Chase 360 - Modellbau UK

[Will47]

Hi all,

Thought I would give some of you guys a heads up, I know people have been eagerly awaiting this beast!

Just ordered a chase 360 from modellbau UK, looks like they have just got some of the combo kits in and some spares as well! Got it from here Chase 360 Combo

Will wait for delivery and follow up with some build pics and hopefully some videos. This machine looks awesome!

Cheers

Will

[Budgy]

Hello, let me introduce myself as Will posted on here and texted me to say he did, thanks Will

The South of England is distinctly devoid of model shops now and being based in Four Msrks near Alton in Hampshire the nearest decent model shop to here is either Andover Models or Sussex Model Centre. So we're slap bank right in the middle of those 2 and to date we have done very well primarily in the jet scene with our Aurora Sports Jet, featured in the cover of the Radio Control Jet International last year so we're no "Mickeys Mouse" box shifters


I have for many years been a fan of Trex helicopters and own several but we were contacted by Cady at KDS to see if we would like to stock their models and spares to cover our geographical location. After reading many posts on this and other forums we felt that KDS were a force to be reckoned with and decided to import a range of their models. Now spares support is the key, particularly in helicopters, I know, I've crashed a few too, so we decided to stock the entire range of spares for the Chase 360 and typical crash damage spares for the Agike 5.5 and 7.2. We brought a few Innova 550's, Innove 450SD, although I wished I'd gone for the FBL version so next order will include these, and 450Q just to take a look.


After taking a few weeks to clear customs, think with all those spares they must have thought we were making a nuclear warhead!, the final boxes arrived yesterday so it was time to launch ourselves and the new KDS importer for the south.


Will will be doing a review on the Chase 360, from his perspective. He is a first class 3D pilot and flown the majority of the top models available so his view will be greatly received.


As you may know there is an issue with the tail blade being too thick resulting in structural issues,and one of the pinions being too tight and Cady is resolving this for us at the moment.


So here we are, we have stock, we will be registering as a trader shortly under the banner of ModellbauUK and we are open for business so if you feel like dropping in email me on ian@modellbauuk.com first as we are primarily an internet based company but do have a trade counter for special visitors or on spec visitors.


Looking forward to our new relationship with KDS and Cady. Thanks for the T Shirts & caps, they're really cool.


Ian

[PeteStewardson]

There's a few of use with these now and they're great helis. Really enjoying flying mine

[raptormark]

nice one more agiles and chases

[matt27]

the agiles are really nice machines but they seem so poorly supported, shame really

[Will47]

Hi All,

So I have now got the Chase 360 many thanks to Ian at Modellbau UK. So far I have only been able to have a quick look through all the bits and have a read of the manual (which I downloaded online). Everything looks top quality, well packaged and so far seems very good value for money. I haven't got any tail blades for it yet though as I know there were some issues with them, could anyone who's flown the chase recommend any?

The main change for me with this heli is that it will be my first venture into flybarless! I know the technology has been around for a few years now but to be honest I have just never made the change as I haven't been flying enough to justify it. I am still flying one of the original T-Rex 700 Nitros, there are a few videos of me flying it here www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL5EiEpa4yo , www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt_2KBNsb5gUnfortunately due to work and other commitments I haven't flown as much as I would have liked to and so never upgraded from the old T-Rex. This will be a good test of how user friendly the KDS E-Bar is as I have no experience of setting up any flybarless systems.

I am really excited to get the Chase built and put it through it's paces! I know others have done build threads etc so I will go through the build briefly on here and then hopefully get some flight tests done in the next couple of weeks.

Cheers

Will

[raptormark]

tail blades should be in the box

[Will47]

Mark,

There aren't any in the box as Cady at KDS advised Ian that there were still some issues with the tail blades being too thick, which was giving some structural issues. He is going to send some on when they have resolved the problem. In the meantime I am hoping to get this going fairly quickly so am trying to find a suitable replacement.

[Budgy]

the agiles are really nice machines but they seem so poorly supported, shame really

Hi Matt, hopefully we can change that. When you say supported you mean spares? We have 3 of every part in stock for the chase 360, except the canopies although we could take one from a kit if needs be. We also have typical crash damage parts available for the Agile 7.2 & 5.5


We just brought in a few 450Q's and 450SD's (4 of each). Also a couple of Innova 550's again to take a look. Not sure sure there's still such a market for these models still, what's you're thoughts?


Our philosophy at ModellbauUK is to do things slightly differently and support very good products which are pushed to one side in favour of the mass marketed products. Take for example our Kestrel Jet Trainer, not the normal choice with Boomerang Jets being the favourite, our Aurora Jet which wouid have been suspended, our support has allowed the factory to produce a new smaller jet, the Swift. We are soon to start stocking Jeti and have a DC-16 on order to try out. Not the run if the mill radio with JR,Futaba or Spektrum being the preferred option


Off topic I know but I just wanted to reiterate we're here to support KDS in the UK. Our related product lines will expand in time such as Blades & Batteries. We've used DesirePower for years and they are excellent batteries. 5000mah 45c 6S seems to be the standard for the 7.2 & 5.5 and 1800mah 45c 6s for the chase range. Right?


Ian

[matt27]

It's good to see that you have chosen KDS as I think there is a real market for these helis in this country with people always looking for other brands than the standard aligns

As far as the agiles, (not so much the chase) it seems to be spares and kits that aren't readily available through-out the UK but I guess with it being a relatively new brand it would be a risk for shops to take the brand on board in large quantities (a good risk in my eyes however ). However with the differences and individuality the agile and chase helis bring to the table compared to other brands they could become quite popular especially if they decide to bring out belt driven versions of the larger helis (Agile 5.5 and 7.2) in a chase format and a tube driven chase 360 (Agile 3.6 - which I believe was leaked earlier this year?) it's just a case of building a reputation for great customer service (both shops and maybe more importantly KDS) and readily available spares

Time will tell I guess but great job in getting them on board in this country and I wish you lots of success with the brand!! I certainly know where to get spares from if/when I choose the KDS route (chase 360 on the cards?? )

[Budgy]

Thanks Matt. We have typical crash damage spares in stock for the Agile 7.2 & 5.5. Just received the updated price list for the upgrade parts yesterday. I'll go through the list today and order stocks when next batch of heli's ordered.

When you're ready for a KDS heli please let me know.

[matt27]

Excellent news Ian...I haven't even seen these helis yet but I think I am going to become a bit KDS fan

I will probably let the first couple of batches run through so initial issues are sorted (and I have time to save some £££) and I'll let you know

[Budgy]

No problem Matt. When you're ready let me know

[Will47]

So, I have been spending my evenings putting the chase together and after roughly 4 hours or so of work the build is almost complete. The only major gripe at the moment I would say is the manual, the first 16 steps or so are well detailed but after that there is some small details missing and a little bit of guess work is involved, as long as you have some experience building heli's and don't mind a little bit of trial and error then this won't be a problem, and I am sure these issues will all be ironed out soon. I think the online only manual is a good idea as it is easily updated for everyone to see.

The manual can be downloaded here http://hawk-rc.synology.me:5000/fbsharing/QIaddfzU

There are also some very useful animations of the build here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3n...j9Zsl1w/videos

This image shows up to step 7, this all went together really nicely with no problems at all, the manual was very clear and easy to follow to get here, the youtube animations are great if you can't quite tell where a bolt is going from the manual!



This next image is up to step 14, tail boom is on and main shaft and gears are in. As you can see the cyclic servos are already in and have their control arms attached. This could be left until the build is finished but if you get your servos centered and the arms on and fit the servos at this stage it will save time taking the mount off again later, so makes sense really!



Here are a few more shots before the left hand frame went on, just to give some more detail. As you can see everything looks great quality and fit's together well. Some more information in the manual about belt adjustment wouldn't go amiss but again I am sure this will be added later on!




This is where I am up to so far on the build, the head and links etc are built up and ready to go on so that will be the next job. Then it's getting all the electronics on and setting her up.


So far I am very impressed with this heli, the main thing is the quality of parts and value for money, at £380.00 for the combo you just cannot go wrong and having watched a few videos on youtube I can't wait to get it in the air and see how well she performs. Yes there are a few problems with the detail in the manual but nothing an experienced builder can't handle! As I said before this heli is still in it's early stages and I am sure these issues will be ironed out soon, but until they are I am more than happy to help anyone who may have any questions.

I am just now waiting for some KBDD tail blades and a new receiver and then I will be ready to start setting up electronics and hopefully get her maidened by next weekend. Until then feel free to ask any questions you may have!

[matt27]

Looking good Will, one thing on the skids, have you mounted them on the inside or outside because I've seen a couple of comments else where that they should be on the inside? Obviously I haven't got the kit so can't say they're right/wrong but these comments weren't disputed by others???
Also what are your thoughts of someone putting this together if they've never built a heli before? I've had blade 400 a few years back so have some ideas from doing rebuilds but then had to stop flying for a while and never got to built a kit?