New Models

[Wa11banger]

Two new helis due for release here shortly, the ODIN 90 sized Nitro and the ATOM 500 sized electric heli. If anyone was at IRCHA they got to see them getting tossed around pretty hard by Bobby Smith and crew.


Dont forget the Knight 3D either, I have been having a good time with mine and am in process of building each of the airframes mentioned above. Will keep you posted on thier progress and flight reports

Rick

[CSpaced]

Could you post some build pics?

[Wa11banger]

I sure will, I havent started the build on either of them this week so far. I am currently troubleshooting faulty brakes on my RV. I think I have to rebuild the whole brake system as I have found crud everywhere.. Once I get this completed I will start the build and post daily pics.. Wont take long thought, Compass models are quickbuild kits.. But I can take some pics of the assemblies that come with the kit for starters then update the posts when I actually get to building them. Trying to get this RV ready for the holiday weekend coming up is going to kill me.

Rick

[heliboy88]

Thanks for sharing Rick, looking forward to your build especially the Atom 500.

regards,
rich

[WhirlyGirl]

Hey Rick (are you Rick Copeland?)

Good luck with the RV brakes...ugh, we had trouble with ours a couple weeks ago and it came down to just being 2 wires that cames look by one of the wheels under the camper and they were shorting intermittently. That stunk!

Looking forward to seeing your Odin build. My Atom should be here next week. I'm really looking forward to it!

See ya around!

Jeanette

[Wa11banger]

Hey all, finally got all my RV stuff out of my way. You all know how it goes a new toy and all. I started the ATOM build last night and will post pictures and commentary hopefully tonight when I get home. So far so good. Cant wait to tear up some sky with it. I also have an unpainted FG canopy for it that I will be creating a scheme for and painting it. Hopefully can get that done before the Tullahoma FF.

Jeanette, Yes Ma'am I am Rick Copeland. I got the brakes done and actually took it camping for 4 days. Unfortunately for me it wasnt wires, I had to completely rebuild the front brake system and replace everything. Older RV we bought but it has very low miles and hours on it. It has spent its life parked and locked. I have the ATOM almost completed. Will start the ODIN right after the ATOM is built as I have a very special Engine to put in it :D

Have fun with your ATOM and I will deffinitely post the ODIN Build as well

Rick

[Wa11banger]

Sorry folks I have to resize them they are all too big to fit on here. I will get it done soon

[heliboy88]

Thanks a lot for sharing Rick, awaiting your build and review.

regards,
rich

[Wa11banger]

Hey all, sorry for the long delay the time taken between this post and my last in no way reflects how hard it is to build an ATOM :) lol really I do apologize to all for the long wait. Life hands it out fast and hard and I haven’t had a lot of time to do stuff in the evenings as I prepare for events and take care of life’s little intricacies, not to mention my job getting me home late almost every night lately.

But enough excuses you all just want the pictures and the commentary. So for starters let me say this build is as straight forward as it gets, and if you haven’t noticed from perusing the pictures below early (Tsk Tsk). The compass line is QB or quick build. Meaning a lot of the construction is done for you at the factory greatly decreasing your time from box to crashed, er… flying as much as possible.

There aren’t many pictures here because there is not a lot to do. The pictures below (yah I haven’t learned how to use this site yet) encompass only a few minutes more than three hours of my time and that includes having to figure out where I wanted to route or stick things differently than everyone else.

The first picture below was just a shot of the airframe as it comes out of the box. Would you look at the size of that motor?? (Yes its already installed) Isn’t that a sight to behold?? Ok, enough excitement this is a build thread for Pete’s sake! I did take out most of the screws and checked for lock-tite. I found it existed in sufficient quantity and quality to hold any screw where it belonged and I was quite impressed at how well it was applied and that it was everywhere it should be.

I forgot to take a picture of the servo installations but it really is easy. BTW I chose to use 9650’s all the way around on this build I may change my mind later but for now they will have to do. Ensure you align your output shafts to be furthest away from the main mast or you will be taking them back out to turn them around. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya ;) Both the collective and aileron servos mount from the inside out and are fairly easy to install starting with the lower one first then the top. I pushed mine in from the top of the frames and they slipped right in. The elevator and rudder servo both mount from the outside but still point inward. Also something worth noting is I ended up removing and replacing the anti rotation bracket several times just take it out and leave it out until you complete linkage adjustment.

I know a typical build takes you to the head next but since that also comes nicely prebuilt (sorry no picture, brain fart) I decided to go to the tail next. I noticed immediately no boom supports, but if you look at that boom you can see why none are required. The compass model line all have the same diameter boom and as short and stout as the boom is for the Atom, no supports will be needed. I hit my first snag here and have depicted it in Picture 2 and the solution I used in Picture 3. The tail boom does not have any holes or slots in it for orientation into the tail box or into the main frame boom clamp (This is being addressed with the MFG). So the simple solution I used was to install the tail gear box and slightly tighten the set screws until they just barely touched the boom. They are sharp enough to leave perfect marks for you to line up a drill guide on and drill holes into the boom. Picture 3 shows it completed, I used a 2.5mm drill bit and drilled through one side then the other. If you are an excellent marksman you can try to straight through it but I recommend drilling two separate accurate holes so that you get a perfect fit. Mine came out great and mounted to the boom perfectly and seems to be very strong, I twisted and contorted it several different ways and it does not seem any worse for the wear at all. BTW second note here when you install the boom into the frames the belt takes a quarter twist to the left if you are looking down the belt side of the boom.
Picture 4 shows a minor inconsistency (also brought to the attention of the MFG) concerning the vertical fin. The vertical fin has three holes in it, which is a great idea for strength but there is a depth difference in the mating surfaces between the fin mount and the third hole mount of the tail gearbox. This caused the fin to be slightly skewed when mounted. The fix is depicted in Picture 5 and I simply used two spare washers from the kit and placed them between the fin and the gearbox. I am more than certain the MFG will correct this issue in future kits.

Picture 6 is just there to be beautiful, actually I have no clue why I took it but it shows the gorgeous metal bits of the head assembly installed on top of the frame.
We now pause for a Sr. moment! Just so you know the belt drive gear goes on top Doh!!!! I had a terrible time for a few minutes why the damn gear wouldn’t go in the frames! Silly me, this is not a Raptor or Trex!! We now continue your regularly scheduled program BEEP

I pushed the boom all the way forward, I installed the head washout base and swash plate onto the main shaft then inserted the main shaft through the upper main bearing. There is a lock collar that needs to go between the top main bearing block and the main gear assembly. The collar has a raised edge on one surface, this raised edge needs to go towards the bottom of the upper main bearing. Do not insert it the other way around or your main shaft will bind on the upper bearing block. I then pushed the boom all the way forward into the main frames, and slipped the belt around the main gear assembly. I pushed the main shaft through the auto hub and aligned the holes and inserted the lower main jesus bolt. This is where the lock collar comes in, with the lower main bolt installed push down on the main shaft and hold the collar up tightly to the bottom of the upper main bearing. Tighten the screw and check for vertical slop. If you find none then you did it right, if vertical slop exists then wash, rinse and repeat until you get it right.

I installed the Landing gear finally, I normally leave the landing gear off until I am ready to finish setting up the model and need it to stand on its own. Having the landing gear off will greatly improve your ability to position the model while inserting servo screws etc during the initial build.

Picture 7 just shows the model mostly completed sitting right side facing us. I just wanted to show an overall look of where I routed some of the wiring and show off the outrage 3000 battery that will be under the hood of this baby.

Picture 8 and Picture 9 show different close ups of how I mounted the receiver into the airframe I put soft Velcro on the sides of the receiver and it fits snugly inbetween the frames then I put Velcro on the bottom of the receiver and wrapped a strap around it to hold it all together. I believe this will be plenty strong enough a place to keep the receiver hidden.

Picture 10 through 12 show the final resting place for the ESC, I placed it sideways inside the frame. I used a spot of Velcro and a single semi loose zip tie to hold it in place. The wiring almost seemed to call out “put me here” so I did. Picture 11 just shows it as view through the airframe.

I only have the linkages to measure and install, the DS760 gyro and tail servo to install, and the antenna tube to install and she is flight ready. I am hoping to take her to Tullahoma FF this weekend to showcase. If you are going to be there see you on the flip side..

Way more picture to come and flight reports to post very soon. (Yah I know what you’re thinking I would be too lol. But have you tried to use this site for pictures? We have some growing pains to deal with here.)

I promise finish pictures soon and flight reports from Tullahoma when I return.

Rick

[Wa11banger]

Man, flew the lube out of the heli and am really liking the performance. This airframe is a solid fueled rocket!. I am testing the Gov mode on the stock ESC right now so more to come

Rick