High Voltage on the workbench...

[Ber60]

Originally Posted by redbird300

Add the blades and it's ready.... very likely that it will fly next weekend.

Weather permitting

[redbird300]

Originally Posted by Ber60

Weather permitting

300 seconds without rain will be enough

[Ber60]

[redbird300]

Now this is really good news that Compass released today on their website, there was a lot of talking about it recently, and now it's becoming a reality. Especially as I have a spare V-Bar unit laying around since that promo deal on V-Bars. I'll only need the conversion kit, not the complete FBL head, it will make a nice winterproject.

[redbird300]

Call me a maniac, but I do check balance even on the tailblades, lol.
Note the "high-tech" balancer, but it works...

[Tomstoy2]

Me too, buddy, paddels too. The more vibration removed the better.
What blades are you planning on using?

[redbird300]

Originally Posted by Tomstoy2

Me too, buddy, paddels too. The more vibration removed the better.
What blades are you planning on using?

The stock Compass carbon mainblades that are included in the kit, they seem to be OK. They measure 615 mm from tip to the bolt hole. As for the tailblades, don't know yet, the plastic ones in the pic were included in the kit, but are rather flexible, I'll use them for the first flights and see how the tail stops. Might try 90-95 mm carbon ones if they seem to soft, we'll see.

[Tomstoy2]

I've been eye-balling Compass for awhile now. It's liable to become your favorite bird. With fbl it should be like it's connected to you. Really looking forward to hearing you impressions.
Me, I'm ready to give mine another try but the schedule won't allow me to until 2 weeks.
Hope you get some good weather for the maiden.

[mnwizard]

I love the Lego stand Redbird!

[redbird300]

Originally Posted by mnwizard

I love the Lego stand Redbird!

I even made a complete plane balancer of building blocks from my little boy, it supports the plane under the wings, and allows me to accurately see if the whole thing balances correctly. My boy is getting suspicious now when I wanna play with him, he's probably thinking: Oh, that big guy is gonna steal my blocks again.

[Jonnyheli]

Raf, I saw the 6hv yesterday. It's as long as a Trex 600, but it has a low proflie which is cool

Saw one flying too, they are fast. Just as good as all the other helis. Compass are awsome helis these days

-Jonny

[redbird300]

We'll find out soon, Jonny.

I started the wiring job today, about the last major thing to do before the final test. Will take some time though, the low profile and narrow frame limit the wiring possibilities, and I like to have it clean and tidy.

Gonna solder a custom serial cable for the packs with just the right length, I guess. This will make sure that the main connector is not under the canopy, allowing to connect and disconnect the packs without removing the canopy, I like that, it's very convenient.

I need to balance the blades after that, check the balance of the whole heli, lube it and test / adjust it on the bench or a (large) lazy susan. Erwin modified his turntable to accomodate a 600, we used it for the HK600, and it worked very well.

Already programmed the ESC and tested the motor yesterday, and all looked normal.
And the weather next weekend will be fine.

[Tomstoy2]

Hey Raf, I was looking at making a lazy Suzan for my 90. I was thinking of taking a small car rear brake drum and mounting it on a table just for the purpose. Any ideas you come up with please feel free to share.

[redbird300]

Originally Posted by Tomstoy2

Hey Raf, I was looking at making a lazy Suzan for my 90. I was thinking of taking a small car rear brake drum and mounting it on a table just for the purpose. Any ideas you come up with please feel free to share.

Tom, this is what we used for the HK600. The pics are blurry, I got them from a phone vid, but you'll get the idea.
It is in fact the turntable that Erwin made for 450-500 size helis, but with 2 modifications: first of all, an extra piece of wood attached firmly to the side of the "front" base of the turntable, and also plugged into the ground at both ends with some metal pins. Second, a thick steel rod screwed in the "back" of the turntble, which in turn can be secured to the ground with a hooked rod, the kind that are used to secure tents or so. All this to get the necessary stability. We were still careful of course.

[redbird300]

And here are some better pics for you Tom, you can see the parts better and how they will be fitted. Not to be used on concrete stones of course, kinda hard to get the pins in, lol.

[Tomstoy2]

Ahhh, much easier than what I was thinking of, and no welding necessary, ( less chance for me to burn down the house ).
So, are you just using a bolt then for the turntable shaft?*

A little off topic here, but what happens if a lipo is exposed to fire, will it explode or just burst into a fireball like it does when punctured?
I got this camping trip this weekend with my old squadron mates and was thinking of 'innocently desposing' some bad batterys I have. Thought they would be great to start the fire with, just don't want any trips to the local clinic, ( a strong possibility anyway, at least this time we'll be somewhere there's no innocent victims, or witnesses as we like to refer to them ).

[redbird300]

Tom, look in the first vid of this thread, there is a complete manual in it of how Erwin build this turntable. Indeed just a central bolt, yes.

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=175163

Oh, might just as well copy the vid:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqdSYWEX7bM&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

[Tomstoy2]

Sweet, leave it to the 'Master' to come up with the perfect turntable! It gave me a good idea to what I need to make one for my Avant.
My buddy's place is dirt so a stretched tarp with Erwin's turntable mounted on a sheet of plywood sitting on top of the tarp, staked down of course. Should work great, thanks my friend!

Now, back on topic, when are you thinking of testing your Compass? Yours will be the first first-hand report I will read. Screw what the advertizers say!
I know these things fly great, but what is really interresting I find is what pilots think who, like you and Erwin, like to test and compare different birds.
Good luck with it!

[redbird300]

I hope to test it next weekend, could be ready by then.

Anyway, it's not perfect, but there are only little flaws for as for as I have noticed until now. Good value for money for sure. Similar story as the Atom500 in fact, and that one has many dozens of flights now, without any worries at all, it's designed to last, you feel it when putting it together.

[redbird300]

The weather was so nice down here, no building anymore, only flying for the last days.
A few pics anyway of the unfinished 6HV. I put all the electronics on the heli in a temporary way, to find out the best routing for the wires. Need to start the final wiring job now, braided sleeves, ESC connector, and so on...

The naughty mSR climbed up the horizontal tail fin of the 6HV, and the weight wasn't enough to push the vertical tailfin against the table, even with the 6HV having no canopy or pack attached, lol. And in the second pic it's hiding under the battery tray, I guess they will become good friends. Allthough the mSR might better keep some more distance when daddy will start swinging his blades, lol.