beam, rave or a g5

[Ashley Davis]

funny as I heard the beam doesn't crash well from a Beam owner only last Friday as the metal for all the head components is very soft...... not my words guys so don't shoot the messenger. The chap who owned the beam had put an outrage head on it as it is made of much stronger ally and as he is learning 3D (and only been flying 4 months) he's sticking it in the ground regular.

Personally I've buried my G5 several times and I don't think it crashes bad at all, pretty much the same as anything else unless you bust the skids which are more expensive that other 450s due to them being carbon.

Personally I won't touch 450s that can't spin 350mm blades, there's a world of difference between 325mm and 350mm in terms of stability and better flight manners.

[Leo77]

If i was going to buy a new 450 size heli, i'd go for the G5. i Really like the look of it, and the video's of it flying are impressive. You cant really judge any heli on how they crash cause they all go in at different angles and speed.

[Ashley Davis]

best way is to get a fly on them all and see what you like......easily said, not so easy to do.

[richieclarkie]

All good helis all have different merits. I can see why Ash likes 350 blades on the outrage and that's definitely nice to have. Rob and I have talked about a Beam swinging 350 blades so that may happen this year. It could easily be suppiled as an upgrade kit.

In fairness I've crashed the beam on it's head several times and the area that is softer is the mainshaft. It has been argued that can actually save blades by being softer. In 5 or 6 crashes I've only broken 1 set of blades and basically bent shafts. BTW Rob stocks the pro mainshafts which are really hard.

The parts situation for either Beam (I'm not sure about Outrage) is normally good and Rob at EvoRC is a top bloke and get's stuff out very quickly.

I'm sure the Align will be great but it isn't here yet and there is bound to be some problem with it that will cost you. The torque tube is a bad idea IMHO.

The Rave is a lovely heli but if crash costs are of concern you may find it a bit expensive. It does fly REALLY nicely though and I agree with moonman flyer it does look really nice.

Hope you make the decision that's right for you not for everyone else

[jiberjaber]

I guess I am going to side on Rich's statements.

I decked the beam last weekend over at Brentwood, I think I was in a bit low for aileron tic tocs... but not sure how I managed it, but I still have a set of radix and a broken set of MG gears!... however, I would think that perhaps that most of the energy was absorbed by the main shaft bending. I am running a scorp -8 on a 14t pinion on 100% throttle curve, so a fair amount of energy in that config.


I know it is a PIA to have the shaft bend, but compared to the cost of a new set of blades (30 ish quid) a new main, feathering and servo gear set is a lot cheaper.

Std Disclaimer, other heli's are available, this post is sponsered by Stella hic...

[scallybert]

G5

I bought a G5 as my first kit (after ARTFs) and love it. TBH, it's not been outside yet, but it's been well behaved in the test-room - hovering in a small-ish space.

Saw AshD flying his in windy-ish conditions, and thought it did well for a smallish heli.

Looked at the manual and liked the engineering/concept/design.

The real thing gives the same impression of good design and execution. Built to a purpose rather than to a price.

Only -ve thing I'll say is that I didn't overly like the HobbyWing ESC, and a CC HV45+BEC is ~£140 (IIRC). Really like it with the HV45.

[Ashley Davis]

you only really need an HV30 on 6S, amps don't climb above 25ish even in the hardest 3D.

The chap I spoke with the Beam complained of bending the actual head components regularly, upper mixers etc. His view was that it was just too expensive to have to keep buying those parts after a crash and he had bent it several times forcing him to eventually swap out the head entirely. Maybe he is just unlucky.

[machasm]

Not really had a problem with bending components on the BEAM except the main shaft and feathering shaft. Tail shaft also seems a bit soft.
All other components hold together well.
Adrian.

[Charlie Cave]

I personally thought my Beam crashed really well, I put mine in very fast onto the head, all i needed to replace was mainshaft, main gear sleve and feathering spindle, very good considering the speed I hit at, its all about getting hold in I think.

Plus as Ade pointed out in another thread, its all about the way the model crashes, because they all have their week points and if you hit on that you are bound to break more than otherwise,

Regards Charlie

[scallybert]

you only really need an HV30 on 6S, amps don't climb above 25ish even in the hardest 3D.

HV30 was what I wanted.

For some reason they seem not to be imported, so I went for an HV45.

[I think it's because a lot of people don't understand the concept of HV - so don't see the point of low-ish current HV set-ups. Low current is the whole point.]

[est1976]

I appreciate all your comments sorry I didnt respond sooner.

I think Im gonna go for a rave on 4's with 350mm blades. Various reasons for this choice, I like the looks of the outrage best but if I had one I would want the ultimate setup which would be on 6's and I dont have a 6's charger (cellpro 4's) and I cant really afford to get a cellpro 10's as well. I think the rave looks better than the beam, plus it has larger blades and a torque tube (and flies bigger?). There are various other reasons too but these are the main ones, also no one seems to have a bad word to say about the rave so unless someone can persuade me otherwise then the 'Rave 450' it is.

Thanks Everyone!