Compass Customer Demographics

[KiloXray]

What part of the world is Compass the most popular? I recently saw a claim that they are a "major player in the industry" and am trying to figure out where.

[Ah Clem]

They seem to be very popular in Europe, specifically Germany.

Lots of posting on FaceBook from Germany.

[Fauropitotto]

Must be. Didn't see a single Compass other than my own at all at the 2015 Orlando Heli Blowout (second largest heli fun-fly in the US).

The only other Compass I ever saw "in the wild" was a Chronos early in 2015. That was the only one I've seen in the 4 or 5 fun flies I attended that year. Other than AhClem and cyclo, I don't see much english speaking reps online or on social media either (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc). Last post on the Team Compass USA Facebook page was in October of 2014.

[KiloXray]

I live in Germany and don't see much of them here either. Most of the people I have spoken with about them here somewhat consider them to be a boutique heli. I'm not sure why.

I think maybe they are slightly more popular in Switzerland. I was at a heli even down there last year and saw maybe a half dozen of them, but that was out of probably 150+ helis.

As represented here on HF, they seem to be the most popular with the Canadian crowd.

I wonder if they are more popular in Asia. We don't have many people on HF from that part of the world, unlike the Euro crowd, of which we have many.

[SCinch]

Looks like they have or "Had" 7 US team Pilots.
I know one listed Compass pilot, Dana Lo and he hasn't flown in 2 years. SO... hmmm.

[Sebastian Zajonz]

Hello,

we are doing pretty good in some parts of Asia, Russia, New Zealand, Australia and of course in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. We used to be really successful in the USA and Canada like 2 years ago. We sold the 7HV and WARP 360 pretty good. In 2014-2015 we lost probably half of our customers or more in the USA, caused by a big part supply issue. Repair needs time but we are on the track.

In some region of Germany we are the second or third biggest brand. Most of our customers are in the south west.

For example at the Heidelberg Vatertagsmeeting we had in fact more Compass helicopters than Align. SAB was for sure at position one. At other events like the Bayreuth 3D Heliforum funfly we had probably the most helicopters there. Even in some areas in east and north Germany we are doing really good.

Here is a facebook link to a Compass pilots fan page where many customers write and talk: https://www.facebook.com/groups/6060...45867/?fref=ts

Picture: Bayreuth Funfly 2014 (maybe 40% Compass): https://www.facebook.com/3dHeliforum...type=3&theater

Picture: Compass Meeting 2014: https://www.facebook.com/10901418912...type=3&theater

Picture: Springfly Austria 2015 (About 30% Compass): https://www.facebook.com/springflyau...type=3&theater

We have some really good dealers here and a perfect support and part supply. Dealers like: http://www.rcheli-store.de/ or http://helicoach-shop.de/ or http://www.se-helistore.de/ or http://www.moses-modellbau.de/ or http://rc-helishopping.com/ or http://www.modellbau-brakel.de/ or many others are doing an awesome job here!

KiloXray where exactly you are coming from? You may want to join us at one of the big events here: http://www.mttec.de/Events-2016

US-Compassteam is now integrated into our EU-Team. We are now just team Compass.
We do have some world class pilots with big names and great flying.
For example Daniel Jetschin, Niklas Solle, Sebastia Serra Montes, Henrik Clausen, David Ketelhut, Andy Eder, Christoph Haye, Raynia Pikari Kaiwai, Kelley Sailor, André Peterson, Keven Schauz and some more.

Daniel Jetschin - Best of videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...fgiKtNs4wDxplg

Sebastia Serra Montes - Best of videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...Dr1K9hSLnIV7wg

Andy Eder - Best of videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...JD099vD4gecK-0

Christoph Haye - Best of videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...Yj6J7kVg8sunQy

Keven Schauz - Best of videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...U6LzWPM2VcfHud

André Petersen - Best of videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...3_EAYpQ0nnWwYH

Some links of Henrik:

CHRONOS 700 HENRIK CLAUSEN THE FLIGHT / Hard 3d Model Helicopter Flight *1080p50fpsHD* (4 min 16 sec)

Bayreuth Helitreffen 2015 - Henrik Clausen - Rock on! (3 min 42 sec)

IRCHA 2015 - Henrik Clausen - Chronos (3 min 19 sec)

Niklas Solle:

Chronos testflight (3 min 4 sec)

Greetings Sebastian

[KiloXray]

Hi Sebastian!

Those are some great group Compass photos! I had suspected Russia as well, and had forgotten about the Aussies. I do see several of them here on HF that are Compass pilots.

I am actually one of the former USA (American ,but living in Germany) Compass pilots. There is still a part of me that really wants to love the Compass helis. I had a 6HVU and a Warp. LOVED flying both of them. The Warp, however I detested working on. The 6HVU I had almost zero complaints about, other that small preferences. As it turns out, I much prefer battery trays to nose mounting.

The part supply and frankly, the promises of improvement without noticeable differences were what ultimately drove me away. Deciding to part ways and sell with them wasn't easy and actually finding someone to buy them was even harder. There just isn't a lot of confidence in the North American market. I sincerely hope to see that change.

I do still have a soft spot for them though. I want to see new things that will bring me back. I am looking forward to seeing what the Exo 500 brings to the table.

I live in the southwest of Germany, near Kaiserslaughtern. I am planning on attending, at least one day of, ROTOR Live.

Cheers,
KX

[Sebastian Zajonz]

Well in that case you are pretty close to me. We have many customers around Karlsruhe.

Say hello at the ROTOR Live fair. I'm sure you will love our booth. Feel free to spend some time with us.

[KiloXray]

Originally Posted by Sebastian Zajonz

Well in that case you are pretty close to me. We have many customers around Karlsruhe.

Say hello at the ROTOR Live fair. I'm sure you will love our booth. Feel free to spend some time with us.

I intend to! Cheers.

[Scott214]

A couple of years ago when I was in Singapore I met several pilots who were flying Compass helis. One of the local pilots named Johnny Tan (PhantomGT) was the Compass rep and was a really good pilot. I remember that Compass helis were a big hit in Singapore.

I met a young pilot there named David Tan who was pushing his 7HV to the extreme. Here's a photo of him programming his Robird G31 fbl on his Compass 7HV.....

[ah_liang]

Compass did used to enjoy a strong set of followers in the past and many gave up not becos of parts support. Hobbyist tend to follow the trend of having the latest and greatest, not only the frame but blades and electronics too. While I might be the one of few left that truly enjoy the design and robustnes of the frame assembly, many had moved on due to lack of models refreshing.

[Lighty]

No one in Australia flyes for Compass, no one. We do fly them but that's it.

[mc20piece]

They are fairly popular here in Michigan. Adam at ProStar does a good job of promoting them locally. There are plenty of Chronos and 7hv around here.

[tsoebirk]

I'm in Denmark and bought a second-hand Warp last year, despite no local dealers. Denmark is so small that we only have a handful of dealers in total, who tend to stock only the largest brands, e.g. Blade, Align and Goblin. But it's a weird market: one dealer only stocks Beam helis, and is the only dealer in Europe AFAIK, and one stocks some KDS models as well. So I buy spares from Moses Modelbau.

I don't think there are many Compass helis in Denmark. They are hardly ever mentioned in local forums at any rate. Maybe mine is the only one! - someone please prove me wrong


I really like the Warp. I think it's much better than my T-Rex 450L. Really looking forward to see what the eXo brings to the table, especially since I'm looking at getting a 500 size next

[sewerfly]

Maybe I'm just lucky but every fun fly I attended I see at least 6 Compass machines and that's at the small ff

[B.Ewing]

I always see 4 or 5 at Louisiana events. Not huge representation but there are some

[Scott214]

I was holding out to buy a Chronos this year (to go along with my 6HVU and Warp 360) but the news of the new 500 has me rethinking that idea.

[PowerDyne]

I just recently got my Chronos and will soon be purchasing a 550U as soon as they are back in stock at ProStar. Possibly even a Warp and a 6HVU too!

I'm hoping to get a couple of friends locally to give a good look into the models available as well.

Expanding the North American market is paramount. Parts stock is starting to look good, and hopefully more models will be in stock soon!

[kpod]

I had a 6hvu and liked it but didn't fly the bigger heli's very often. I had it along with a 600sx a 480xx a G380 and 180cfx's. When I sold my 6hvu, I picked it to sell because I had to let a 600 go and the 600sx shared parts with the 480 and the 600sx had plentiful part supply so it stayed.

I honestly was a little put off with limited parts and having to make orders from multiple shops to do a repair. I'd love to see that issue taken care of and think it has gotten a lot better.

The 6hvu was awesome but 2 things I just didn't like were the servo layout and the slant tooth main gear. They both worked great but it was just a personal preference. I like good servo geometry and fully belted heli's which means the 500exo may be perfect for what I'm looking for. I can't wait to see it.

[SCinch]

I just scored this dude.
I'm pretty stoked.