Kdill2160

Yes there's a new improved Dragonus II out there and I've got one to review for all of you... I can also tell you that Hobby-Lobby International Inc. will be the USA distributor for the Dragonus II helicopter. My sources have also told me in approximately two weeks or so they should have kits and parts (at the same time)... This kit was provided to me by Hobby-Lobby for the review. Enjoy.

Ken

Kdill2160

One feature that will definitely make assembly easier is the addition of "captive" nuts on the different metal frame basemounts... Here's a pic

Ken

Kdill2160

The rest of the assembly is pretty much the same as my earlier thread...

Here's a link:[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_5073703/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm]Dragonus Build Thread[/link]

Kdill2160

I'm going to show this build a little out of order as compared to the manual. I want to show the differences in this version and most of them are in the frame assembly... No more tiny nuts to try and hold. YES!

Ken

Kdill2160

No more need for a wrench or pliers or anything to hold those tiny nuts on the inside of the frame during assembly, all you need is a good fitting screwdriver and some threadlocker for the screws...

Ken

madbob9

I've read that RCer was going to use a little thicker material for the motor mount.The original was 1mm(.040).Is that true?

Kdill2160

I'll measure both versions and let you know what I find...

Ken

Kdill2160

New version is 1.5mm thick, older model is 1mm thick

Ken

madbob9

Thank you

Kdill2160

The retail version also includes a colorful sticker sheet...

Ken

Kdill2160

Here's a better shot of the "captive" nuts on the different frame basemounts...

Ken

Kdill2160

I must comment at this point on how much easier these "captive" nuts make the assembly of the lower frame. My first Dragonus with the nuts was quite a bit more difficult. Just holding the tiny nuts on the inside of the frame was very tedious, plus you need to apply threadlocker and for me I try not to make too much of a mess of the work. This new design is much better... The assembly time of this new version was about a fourth of my first Dragonus.

Ken

Kdill2160

I was quite happy to hear that Hobby-Lobby International was going to distribute the Dragonus II it made my day. The parts availability alone will bring many new pilots to this new helicopter I'm sure. In all the threads I read about new and upcoming helis, the first thing everyone wants to know is about spare parts. I am included in that group. The flight reports do not seem as important to most pilots as the spare parts issue.

Kdill2160

Moving to the upper frame parts there are a couple more parts where "captive" nuts are used, again this should help to speed up assembly time. Here's a pic...

I need to purchase a scale next time I see them at a decent price. I'd love to compare the weight of using the provided Round Washer Head Phillip Screws with using Stainless Steel SHC Screws, I think they would look really nice. BUT maybe have a large weight penalty.

Ken

Kdill2160

I ran into a small snag during the upper frame assembly. When the mfg made the switch to "captive" nuts they removed the old style nuts from the parts bag all of them. At least 4 of the old style nuts are still needed, 2 for the axle screws on the tail drive belt guide pulleys and 2 more on the clamping portion of the tail boom mount. The mfg includes a spare parts bag with the kit but it only contains two of the needed nuts. I'll see if I can hunt up a couple more in my spares.

Kdill2160

Once again the "captive" nuts make for a much quicker assembly of the frame, here's a couple pics of the upper frame before I secure the other Frame Side part...

Ken

Kdill2160

The captive nuts make the upper frame assembly much quicker. Here's a couple tips for anyone building this kit:
Use a good screw driver that fits the screw heads well. The 5mm screws are used on all the plastic parts and the 4mm screws are used as the metal to metal fasteners. Here's a pic of the completed upper fram assembly...

Ken

Gary Morris

Nice comparison there Ken, is there any other subtle changes you've found in the Dragnous that might make a difference it the way she flies or build?

Gary Morris

Kdill2160

Gary, nothing except the captive nuts and the thicker motor basemount so far... I'm looking for changes as I build it... I was partially mistaken earlier when I said the kit did not include the 4 standard nuts, two of them are found in parts bag F-C. It also seems there is an extra "Frame sticker long" packaged in that parts bag, I can only identify two being used in the drawing... Here's another pic of the completed frame...

Ken

Kdill2160

After assembling the Main Frame, it's time to install the landing gear. If you wait til the main shaft assembly is installed the main gear will be in the way. I made the mistake on my first Dragonus of waiting to install the landing gear and it was a chore to install the two front screws.

Ken

Kdill2160

The next step is to put the main gear/belt pulley assembly in place inside the frame, make sure the small aluminum spacer is under the main gear assembly. Next install the tail boom assembly with the belt given a quarter turn so the tail rotor blades turn CCW when the main blades turn CW. Slip the belt over the pulley.

Ken

Kdill2160

Next install the Main Shaft/Head assembly. Make sure you have one shaft collar on the main shaft before inserting the main shaft in the upper bearing block. There are grooves machined in the main shaft where the upper and lower shaft collars are placed. Use a bit of threadlocker on the set screws in the shaft collars.

The Dragonus II (new version) is one of the nicest building kits I've had the pleasure of building. The captive nuts made all the difference in the assembly of the main frame, saving a lot of time during the build. If I had a single complaint about the kit it would be that I would have liked to see Socket Head Cap Screws used instead of the Round washer head phillips screws.

Here's a pic after installing the main shaft assembly

Ken

Kdill2160

Moving on to the electronics install...

The components are as follows:

RX - Hitec Electron 6
Servos - Hitec HS65HBs
ESC - Jeti Spin 33
Gyro - Art-Tech HH
Motor - 500XH

Kdill2160

Servos mounted... I've got all four of the Hitec HS65HB servos intalled in the frame. Next up I'lll bre fitting the motor and determining where the pinion needs to be on the motor shaft. I may grind a small flat on the motor shaft for the pinion set screw.

Here's a pic of the servos mounted...

Kdill2160

One small issue with the servo installation was the fit in the front mount, I needed to remove just a bit of material from the mount opening with a file to fit the Hitec HS56HB servos. (they did fit, but it was a very tight squeeze and I did not want to bind anything inside the servo case) The servos mounted in the frame sides without any problem at all.

Ken