Chase 360 Build thread

[PeteStewardson]

OK so....

It's here!!!!

Just come back to my desk to find my Chase 360 has arrived...

Figure I might as well do a build thread.

Watch this space

[PeteStewardson]

OK so I've had chance to get the box open for a quick look. I've taken some photos on my phone and will post those later. I want if possible to have this ready to fly on Saturday so any photos i take will be on my phone for speed so I apologise in advance for the low quality pics.

First impressions are pretty good. It comes in the usual box with several boxes inside. I ordered the combo so have all the electronics and was thinking of not using the ebar but it does feel like a nice unit being all metal cased. The Hobbywing ESC though has an output which for now I think is an RPM output so I could use a vbar and use its internal governor possibly. Not sure on that one yet. The KDS servos are a surprise, they feel nice but they're HV servos, very nice surprise. The Scorpion motor looks pretty hefty too.

I'll post some more with pics later.

[cupracing]

Nice Pete, haven't got mine now as they sold it to someone else. Oh well :-(

[PeteStewardson]

Oh no gutted mate. Tbh it might be a good thing as apparently the manual is missing info and on top of that KDS removed a lip on a pinion somewhere which means the belts move. Will see how it goes.

First impressions of the machining are that the metal parts look good but the carbon parts seem a bit rough on the edges. That's me being picky as I normally sand the frames etc.

oh and getting the head set up will be interesting. Not built a heli for a while but there's no button head to fix a bar to, and no markings to use as reference.

[cupracing]

Digital pitch gauge is all you need pete

[PeteStewardson]

How much are they? I normally stick a flybar to the head and then use a standard pitch gauge.

[cupracing]

£15 or ou could ask in here for a used one. Make setup so simple and they are accurate. Also haven't had to adjust blade tracking since owning one.
40001RC | RC Logger Digital Pitch Gauge

[bigpops]

How much are they? I normally stick a flybar to the head and then use a standard pitch gauge.

40001RC | RC Logger Digital Pitch Gauge

£15 at Midland. I paid £30 for the same model a couple of years ago.

[Zeeflyboy]

looking forward to your thoughts - I love the look of this little chopper. Wish I had some cash to splash on it right now!

Bit undecided whether to go for this or a smaller blade CFX, I think the Chase is a much more interesting design but it's possibly just a smidge bigger than what I was thinking of.

Shame the CF is a bit rough - if I can cut CF with a perfect edge finish on my CNC at home you would have thought they could do better. I do sincerely hope this design isn't let down by poor quality of execution as I think it looks very cool.

[Jez N]

Nearly all reports elsewhere are that the parts are all 'quality'. If the CF frames have sharp edges, then we all sand them anyway i'm sure. Especially on these little models as wires tend to cross frame joints etc. From the pictures i've seen I think the parts look very sturdy for a 450 size and if it flys well and has no real teething problems then it should really push the warp for the current 450 crown!

[Boony]

who sells these in the UK?

looks a nice machine and i wouldn't mind getting one.

[Angelos]

I wouldn't get the RC Logger Digital Pitch Gauge unless you are prepared to take the batteries out when you are not using it. I have one and it drains batteries even when it is "off". I don't know if others are better but there is certainly a lot of choice on ebay. digital pitch gauge | eBay

[PeteStewardson]

It's not that the frames a rough, but in the cutting process the corners can be sharp. The Rave helis never have this issue and you don't need to sand them ( Although I still do a bit ) but most other helis do. On a second proper look last night they are pretty good, but I'll be running some fine sand paper over the edges to finish them off. To be fair I've done this with every align heli I've ever built too.

OK so most of the photos of box contents haven't mailed through so I'll skip them. ( Might add later )

Unopened box shot first



Box2 in there has the CNC parts and assemblies packed in a high density foam. A nice touch. All the metal parts look really nice quality wise. So far every pre-fitted screw has had loctite applied as well.



Box 3 has the electronics and the loose screws. These are all bagged with the sizes on stickers on each bag. There are a couple that don't have stickers on though.



The canopy. A lot of controversy over changing this from the green, but I quite like the look of it now.



Motor and ESC. The Scorpion looks really nice.



1st stage of the build is the drive belts/pulleys and pinions etc. Nice sturdy section once put together. This was where I hit my first issue. The motor screws don't quite sit flush to the motor mount, even thoguh they're countersunk, and so they protrude by a mm or so. This then means that the motor pinion has to sit a bit lower, which means the belt doesn't run perfectly center, it's running a little bit low. It doesn't come off the pulley in any way, but is lower than center by a mm or so. I'm considering trying to dremmel the head of the screws a little to get more clearance to get a more perfect alignment. The second issue is that the second stage pinion doesn't have a lip on both the top and bottom like the motor pinion. From things I've read on HF and HG it seems this is a mistake by KDS and it should have a lip on it to stop the second belt from sliding up into the gear above. It sounds like KDS have already re-made this part and it should be available soon.



Top main shaft bearing and servo mount assembly. Sadly the holes in the servo mounts aren't tapped so bolts need to go on the back of the screws. Glen, the designer of the heli, has already highlighted this as something he would like to have been done, but it's probably no big deal, just takes a bit longer to install servos.



Love the detail of adding the screenprint on the battery release levers



The boom mounting section of the tail. Easy to put together. The only thing the manual doesn't state here is which way to twist the belt. I'll have to wing it on this but I'm guessing it'll be the same as most belt helis.



And starting the tail section. Here is another issue that's cropped up. There needs to be an M2x4 screw to hold the tail fin on at the back, only there isn't one in the packets labeled up. The other screws holding this together are all silver so I expected another silver screw, but nothing. So I think I have this missing from my kit



Tail control slider. nicely CNC'd as with all the other parts.



The big letdown so far seems to be quality control on making sure everything is in the kit, and the manual. I know I'm a beta tester here and a full manual will be available eventually but it's a shame it wasn't complete before launch. So far I've had no complaints on the quality of components in the kit. The screws are a nice fit on the drivers which makes things nice and simple as well.

[bigpops]

I wouldn't get the RC Logger Digital Pitch Gauge unless you are prepared to take the batteries out when you are not using it. I have one and it drains batteries even when it is "off". I don't know if others are better but there is certainly a lot of choice on ebay. digital pitch gauge | eBay

See I've had mine come up "lo batt" one time I use it, then no mention of it the next time, both with the same batteries. I did buy a load of batteries for it though as they're so cheap.

[PeteStewardson]

who sells these in the UK?

looks a nice machine and i wouldn't mind getting one.

Welcome to Agile Heli! - Agile Heli and rc-hero.co.uk I think are the only two stockists currently. I think agile-heli have a kit still unsold ( or did yesterday )