Building the Align T-rex 700L TOP

Marius · Post by **Marius** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:41 pm

Due to part cost and part availability I am now selling the KDS Agile. In the year I've owned the Agile I haven't really gotten to fly it as much as I would like to, this comes down to small parts budget and long waits on spare parts. So now I've bought the Align 700, hoping that parts will come slightly cheaper and a lot faster.

This is the latest 700 from Align, with crazy performance and all the best Align has to offer - so I'm sure this baby will fulfill my every need

Complimentary T-rex build rag. Nice touch.

GPro is to be replaced by the Agiles Ikon unit and then sold.

As always, all "pre-assembled" parts MUST be checked, locktighted and re-assembled. Align only puts everything together so the build takes shorter to complete.

Little, or no grease on the pre-assembled thrust bearings.

Bling bling!

Didn't bother to sand down all the edges this time. Only sanded places where I knew wires would pass over.

These are some crazy servos! BL815H for cyclics and BL855H for tail.

Insane motor as well. 5100W!

Finding a spot to place the ESC. This is the secondary mounting spot suggested by the manual, but the first spot is located on the back of the heli which would mean lengthening the ESC wires - nope. So I went with the awkward mount up at the front.

Soldered on al the connectors.

Wiring.

Made an extension for the rear battery.

Tail servo.

Pre-assembled front tail case. Didn't bother to check this one, all plastic parts.

Rear tailcase. Again, really important to check pre-assembled parts.

I had an issue with one of these DFC ball heads. These are a pain to thread. And it's not the first time I've come across this issue with DFC ball heads.

As per usual Marius style; horrible wiring job

Tail installed.

DONE!

Maiden video. Skip to 2:35 for the actual flight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlbmCEv ... e=youtu.be

Final verdict. Very impressed actually. A part from some minor issues, this was a very straight forward build. An easy build. Align makes sure you have everything in these super combo kits and that is a relief compared to many other kits I've built over the years. No epoxying or overly complicated solutions - just build it and fly it.

And it flies well too. As you saw in the video the thing pretty much flew fine right out of the box. I only have four flight on it so far (maidened it today), so there will probably be some fine tuning.

So far so good. Thanks for reading!

DOG · Post by **DOG** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:57 pm

WOW, that's is one big good looking bird you have their Marius. Enjoy yourself and you should of cut the grass while you were there.

cml001 · Post by **cml001** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 1:18 am

Couple of those here in my area... Sweet bird.. That motor rocks too! Best servos Align has made IMO... Parts are always available for it, and on the cheap side as it goes. When u find a need for spares, pay attention as that is my only real complaint with Ailgn... There could be 5 different versions for what u may need, yet the manual doesn't state part #s.. So it leaves one to research a bit before clicking "add to cart". But yeah, Align kits are great.. Love my 450 & 550, plus as u said.. It's a complete, no fuss build.. That 700 is a beast! U'll love it I'm sure! Nice flight!

Post by **pvolcko** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 2:05 am

Nice build and flight. Was kinda hoping you'd give that GPro a try. Havent heard much about them aside from they are better than the old 3gx units.

Marius · Post by **Marius** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 10:24 pm

cml001 wrote:Couple of those here in my area... Sweet bird.. That motor rocks too! Best servos Align has made IMO... Parts are always available for it, and on the cheap side as it goes. When u find a need for spares, pay attention as that is my only real complaint with Ailgn... There could be 5 different versions for what u may need, yet the manual doesn't state part #s.. So it leaves one to research a bit before clicking "add to cart". But yeah, Align kits are great.. Love my 450 & 550, plus as u said.. It's a complete, no fuss build.. That 700 is a beast! U'll love it I'm sure! Nice flight!

Yes, these servos are by far the best I've seen so far. There's hardly ANY chatter, even when they're binding they hardly make any noise. Very finely geared as well. About parts; I recently found this very helpful tool: http://shop.align.com.tw/partfinder.php?language=en

Thanks!

pvolcko wrote:Nice build and flight. Was kinda hoping you'd give that GPro a try. Havent heard much about them aside from they are better than the old 3gx units.

Thanks. I would like to try the Gpro, but I don't have the time to get into a new FBL right now. With the Ikon I know exactly what to do, no fuss.

DOG wrote:WOW, that's is one big good looking bird you have their Marius. Enjoy yourself and you should of cut the grass while you were there.

Thanks buddy! There will be grass cutting, I promise

cml001 · Post by **cml001** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 10:40 pm

Thanks for the link!

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 7:49 am

That looks like a nice machine Marius.
If I ever get a 700, I think for initial cost, and crash cost, spares, it will probably be one of those.
Just can't see me paying for crash costs on a Goblin 700. Its bad enough on the 570

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 11:29 am

That's really a good bit of kit, Marius! Thanks for the build pics! Very pretty parts and pieces! The flight was awesome! That 700 sure is smooth. I love the low head speed stuff!

Graham Lawrie · Post by **Graham Lawrie** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 11:44 am

Great build pictures and maiden Marius:) In the plastic tail section , i am sure you know there are bearings in there? I usually oil them as they are normally dry. Ervery time i have had a tail issue/vibration with my Align Trex 600 and 550, it is nearly always those bearings i change:)

Marius · Post by **Marius** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:29 pm

cml001 wrote:Thanks for the link!

No prob mate!

Lee wrote:That looks like a nice machine Marius.
If I ever get a 700, I think for initial cost, and crash cost, spares, it will probably be one of those.
Just can't see me paying for crash costs on a Goblin 700. Its bad enough on the 570

The SAB series are not the cheapest to own that's for sure. I couldn't own a Gob 700 either, I crash to much

Derek wrote:That's really a good bit of kit, Marius! Thanks for the build pics! Very pretty parts and pieces! The flight was awesome! That 700 sure is smooth. I love the low head speed stuff!

Thanks

Graham Lawrie wrote:Great build pictures and maiden Marius:) In the plastic tail section , i am sure you know there are bearings in there? I usually oil them as they are normally dry. Ervery time i have had a tail issue/vibration with my Align Trex 600 and 550, it is nearly always those bearings i change:)

Thanks for the tip Graham. I have never checked any sealed bearings before, but I will from now on. Thanks again, and thanks for watching.

___

I have 8 flights down now. I'm still battling a tail issue (the tail wags aggressively during sideways tic tocs and some other moves), but I'll figure it out. Otherwise it seems as if the bird behaves nicely. I'm still getting to know it, but we'll get there.

Thanks for reading!

Post by **pvolcko** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 2:58 am

Sounds like gyro gain might be a bit too high.

Post by **danhampson** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 2:47 pm

pvolcko wrote:Sounds like gyro gain might be a bit too high.

I was thinking the same.

Nice bird and build Marius

Marius · Post by **Marius** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:34 pm

pvolcko wrote:Sounds like gyro gain might be a bit too high.

danhampson wrote: Re: Building the Align T-rex 700L TOP
by danhampson » Mon Jul 13, 2015 3:47 pm

Thanks guys. I already lowered the tail gain to 41%, I'll go down a few clicks more.