who's flying a chase 360?

[fishfiend]

That said, I believe the problem lies with the manufacture, lot of reported problems with defective parts. I haven't experienced this with the chase, but with the agile 5.5 I have yet to find a true bevel gear, you have to muddle through and set your mesh. I was ordering from the UK for parts, but to be honest its probably nearly as quick getting them from Hawk-rc, less than a week usually and they have the lot. I mean whats not to love about the chase..I dont fly my 180cfx anymore because its dearer to fix than the chase....I mean a carbon fibre boom for a fiver, and £16 for a canopy..its good value and looks cool too,

[Grumpy]

FWIW, the Chase 360 builds if anything slightly lighter than the X3, assuming identical components (A few of us did comparisons over on Helifreak a while ago).. so it the chase is over engineered where does that put the X3?.. Personally i'd argue that the Chase is beautifully engineered (speaking as a mechanical engineer FWIW)

Metal is heavier than plastic for sure but it's also stronger, so you need less of it. Comparing 7075 aluminium to glass filled nylon: The aluminium is roughly fiven times stronger but only a little over twice as dense, therefore the aluminium will usually build much lighter and/or stronger components. Other grades of ally and plastic will give different results but unless you go to carbon fibre reinforced composite the aluminium will win.

[tomatwalden]

Fair enough. Didn't mean to turn this into a Chase v X3 thread anyway! The OP wanted opinions on the Chase, and I think it's fair to say, there are some happy users out there! FWIW, I think it looks great! And generally speaking I've noticed that when people post for opinions on a certain heli - it's because they've already set their hearts on it, and are looking for backup to justify their (already made) choice!

[PeteStewardson]

I love the Chase design, and also spoke to the designer quite a lot. It's quiet, great design, al looks fantastic. It's just a shame KDS make it so parts quality is such a hit and miss affair.

[myxiplx]

I've heard the Chase is more fiddly than the X3 when it comes to maintenance. But I've never seen a bad word spoken about how it flies, it's generally regarded as one of the best 360mm machines you can find when it comes to flying characteristics.

[cyclo]

Belt driven X3 gets my vote but I did consider the Chase 360 early on but was put off by the inconsistent quality of parts issues that users were reporting. The X3 and Chase design philosophies are polar opposites in my opinion. The X3 is simple while the Chase is a bit over the top (for a small heli) with multi-staged belt driven drive train.

My experience with the X3 is that it flies great for its size, is cheap and very easy to repair after crashes especially if you use breakaway servo horns. I have had three relatively hard crashes and the servos (KST215MGs) have never needed fixing.

Without the canopy the Chase definitely looks nicer with its multistage drive-train, motor that sticks out of the canopy, and SAB-like arrangement of the cyclic servos. With the canopy though, the X3 is bigger (better visibility), and does not look too bad especially with aftermarket canopies from Lynx or Fusuno.

[cycled]

So you're on here too cyclo?

If you want better visibility, you can get bright green or orange GF frames for the X3 from Fusano. The Chase canopy is the same length as the X3, but the X3 is slightly taller. The Chase is still good for visibility.

Almost certainly the X3 is a little easier to build but I'd definitely choose the Chase again if I want another 360 (planning on selling my X3).

[Grumpy]

I have no doubt that the X3 is a fine heli, simple, robust, reliable and flies nicely. But to my eye in comparison to the Chase it just looks a little dull and staid, it just doesn't get my juices flowing like the Chase does. This is of course a highly subjective opinion, others may think the opposite, each to their own.

[Peteski]

There are actually some great options in this class. I think I've researched "450s" to death over the last 6 months, must have read every post about every 450 in the world both here and HF LOL!

My shortlist (in order of what I would probably buy) was:-

X3 - have to say this is the one that usually ends up at the top of any 450 list and generally regarded as the definitive "beater". I've very nearly bought one twice, but something else always seems to catch my eye at the last moment! Maybe it's just lacking the X-Factor for me? Also sounds very noisy and rough, maybe less so with the belt drive tail?
MSH Mini-Protos - also seems very well regarded and quite a distinctive design, very quiet belt drive. Kit prices are very competitive too, especially if you want to use the Brain FBL.
Chase 360 - seems to fly great, but definitely a question mark over quality consistency. Kit seems good value though and cutting edge design. I could easily be tempted.
Compass Warp - seems to have a strong following over the pond, but a few mixed reviews around. Supposedly a bit tricky to build too. I'm not personally into the looks of it though, so not really for me.

I finished up buying a Goblin 380 this time around. Heart over head kind of decision really, but it's a hobby!

[cycled]

Sounds like you over-analysed that Peteski...

but the mini-Protos is quite a bit lighter, so more suited to 325 or floatier with 350-360 blades I imagine. The Forza 450 should be similar.

The Goblin 380 is quite a bit heavier IIRC and also more expensive, so doesn't really fit in the same class...

[Peteski]

Sounds like you over-analysed that Peteski...

but the mini-Protos is quite a bit lighter, so more suited to 325 or floatier with 350-360 blades I imagine. The Forza 450 should be similar.

The Goblin 380 is quite a bit heavier IIRC and also more expensive, so doesn't really fit in the same class...

Yeah I wasn't really meaning to suggest the G380 as being either a true 450 class or as an alternative to a Chase 360. It's just what I happened to buy instead of a 450 this time. But I think the 450s in my shortlist above do cover most of the decent options in that class, but I missed out the Forza 450.