I found there were more “chambers” available than I had components, which makes
electronics placement a breeze. Having all
the electronics separated like this also made
wiring and maintenance easy.
The Caliber 700 uses a 3 servo, 120-
degree ECM control system for slop-free
direct control. It also has push-pull
mechanics on all flight controls, including
rudder. The push-pull system allows slop-free control from even medium-cost servos
by spreading the control loads to both sides
of the servo gear train to give a very precise
control without having to invest in high-end electronic equipment.
The batteries are arranged in a saddle-pack configuration with 3 cell LiPo packs
mounted outboard on either side of the
mainframes and a Y-harness that connects
the two batteries. This provides for easy
weight adjustment to achieve a neutral CG,
as well as allowing cheaper 3 cell LiPos to be
used. I have used typical 3 cell 2100mAh
batteries from some of my smaller electric
helis for hovering and basic flight as well as
the Orion 4000mAh 3 cell for maximum
performance flying.
The head and control system is robust
and slop free. The parts consist of a mix of
composite and machined aluminum parts
that assemble to form a rigid control system. The control system is push-pull on all
surface controls, including the tail, which
has a boom-mounted servo with two rods
running the length of the boom and connecting to the multi-link rudder control. All
linkages mount at a 90 degree angle, which
makes it very easy to set up the head and
The combination of composite and machined aluminum construction makes the head assemble
rigid and lightweight with virtually no slop.
