Item: Beast Master's Flute

It's almost universally agreed that the Beast Master is underwhelming compared to all of the other options in D&D. I wanted to address some of its issues without making drastic changes.

First, increase the companion size to Large. This opens up the options to include the following beasts from the Monster Manual: Axe Beak, Camel, Constrictor Snake, Draft Horse, Elk, Giant Bat, Giant Fly (DMG), Giant Lizard, Giant Owl, and Riding Horse. They're still CR 1/4 and not overly powered. Large beasts can also be mounted by non-halfling/non-gnome rangers because let's face it, mounting your beast companion is the only reason why you took Beast Master!

Second, the beast companion has crappy hit points, so rangers are going to need new ones pretty often. The 8 hour wait time is unreasonably punishing, so I changed it to an hour, the equivalent amount of time to a short rest. Companions are a class FEATURE, so this rightfully allows rangers to stay relevant throughout the adventuring day.

Finally, the crappy action economy! Why on earth would you ever sacrifice one of your own precious actions to have your companion do anything?!

Find Familiar at least gives you attack advantage without sacrificing a turn. Animate Dead at least gives you more options as a bonus action. Find Steed at least gives you a mount that could Dash, Disengage, or Dodge for free.

As a Beast Master, you need help to stay relevant (without overshadowing the Fighter). With this flute, you could dish out 2 attacks on your turn (free companion attack + your own attack action) starting from level 3. This beats the Fighter to the punch who only gets Extra Attack at level 5. But you max out at 3 attacks per turn, whereas the Fighter climbs up to 4. Is this imbalanced? Does a Beast Master with a tweaked action economy steal the Fighter's limelight?