Beam E4 build Vids

[Jamesppp]

I maidened my Beam this evening. It is sweet. So quiet and smooth. I only hovered around with the Scorpion 2221-8, 11t pinion, CC35ESC, CC BEC and forgot to put the weights in my Gorilla paddles.

If I can keep it close enough to see it and keep my orientation, Im going to really like this bird.

Jimmy

[dhoff002]

Can you use a trex 450 canopy with the beam? without any mods?

Dan

[rightflyer]

Been asembling my Beam using the build video, Boy, did I find up and down slop in my tail pitch slider. Unable to fix by reassembling. The brass sleeve threads bottom out. I am not sure if if this si a design issue or just bad parts. Finless Bob's pitch slider had zero slop when pulled and pushed and it is how I found it.

[terrabit]

Let me just start by saying, I LOVE THIS HELI!!!

Now, where can I go to discuss the subtle nuances of the Beam E4, besides RunRyder? I don't particularly like RunRyder. Actually, I think the lay-out of the site sucks arse! I'd prefer to do my parusing on HeliFreak. So hook me up dude! What's up? You know what time it is! Let's go!

Much love,
john

[rightflyer]

I found my problem. The brass sleeve was apparently defective. I bought a pack of spare beam brass sleeves and there significantly more threads on the new sleeve. Problem solved. Thanks Finless Bob, I wouldn't have even known I had an issue without your video!

[Chris Corbett]

Hi Guys

Has anyone tried a std size tail servo on beam? I have a 9254 which I don't want to have to sell at a loss only to have to buy a 9650 or similar.
I was worried about c of g issues with std size???

[Finless]

Hi Guys

Has anyone tried a std size tail servo on beam? I have a 9254 which I don't want to have to sell at a loss only to have to buy a 9650 or similar.
I was worried about c of g issues with std size???

I am assuming your talking about this ONLY in the context of a tail servo? As NO WAY will you ever be able to use full sized servos like the 9254 for cyclic on a 450 heli!!!!

As for a tail servo, this has been answered a million times.. Sorry to say that but it has! I myself have probably posted the below comment at least 300 times...BUT thats OK I will do it again :)

YES you can make your OWN servo mount for the tail for a 9254 BUT.... In the end good chance you will be tail heavy on a 3S 2200 to 2500 pack! It will look big and bulky and will effect heli balance. In the end this is not a servo you should use on a 450 BUT... you can "force it".

Bob

[Chris Corbett]

Thanks Bob for the quick reply. Yes I was referring to just the tail servo and apologise that this has been anwered before.
I knew it would have been but wanted to know in relation to the Beam in particular.
think I will bite the bullet and buy a midi...

[ccpetersen]

Check out the Airtronics 94761 digital.

[Eduardo]

Can you use a trex 450 canopy with the beam? without any mods?

Dan


I have both a BEAM and a T-REX 450 with V2 canopy.

The T-450V2 canopy suits the BEAM with no mofification. However the BEAM canopy onto the T-450 seems to need some adjustments.

Eduardo

[GeorgiaMike]

Hey Guys and Gals,
Just wanted to make my first post on HeiFreak !!!
I've had my Beam since March 2008. It's my first real heli so I can't really compare, but I really like it so far. I am a newbie but I learned just about everything I know by reading HeliFreak. I really don't know what I would have done without the Finless videos. THANKS Bob.
Anyway, after numerous crashes and rebuilds, I'm really enjoying the Beam. The only downside I have found is the limited parts availability. Don't get me wrong, Advantage Hobby and CME are great but a few more vendors would be good. By the way, not a single crash was due to mechanical failure! (just between my ears).
I really enjoy this forum and thought it was time to join in!

[soegeng.patrick]

Dear Bob,

Have you tried other Pinion (beside 13T). such 10-11 or else. wich one work best. especially to increase flight time.

Thank's

Patrick R. Soegeng

[Finless]

Yes... with that motor I was using a 10T pinion and that is the head speed and flight time I got. NO WAY would you run a 13T with that scorpion motor as head speed would be WAY too high!

Bob

[Eduardo]

I have about 70 flights on my BEAM E4 and I am very happy with the bird.

Last night adjusting some pitch curves and iddle up settings I had a tremendous surprise.

I took off (I was in my 3rd flight of the day) turned the bird in all senses while hovering and started a fast forward flight in iddle up. I was at about 7 meters high and out of a sudden I felt a strong blockage in the head speed to a point that the bird literally fell to the ground (fortunately very soft grass area). When it impacted against earth, the headspeed was almost to none.

I just realized what had occured minutes later as also the canopy was taken apart and so one connection of my DEAN lipo.

In fact, I had lost one screw holding one of the arms close to the seesaw.

Before anybody says anything, every screw was indeed threaded locked but still I had the problem.

Moral : Check out often these screws as this can be very dangerous and costly. Fortunately the heli did not fall on anybody's head or property and due to the fact that it ended in a very soft grass area, the only damage I had was some scratches in the canopy, one servo arm that broke with a lost link. That was all. The BEAM was incredibly rock solid !

See photo that points to the loose screw.

I thought it would be worthwhile sharing with you.

[Thrashaero]

Got my beam together and maidened it yesterday. Man, what a smooth flyer.
gear:
430L motor, 35g esc (i figured i want flight time instead of crack performance)
dx6i tx, ar6100 rx, gy401, 9257 tail servo, hs-65 hb's.

This is the first heli I've built and I'm rather proud of myself.
I think mainly because it was able to hold it's tail so well, i have such a hard time getting a firm grip on the whole gyro arrangement. it works great even after several crashes and 5 years of sitting on my raptor.

There's a few things I have a beef with though:
-The nuts...I hate nuts without nylock.
-The blade grips..no recessed area for bolt or nuts..need a washer for the bolt because it will grind a circle around the hole from the edge of its head.
-There were a couple of holes I could barely get the screw into them (yes it was the proper screw)..the tail's 'tab' that holds the bellcrank. not the hole for holding onto tailcase, but the one for holding on the bellcrank. overchromed or something. One of the tail grips had a bad thread in it as well.
-The overall finish of the CNC parts..looks great until it scratches very easily.
-The blades (the ones with the pointy end on the trailing edge..not the rounded ones...these are all white, not two different colors)..very lumpy looking finish and atrociously out of balance. I'm going to take them to Advantage to see if I can get a replacement.
We're talking using 5 rounds of electrical tape (apparently with glue on both sides, made for even more frustration)..and a bunch of gloss clear tape to make a smooth transition from the blade to the top of the pile of electrical tape...still out of balance. One blade is wider from leading to trailing edge than the other.
They do sound cool though...makes a more realistic whistle/popping sound as they spin up. Didn't use them for flight though..had to steal the align wood ones off my blade 400.


Other than that...nothing, except the person I bought it off of..said it was new only to find out it was already fiddled with (head and body already put together)...the front bottom crossmember was missing some screws and washers so i took it apart to put it together again. The guy owns a screw shop (RCscrewz) and he doesn't send me the bits. A jerk when I asked him about the tracking #. oh well, whatever. for the price it's not a huge problem, just pointless to call it new.

Oh and Finless...great videos man. I think there is one part you got wrong (besides missing the boom support brace)...and this has also probably been mentioned a few times before, if so, sorry...that the tail boom is installed backwards. Unlike that of other helis where the slot goes to the body and the holes go to the tailcase..this is the other way around per the manual..i found that the slot fits the bolt that holds on the tab to the tailcase. I was also wondering about the tail servo brackets, but didn't realize one could snap them on afterwards...might scratch the paint though.

I have a question, for this heli, will the align 430L/35G setup be efficient? it seems to have plenty of power...but not sure about the flight times...comparing it to my Blade 400 that is. the esc was super hot after each flight though..i'm going to cut some slots into the canopy for some venting of air..

[Chris Corbett]

Hi All
I am well into my build and thanks to Bob for the vids, great help. I would never have spotted the offset holes on the little carbon plates that go between servo and frame mounts.
I have issues with the tail however! I share the view of previous post regarding the bracket that holds the bellcrank, screw is soooo tight I am scared of stripping head off it!
Also the metal bushings that go into the plastic links that connect to the blade grips are a little dodgy. I had to literally screw the screw into it probably forming a thread inside. Shouldn't this just sit loosely inside?? Anyways when tail is all assembled it all seizes up. Taken it all apart and think the main culprit is the metal bushes but also the bellcrank screw is not helping!
Any ideas or mods people have done to get a nice loose assembly???
Whilst I'm here I am going to run scorpion 8 motor and 2 pinion, is this good starting point?

[Chris Corbett]

i meant 12 tooth pinon!!! ooops

[GeorgiaMike]

Hi Chris,
I've got a Beam I have been flying/crashing for about 6 months.
I didn't have any trouble with the pitch lever holder bracket but I know some others have.
But I have gotten a hold of 2 bad slide sleeves in the pitch slider set. Both were just too tight on the tail pulley shaft. Make sure yours slides easily.
I know others have had trouble getting the whole tail pitch slider assembly to move freely.

I also run the Scorpion -8 motor but with a 11 tooth pinion. I run Align Pro (wood) blades so I try to keep the headspeed down a bit. But it flies great!

Good luck!!

[Chris Corbett]

Thanks for reply. I will do some work on my tail assembl to get it right if I can. I have fitted 13t for now as I read some other people doing this with the 8 motor. If hs is too high I will go to 12.
I'll let you know how it goes

[Jamesppp]

With the 2221-8 motor, a 13t pinion will putyou a little over 3000 rpms. A 12 gives me 2800+ An 11t pinion is about 2550 hovering at 85% with headroom left for governor mode

[Thrashaero]

Build went almost without a hitch, the only problem being one of my boom mount blocks had a defect in one of the taps for the long screw. I called Advantage today, and they are sending a new one, no questions asked. :thumbup:





Well, I'm glad you didn't have any problems getting a replacement. Me on the other hand with the horrible blades it came with, I got the run-around. I went to their location with the blades in hand, showing them how much they were out of balance.
All i got was "impossible" "they don't make blades like that" "these are modified" etc etc....despite the fact they know that Beam has been changing up the blades, how they're so sure it's "impossible" is beyond me..claiming they're modified to my face despite they were fresh from the sealed bag.

[Chris Corbett]

Well after lots of fiddling I think I have sorted tail binding. I have replaced blade grip screws (the ones through the metal spacers with better quality hex head scres along with the screw holding bell crank to gear box. I sanded inside of the bushings which helped alot and also have added nuts to end of all new screws.
The slider is not completely free (doesn't slide around under its own weight) but it is a million times better than when I first assembled it. I'll see it flies and if there is any wagging or wierd tail behaviour I will go back to the drawing board.
Great heli to build other than that! I guess I am used to align which mostly are fit as per manual and forget!
Oh well nothing worthwhile is easy

[GeorgiaMike]

Chris,

I'm not real happy with those phillips head screws in the tail blade grips either. I think I'll also replace with hex heads.

Sounds like you got the tail all squared away.

Let us know how it flies and good luck!

[pootman]

Hello all,

I've developed a pretty strong tail wag when in high speed right turns. I've also noticed that there's a lot of slop with my beam's tail and it seems to be getting worse. The plastic bellcrank seems to be fit the ball on the pitch slider loosely. Also, the plastic plastic arms from the tail pitch slider to the tail blade grips seem to have a lot of slop. Does anyone know or have experience with replacing these plastic parts with metal aftermarket ones (from heli direct). For example, will this work....

http://www.helidirect.com/product_i...roducts_id=4420 (http://www.helidirect.com/product_info.php?cPath=30_295_296_300&products_id=4420)

or this...

http://www.helidirect.com/product_i...roducts_id=4421 (http://www.helidirect.com/product_info.php?cPath=30_295_296_300&products_id=4421)

Thanks for any help out there!

pootman

[GeorgiaMike]

Just wanted to try my hand at posting a picture or two of my Beam E4

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=57353&stc=1&d=1217639002
http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=57354&stc=1&d=1217639002

I am running the Scorpion 2221-8 motor
Scorpion 60A SBEC ESC
Futaba 3156MG's on cyclic
Futaba GY401 gyro/ S9650 rudder servo
AR 7000 RX
FlightPower 2170 maH lipo
Getting about 8 minutes of mild flight time, flies great when I'm not crashing:YeaBaby::YeaBaby::YeaBaby:
(canopy is plain because it was just replaced)