)

After several years of flying 600 class helicopters, I decided to venture into the realm of the 700. My tool of choice for this job, was the TSA Infusion 700E Pro helicopter. I have been a field rep for TSA Model since 2013, and it is only fitting that I fly all TSA helicopters. Not because I am a rep, but because I truly love TSA.

The build was just like any and all other TSA kits I have built, and it went together with flawless ease. Its a big one, measuring 1373mm (54") long

215mm (8.46")  and 410mm high (16.14"). Total weight without batteries is about seven pounds, and flying weight with two 6s 50C 5200mAh packs is right at ten pounds. Not too bad for a 700 class helicopter as large as this one.

My choice of components are as follows:

Motor: Scorpion HKIII 4035-560kv with 13T pinion and 126T main gear

ESC: Castle Creations Edge 120HV

BEC: Castle Creations BEC Pro

Battery Packs: Charity RC 6s 50C 5200mAh TaTa Packs. X2

FBL Unit: Bavarian Demon 3X

Cyclic Servos: BK Designs DS7001HV

Tail Servo: BK Designs DS7005HV

Main Blades: Zeal 710mm Energy ST in neon orange

Tail Blades: Zeal 105mm neon orange

The initial test flight went without a hitch, and I nailed the FBL controller settings perfectly...with no tuning needed at this time. The governor gain in the ESC was a bit high on the test flight, and had to be reduced quite a bit to eliminate the tail kick. Aside from that, the helicopter flew great.

Hovering was smooth, stable, and pretty much hands off.  It tracked well in fast forward flight, with no visible pitching up. I did notice that a 700...or at least the TSA 700...does not need as much expo as a 600 class needs, and I had to reduce it quite a bit.

I took it easy and flew it gently on the first few flights, just to get to know it and how it was going to respond to my commands. But I was soon tossing it around a bit, and starting to enjoy flying it.

I really don`t know why I never got into a 700 class sooner, because I realize now that I was missing out......big time! I can`t wait to get more flights on it so I can really start pushing it to its full potential. :)