Ping: Jennifer Smith

[stryder@puntagorda.com]

Hello Jennifer. Just wondering what kind of little bird are you flying
and How you like it. I ordered one of those bladerunner helis but it
did not work when I got it so now I am waiting on a replacement. It
was obvious when I got it that it is a flimsy machine. Hoping to find
something a little more substantial without breaking the bank.

[Jennifer Smith]

stryder@puntagorda.com wrote:
> Hello Jennifer. Just wondering what kind of little bird are you flying
> and How you like it. I ordered one of those bladerunner helis but it
> did not work when I got it so now I am waiting on a replacement. It
> was obvious when I got it that it is a flimsy machine. Hoping to find
> something a little more substantial without breaking the bank.

Hi Stryder

I'm currently flying a Walkera Dragonfly #4. My honey bought it for me,
to see if I'd like flying helis. So far I am happy with it, particularly
since I only paid $80 USD plus S&H.

Repair costs so far, all due to pilot error:
- $50 for replacement RX/Mixer board
- 4x $10 for replacement tail rotors (a tip here: lengthen the support
strut on the tail boom, so the tail rotor is further from the ground, or
use training gear... I didn't use any training gear)
- $12 burnt out tail motor
- Probably soon new tail gear, it looks like it's about to strip...

Upgrades:
- 2100 mAh LiPo (increased flight time from around 5 minutes to over 30
minutes)
- Charger for LiPo, plus 12V power converter for charger

Unfixed damages:
- Both landing gear skids broke off. Fixed it by wrapping plastic cable
tie around the skid and taping it to the support struts. Works so far.

The good:
- it seems pretty indestructible. Some of the crashes I thought for sure
would have wrecked the little bugger.
- Comes with everything you need, including battery chargers and all.
Does need 8 AA batteries for the TX though.
- Dirt cheap
- If you're lucky you can get spare parts locally (one of the local
hobby shops here has GWS Dragonfly parts, they work for many things)

The bad:
- It is very very unstable in flight, but manageable with patience
- Not very good for indoors unless you have fairly large rooms (say,
bigger than a 15'x15' (5m x 5m) square to practice in
- Very sensitive to wind. Forget flying outside even in a light breeze
- Altitude control is difficult as the ESC steps aren't smooth enough
- No gyro/mixer adjustment possible (there is a little undocumented pot
in the receiver but I haven't braved messing with it yet)
- The tail rotor is a little bit weak. It holds/turns the tail, but only
barely. Might be the battery, no idea.
I'll probably save up to get Walkera's Zoom/Zap/Shogun clone (Walkera
#35, sometimes called Walkera 400) to practice some CP, this time WITH
training gear... and eventually I hope to save enough money for a bigger
electric bird like the upcoming Century or the Ion with decent
electronics - if I decide to stick with flying helis (watch out for
SCREAMING PINK helis with LACE TRIM... hehehe).

You definitely do get what you pay for. I didn't really expect it to be
that durable though. Or that hard to control - making it quite
challenging to learn heli flying on this bird. By now I can hover it
within a 3' x 3' square for a full battery pack, tail in. Side in I
still lose it every now and then, nose in as well.

For that price I'd buy it again - this time WITH kiddie skids though.
And I'd practice a lot more on the sim before, with the twitchiest heli
the sim has to offer :)


Hope this helps :)
J

[Kevin R]

"Jennifer Smith" <jennifer@you-wish-you-knew.mine.nu> wrote in message
news:h4OdnYBQdssF6KrfRVn-uQ@comcast.com...
> stryder@puntagorda.com wrote:
>> Hello Jennifer. Just wondering what kind of little bird are you flying
>> and How you like it. I ordered one of those bladerunner helis but it
>> did not work when I got it so now I am waiting on a replacement. It
>> was obvious when I got it that it is a flimsy machine. Hoping to find
>> something a little more substantial without breaking the bank.
>
> Hi Stryder
>
> I'm currently flying a Walkera Dragonfly #4. My honey bought it for me, to
> see if I'd like flying helis. So far I am happy with it, particularly
> since I only paid $80 USD plus S&H.
>
> Repair costs so far, all due to pilot error:
> - $50 for replacement RX/Mixer board
> - 4x $10 for replacement tail rotors (a tip here: lengthen the support
> strut on the tail boom, so the tail rotor is further from the ground, or
> use training gear... I didn't use any training gear)
> - $12 burnt out tail motor
> - Probably soon new tail gear, it looks like it's about to strip...
>
> Upgrades:
> - 2100 mAh LiPo (increased flight time from around 5 minutes to over 30
> minutes)
> - Charger for LiPo, plus 12V power converter for charger
>
> Unfixed damages:
> - Both landing gear skids broke off. Fixed it by wrapping plastic cable
> tie around the skid and taping it to the support struts. Works so far.

try winding sewing cotton around the joint both round the leg and the skid
and soak the joint with super glue works a treat and I have also repaired a
mast using this technique

> The good:
> - it seems pretty indestructible. Some of the crashes I thought for sure
> would have wrecked the little bugger.
> - Comes with everything you need, including battery chargers and all. Does
> need 8 AA batteries for the TX though.
> - Dirt cheap
> - If you're lucky you can get spare parts locally (one of the local hobby
> shops here has GWS Dragonfly parts, they work for many things)
>
> The bad:
> - It is very very unstable in flight, but manageable with patience
> - Not very good for indoors unless you have fairly large rooms (say,
> bigger than a 15'x15' (5m x 5m) square to practice in
> - Very sensitive to wind. Forget flying outside even in a light breeze
> - Altitude control is difficult as the ESC steps aren't smooth enough
try removing the v on the throttle ratchet you bend the brass plate flat so
you have a throttle that is step less (it does mean taking the back of the
Tx)
> - No gyro/mixer adjustment possible (there is a little undocumented pot in
> the receiver but I haven't braved messing with it yet)
> - The tail rotor is a little bit weak. It holds/turns the tail, but only
> barely. Might be the battery, no idea.
> I'll probably save up to get Walkera's Zoom/Zap/Shogun clone (Walkera #35,
> sometimes called Walkera 400) to practice some CP, this time WITH training
> gear... and eventually I hope to save enough money for a bigger electric
> bird like the upcoming Century or the Ion with decent electronics - if I
> decide to stick with flying helis (watch out for SCREAMING PINK helis with
> LACE TRIM... hehehe).
>
> You definitely do get what you pay for. I didn't really expect it to be
> that durable though. Or that hard to control - making it quite challenging
> to learn heli flying on this bird. By now I can hover it within a 3' x 3'
> square for a full battery pack, tail in. Side in I still lose it every now
> and then, nose in as well.
>
> For that price I'd buy it again - this time WITH kiddie skids though. And
> I'd practice a lot more on the sim before, with the twitchiest heli the
> sim has to offer :)
>
>
> Hope this helps :)
> J

[Jennifer Smith]

Kevin R wrote:
> "Jennifer Smith" <jennifer@you-wish-you-knew.mine.nu> wrote in message
> news:h4OdnYBQdssF6KrfRVn-uQ@comcast.com...
>> [...]
>>Unfixed damages:
>>- Both landing gear skids broke off. Fixed it by wrapping plastic cable
>>tie around the skid and taping it to the support struts. Works so far.
>
>
> try winding sewing cotton around the joint both round the leg and the skid
> and soak the joint with super glue works a treat and I have also repaired a
> mast using this technique

Great idea, I'll try that.

>> [...]
>>The bad:
>> [...]
>>- Altitude control is difficult as the ESC steps aren't smooth enough
>
> try removing the v on the throttle ratchet you bend the brass plate flat so
> you have a throttle that is step less (it does mean taking the back of the
> Tx)

I'll certainly give that a shot too. That sould be easy enough.


Thanks a lot
J

[1411]

"Jennifer Smith" <jennifer@you-wish-you-knew.mine.nu> wrote in
message news:NaadnR0NqvRj_6XfRVn->> try winding sewing cotton
around the joint both round the leg and the skid
>> and soak the joint with super glue works a treat and I have also
>> repaired a mast using this technique
>
> Great idea, I'll try that.

That works, but cheaper still - Use a 1/4 stripe of paper towel and
wrap it with that. Then thin CA.
Remember - it ain't got class until you use duct tape :)

[Jennifer Smith]

Kevin R wrote:
> "Jennifer Smith" <jennifer@you-wish-you-knew.mine.nu> wrote in message
> news:h4OdnYBQdssF6KrfRVn-uQ@comcast.com...
> [...]
>>The bad:
>>- It is very very unstable in flight, but manageable with patience
>>- Not very good for indoors unless you have fairly large rooms (say,
>>bigger than a 15'x15' (5m x 5m) square to practice in
>>- Very sensitive to wind. Forget flying outside even in a light breeze
>>- Altitude control is difficult as the ESC steps aren't smooth enough
>
> try removing the v on the throttle ratchet you bend the brass plate flat so
> you have a throttle that is step less (it does mean taking the back of the
> Tx)

I just tried that - the motor still "steps" in speed, which seems to
indicate that the ESC isn't totally analog?

J

[Kevin R]

"Jennifer Smith" <jennifer@you-wish-you-knew.mine.nu> wrote in message
news:KIGdnXkhe9ih46ffRVn-sw@comcast.com...
> Kevin R wrote:
>> "Jennifer Smith" <jennifer@you-wish-you-knew.mine.nu> wrote in message
>> news:h4OdnYBQdssF6KrfRVn-uQ@comcast.com...
> > [...]
>>>The bad:
>>>- It is very very unstable in flight, but manageable with patience
>>>- Not very good for indoors unless you have fairly large rooms (say,
>>>bigger than a 15'x15' (5m x 5m) square to practice in
>>>- Very sensitive to wind. Forget flying outside even in a light breeze
>>>- Altitude control is difficult as the ESC steps aren't smooth enough
>>
>> try removing the v on the throttle ratchet you bend the brass plate flat
>> so you have a throttle that is step less (it does mean taking the back of
>> the Tx)
>
> I just tried that - the motor still "steps" in speed, which seems to
> indicate that the ESC isn't totally analog?
>
> J
that a shame as the Futaba and similar radios have at least 255 steps not
sure on the cheap radios with these hele's
Kevin

[Jennifer Smith]

Kevin R wrote:
> "Jennifer Smith" <jennifer@you-wish-you-knew.mine.nu> wrote in message
> news:KIGdnXkhe9ih46ffRVn-sw@comcast.com...
>
>>Kevin R wrote:
>>
>>>"Jennifer Smith" <jennifer@you-wish-you-knew.mine.nu> wrote in message
>>>news:h4OdnYBQdssF6KrfRVn-uQ@comcast.com...
>>>[...]
>>>
>>>>The bad:
>>>>- It is very very unstable in flight, but manageable with patience
>>>>- Not very good for indoors unless you have fairly large rooms (say,
>>>>bigger than a 15'x15' (5m x 5m) square to practice in
>>>>- Very sensitive to wind. Forget flying outside even in a light breeze
>>>>- Altitude control is difficult as the ESC steps aren't smooth enough
>>>
>>>try removing the v on the throttle ratchet you bend the brass plate flat
>>>so you have a throttle that is step less (it does mean taking the back of
>>>the Tx)
>>
>>I just tried that - the motor still "steps" in speed, which seems to
>>indicate that the ESC isn't totally analog?
>>
>>J
>
> that a shame as the Futaba and similar radios have at least 255 steps not
> sure on the cheap radios with these hele's
> Kevin

Probably 16? :)

J

[Boat]

"Jennifer Smith" <jennifer@you-wish-you-knew.mine.nu> wrote in message
news:KIGdnXkhe9ih46ffRVn-sw@comcast.com...
> > try removing the v on the throttle ratchet you bend the brass plate flat
so
> > you have a throttle that is step less (it does mean taking the back of
the
> > Tx)
>
> I just tried that - the motor still "steps" in speed, which seems to
> indicate that the ESC isn't totally analog?

Just the throttle? Or collective, as well?

[Jennifer Smith]

Boat wrote:
> "Jennifer Smith" <jennifer@you-wish-you-knew.mine.nu> wrote in message
> news:KIGdnXkhe9ih46ffRVn-sw@comcast.com...
>
>>>try removing the v on the throttle ratchet you bend the brass plate flat
>
> so
>
>>>you have a throttle that is step less (it does mean taking the back of
>
> the
>
>>>Tx)
>>
>>I just tried that - the motor still "steps" in speed, which seems to
>>indicate that the ESC isn't totally analog?
>
>
> Just the throttle? Or collective, as well?

I've got a FP heli, so no collective.

J