Beam E4 - Beginner friendly?

[EverydayNinja]

Hi all

Looking at getting back into 450 / 500 size Heli's from an aborted start a year ago and I was looking at 450's and the Beam looks way up there but is it way too advanced for a beginner that's only just getting past stationary hovers at the mo?

Got an option to either get the Beam or a Trex 500 to learn with - any opinions?

Thanks.

[akshaw]

If money is no problem go with a 500. Otherwise, the beam is a great choice IMO, it's flight characteristics are really nice, very stable in hovering (and I'm running 315mm blades-it would be even more stable with 325mm blades), and from what people say, easy to build, and I'm starting to find with my used BEAM, easy to service, or if you like better parts availability, the trex, would definitely be a great heli to continue on with, if that's where you're at. What heli did you learn to hover? or was that on a sim?

[liaan]

hi
if you drop the head speed and setup the throws correctly, this heli is tame as anything.

I had begginer fly mine the other day and they happily hovered it. just complained to stable ;-).

Cheers
L:

[BennyTRD]

I have finally got around to flying my Beam lately and I have to say it's a very well thought out machine. The wider frames make it easier to work on I found and its laid out very well. Sure it cost more intially but you'll be happy about the features it has over the other brands of 450's.

I was comparing it to the new 450 PRO yesterday, and although Align looks like they copied the servo lay out, Beam still had done it better. The frame is wider and made of thicker CF, and still looks to be easier to service. But I do like the TT on the 450, I think it will still be a nice machine, especially for the price.

[tomra]

Why settle for one when you can have two?!

Seriously, the T-Rex 500 is great, as is the Beam E4. Both will play easy with a beginner as well as beeing capable of advanced acrobatic flying.

The Beam is a piece of jewlery in every aspect. You can´t go wrong. The only "bad" thing i fond about it is that few stores carry parts and the part prize is fairly steep compared to a few other 450 sizes.

[oteskate]

As the others have stated, I think you'd be happy with the Beam as the choice for a 450 machine.

It is very nice to build and well thought out. It was an MA design from the get-go, so if you're familiar with the MA quality, then that's what to expect with the Beam.

Flight characteristics are great. Very predictable and stable in flight, depending on setup. You can make it stable or you can make it crazy agile. It also is very durable. I have dumb-thumbed mine on a few occasions and I have yet to crack a canopy, break anything vital or damage it seriously in any way. Parts are readily available from Advantage Hobby and more and more hobby shops are beginning to stock this kit and parts as well.

I think that it is a much more solid machine to start with than the Align TRex 450's. They're good machines, but the Beam just has a few more perks and better build qualities than the Align. Good luck with it and let us know how you do!!