Thinking of getting one

[Aziego]

I currently own an Outrage 550, love flying it but outrage discontinued it and some basic parts are tough to find. Also outrage as an organization seems to be going through a bit of trouble as they do not have parts for their supported models.

I am looking for something that i can slip most of my gears in and am deciding between the avantgarde and synergy E5. Seems Amain is the only place that sells Beam in the US, add to it there are not too many people who own Beam helies given the activity in the forum. I know there will be oversea outfits that i can buy parts from if Amain decide to drop the line but not something i am interested in doing. Anyone have insight into Amain's commitment to the brand and Beam as a company?

[trillian]

The parts and support was my only concern as well. We only have one dealer here in the UK stocking parts and I only know of one other person over here besides myself flying the AvantGarde!

But I decided to take the chance and just see how it goes. I don't know much about Beam as a company except that they have continued to support the E4 and it was because I had an E4 that got me interested when the Avantgarde was announced. I just know that for me personally if I had chosen something else I'd be wishing I had bought the Beam although I did begin to question my decision a little bit but had to remind myself that even the big guns of the heli manufacturing world have had those kinds of 'teething troubles' with new kits when they go into production. The parts quality and design seems very rugged so my impression is that parts are not going to wear out quickly it will just be a matter of crash damage. I sincerely hope Beam is doing well and as long as I know I can get the parts from somewhere I'm not too bothered because it's not my only heli and if I have to wait I can fly something else in the meantime.

If you wanted something as similar as possible with maybe more parts availability (I don't know exactly what the situation is in the USA) there's the Compass 6HV, it's a very similar frame layout and is also very lightweight but has been around a bit longer.

Hopefully someone else can shed more light on Beam as a company. If they are indeed workin on a 700 then that must be a good sign.

I too had an Outrage 550 and I really liked it, the one exception being that changing LiPo packs was a bit fiddly but I was very happy with it in general. Then I had the auto bearing fall apart and could not get one and luckily was able to use the one for the Fusion but the handwriting was on the wall so I sold the 550.

[scanner62]

In my opinion, i see a number of models coming to the market in the next few months (have read of new 600's and a 700), and as such have faith in the Beam company. They have moved to market demand in the 450 class with 2 or 3 upgraded models (1st to FBL then to DFC) and as such i recenty put $$$ down on a used (5 flights) 600 frame/blades/cyclics outfit. I believe when im ready to fly that heli, parts will be available.

Re; Synergy E5....that was my initial choice for a bigger bird. Start as a 550 then if you outgrow it, stretch to a 600....easy. However, i always felt id end up with a 600 so went directly that path, and also kept my suppliers to a minimum ( i can order my 450/600 parts in one transaction from OEM suppliers).

I still like the E5 very much tho, and for you in the states, you may find more distributors locally for spares. I know Matt certainly gets in the trenches with pilots on forums and he is well respected for his service.

Either choice will see you with a well made and fine flying heli....good luck whichever way you decide.

[RasmusDK]

Hi

I would go for the beam.
I have a beam dealer in my country, so its very nice.. hehe

I really love my b600, it flies much like my logo600, but its much cheaper when it hit the ground.

Its made, so some smaller parts can snap when it crash, then you dont have to buy big and more expensive parts.

Its very well build, and easy to maintain, and repair.

Due to the simple design, and its very light weight, its just awesome in the air.

I uses scorpion hk3 4035-560 and a scorpion 130a opto on mine, and its a rocket.
On 2x 2700mah i get 4.30 mins smack.

I have helis that cost more than the doubble, but is half the fun. - its cheap, both in first-buy, but also in crash costs, so i really fly it like i stole it. And thats fun! Hehe

[wadders248]

Hi Aziego,

Well, I'm the other person in the UK flying the Avantgarde and I love the heli!

I went through all the early teething problems that trillian experienced, but now they've all been covered and the V2 parts added it's great.

You can setup the heli to fly smooth and steady, or up the ATVs and head speed and it becomes very responsive. There doesn't seem to be any trade-off between 3D performance and FFF. I can happily fly close and then head for clouds, steep dive and then rip up the field flat out and feel comfortable with how smooth the Beam performs.

When I've taken the heli to friends clubs, everyone has commented on how well it looks and performs. I'm surprised there's only the two of us in the UK, though selfishly it's quite nice having Fast Lads just keep stock for us!

As also has been mentioned, the parts that break in a crash are really cheap to replace. I was amazed when I ordered a new boom, that for £10 I got two booms and the control rod. I used to use my 450 to learn new moves and general crasher, though I generally fly my Beam like the 450 now. The only expensive parts are the blades. It's also really easy to work on when you do need to swap parts.

I did think when I bought it that if I had a really big crash, I would use the electronics for another brand of heli, though I would definitely buy another kit now.

I think it's also a good step-up from a 550. My friends Trex 550 is a nice size, though the Beam feels a lot bigger. Plus I run mine at 12s, with a good motor, which gives it a lot more punch.

[Aziego]

I do believe that this is a good heli to get, just that I was bitten once by Outrage (and actually by miniature aircraft as well - I have a furion450 that's discontinued) so am gun shy. I am used to thunder tiger who seem to keep their models alive for a long time, for better or for worse. I am very close to just pull trigger to see how it goes. Parts are cheap - so I could always stock up.

[trillian]

Originally Posted by Aziego

I do believe that this is a good heli to get, just that I was bitten once by Outrage (and actually by miniature aircraft as well - I have a furion450 that's discontinued) so am gun shy. I am used to thunder tiger who seem to keep their models alive for a long time, for better or for worse. I am very close to just pull trigger to see how it goes. Parts are cheap - so I could always stock up.

I know what you mean. I still fly a Robbe Futura SE and Dyna-X and lots of parts just are no longer available (and they were very pricey in the first place). So I didn't want to go through that again with another brand and that's why I let go of the Outrage 550 when I did.

With the Robbes I have collected spares whenever I found some and now have a big stockpile but wouldn't want to repeat that process really.

[Aziego]

When did the v2 version came out?

I see that another shop, ExperienceRC, is running a 11% off everything for the holiday weekend. It does not say if it is a V2 like Amain. I may pull the trigger if I can verify it is a V2 - the shop has closed for the weekend already.

[scanner62]

Originally Posted by Aziego

When did the v2 version came out?

I see that another shop, ExperienceRC, is running a 11% off everything for the holiday weekend. It does not say if it is a V2 like Amain. I may pull the trigger if I can verify it is a V2 - the shop has closed for the weekend already.

If your talking about a discounted Kit, by now i imagine it would be the V2 as they sorted out the V1 issues fairly quickly. If your looking at the parts, just buy up and leave out the parts your worried about being V1 (or even send them a msg to enquire which version they are) as every thing else is the same.

Id get in touch just to confirm its all CURRENT V2 stock myself (tho i cant imagine there'd be too much V1 stuff laying around these days)

My $0.02c

.

[trillian]

When I bought my kit they just added the V2 one-way assembly and gearset to the 'V1' kit. Everything else is the same unless they have changed the skids in the newer kits. The new version ali grip arms are an inexpensive upgrade and may not be strictly required but for me they're worth it for the peace of mind. I don't know if those are being made standard with the latest kits but it would be great if they are.

[Aziego]

OK, I pulled the trigger. Also found a cheap Align 600MX motor to use.

[trillian]

Originally Posted by Aziego

OK, I pulled the trigger. Also found a cheap Align 600MX motor to use.

I have that motor in two 600 size helis at the moment, the first one went into a converted Hirobo SDX and it worked so well I got another one in anticipation for the Beam.

It's 510KV so you'll probably want the 13 tooth pinion. My kit came with a 12 tooth but the shop was happy to swap it out for me. 14 tooth might be the ideal size for 510KV but at the moment I am not feeling the least bit like I need more headspeed and I am not even maxed out on the throttle %.

I have been running at 70% in idle-1 using the governor in the Kontronik 80HV and it feels pretty darn good. I have no idea yet what the headspeed is but will tach it as soon as I get a chance.

[scanner62]

Originally Posted by trillian

I have that motor in two 600 size helis at the moment, the first one went into a converted Hirobo SDX and it worked so well I got another one in anticipation for the Beam.

It's 510KV so you'll probably want the 13 tooth pinion. My kit came with a 12 tooth but the shop was happy to swap it out for me. 14 tooth might be the ideal size for 510KV but at the moment I am not feeling the least bit like I need more headspeed and I am not even maxed out on the throttle %.

I have been running at 70% in idle-1 using the governor in the Kontronik 80HV and it feels pretty darn good. I have no idea yet what the headspeed is but will tach it as soon as I get a chance.

Hi again trillian; just wondered if you looked at the vid i posted of mine flying?. The reason i ask is, could you post a vid of your current 600 setup? If not in here, in my thread maybe?
Would like to see yours running in a comparison (as much as the limiting factors allow).

BTW~:~: Congrats on the new purchase Aziego, look forward to your progress reports now im watching this room. Let us all know how you get on with it? Also....??? what are the grip arms in your kit when it arrives please?

Regards

.

[trillian]

Originally Posted by scanner62

Hi again trillian; just wondered if you looked at the vid i posted of mine flying?. The reason i ask is, could you post a vid of your current 600 setup? If not in here, in my thread maybe?
Would like to see yours running in a comparison (as much as the limiting factors allow).

BTW~:~: Congrats on the new purchase Aziego, look forward to your progress reports now im watching this room. Let us all know how you get on with it? Also....??? what are the grip arms in your kit when it arrives please?

Regards

.

Yeah I saw the vid of yours flying, it looks good! At the moment I don't have any video as I have yet to rope someone into shooting some and also because my cheap little camera is not going to do very high quality footage.

I did get someone at the club to tach mine today though and I was surprised because the headspeeds it was getting were a good bit higher than I would have guessed.

My normal mode at 39% throttle in the TX resulted in 1800 rpm (and this is running mode 4 in the Kontronik 80HV). It felt really low to me just judging by the sound, I never would have thought it was 1800, my guess would have been more like 1600.

Idle-1 at 69% was 2270 and idle2 at 76% was 2370 ! (I have actually never flown it in idle 2 as yet! )

So I bumped my idle 1 down to 2220 and then later about one tick down again so it's probably just a bit under 2200 now and it still feels plenty punchy for smooth aero FAI type stuff, it does not bog at all through the maneuvers I'm doing and seems to have unlimited vertical whenever you want it.

I am going to ask some Kontronik experts if it would be any more efficient to bump down one tooth on the pinion and up the throttle settings because I really don't need 2370! I don't even need 2270.

Anyway, I must not have been calculating correctly because I thought from the beginning I'd be a bit low on headspeed with a 510KV motor and 13 tooth pinion (unless that motor is actually delivering more than 510KV? ).

[scanner62]

Thank you again trillian; yes it seems these AvantGarde's just seem to run soooo quiet, even with different motors/blades (mine has Gryphon 616mm) and 12S.

Yeah thats a lot of HS, great for 3D/Smack, but waaay too much for me (ill be Sport/Acrobatics at best....more likely just controlled circuits like F3C without the FB lol).
Is your motor really a 510 (as thats torquey for sure) as mine had a 550 and others 560 even, so perhaps your motor is a "sleeper"?.

EDIT~:~ Yeah id also look into the gearing, as your IU settings are very conservative to say the least(even tho it wont damage anything atm) and id be interested to see your own motor/battery/esc temps as well, just for a comparison when you make your alterations. (ie: differences between the two settings).

Either way....im EXCITED!!! last payment this week and ill have it either this Fri, or Mon next week. Then the looong save and the rest of the components. Can'tt WAITTTTT.

Sorry OP.....how you doin with yours now? Anything new to share?(oops, you only just sent for it 2 days ago, sorry)

Cheers

.

[trillian]

Everything is running very cool. We have had some decent weather this weekend so the air is warm and it's sunny out and after all my flights the ESC isn't even warm and the motor is just barely warm.

The specs are;
Align 600MX
Kontronik 80HV
Futaba S9255s on the swash
MKS 980 on the tail
CY Total-G with 3 sats
Rail 606 main blades, KBDD tails (I think 95mm)

The thing is it didn't sound like such a high headspeed because generally I was taking off in normal mode and then I'd flip to idle-up when it's at a bit of distance, sometimes flying a circuit in normal mode first. But this time when I was just hovering fairly close for the tacho it did sound fairly aggressive, but 1800 in normal mode just sounds like nothin, 'sounds really slow.

Originally Posted by scanner62

Thank you again trillian; yes it seems these AvantGarde's just seem to run soooo quiet, even with different motors/blades (mine has Gryphon 616mm) and 12S.

Yeah thats a lot of HS, great for 3D/Smack, but waaay too much for me (ill be Sport/Acrobatics at best....more likely just controlled circuits like F3C without the FB lol).
Is your motor really a 510 (as thats torquey for sure) as mine had a 550 and others 560 even, so perhaps your motor is a "sleeper"?.

EDIT~:~ Yeah id also look into the gearing, as your IU settings are very conservative to say the least(even tho it wont damage anything atm) and id be interested to see your own motor/battery/esc temps as well, just for a comparison when you make your alterations. (ie: differences between the two settings).

Either way....im EXCITED!!! last payment this week and ill have it either this Fri, or Mon next week. Then the looong save and the rest of the components. Can'tt WAITTTTT.

Sorry OP.....how you doin with yours now? Anything new to share?(oops, you only just sent for it 2 days ago, sorry)

Cheers

.

[scanner62]

Hey Aziego (OP)....catchin ya up i am..last payment today on the AvantGarde airframe & Nexus servo's.

Re; your last post about the Align 600MX, i just hit the button on an Outrage 4125-560 (well that confirms...im going 12s lol) for an "outrageous" price

"Only" the ESC, Tail Servo, FBL, and if i decide to, the BEC.

We should keep notes going here...lol, but when it comes to bet who's in the air 1st...i win cos im betting you will get there first hahaha.

Keep us posted on your progress please, and hope i didn't derail "your" thread.

Regards

.

[Aziego]

You may win, the shipment is delayed. Experience was out of stock on the Rail blades so they don't expect to ship till next week, which might be a good thing since I am already receiving too many packages his week and the wife noticed. Experience did confirmit has the upgraded one way bearing so I am relieved about that.

This is what I plan to put in the Avantgarde - most will be donated by my Outrage 550. I plan to keep spending as low as possible.

BLS451 on cyclics and S9251 on tail (I may need to buy a new tail servo since this one is pretty old by now)
I will either use a Skookum SK540 or a Robird G31. I have been using the Robird in my other machines an like them. May sell the SK540 - too confusing for me to set it up.
For ESC, I have a hobbywing 70HV - hope 70amps is enough, I am no 3D flier so I think it should do.
Lastly the BEC will be a Thunder Tiger 8amp unit.

[trillian]

All those components sound fine. I am using a Hobbywing 70HV on my Hirobo SDX conversion (also with the Align 600MX motor) and it is great. The programming box is very useful and cheap but it's also not difficult to setup just through the TX, just takes a bit of patience waiting for the right beeps.

When I converted the Hirobo I was literally amazed at the power, so much more than it had as a nitro heli, it is just a rocket by comparison.

I would have used another Hobbywing ESC on the Beam but I had this Kontronik 80HV for another conversion project that I decided to delay for the moment so I used it on the Beam.



Converted Hirobo SDX (by the way that battery on the front is not a flight pack! It's just a very big RX pack.)

[Aziego]

Good to know the 70hv works well with the 600mx, what settings did you use. Timing, PWM, etc...

I have the program box too, really dislike programing with beeps.