Walkera Dragonfly 36  
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All Forums >> RC Helicopters >> Electric RC Helis >> Walkera Helis - Dragonfly, etc.. >> Walkera Dragonfly 36
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Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 8/29/2005 8:28:54 PM   
mmc205



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Joined: 10/17/2004
From: Pottstown, PA, USA
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I have just ordered a Dragonly 36 heli on ebay for $188 rtf shipped. I can't complain abou the price. It sounds like these are decent little heli's, but a certain amount of setup is necessary, i know they are marketed as ready to fly, but if one yanks it out of the box and tries, they may have problems. Their seems to be several main categories of problems
*Exploding batteries when charged -- explanation -- the batteries included are nimh, and the charger they supply does not have an auto cutoff. otherwise, besides the batteries having poor capacity, they may be find
*low capacity li-po cells -- explanation-- I believe from my research that the lipos supplied with these helis are of poor quality, and probably are 6 cell (3 parallel cells in series for 11.1V) cellphone batteries, with high internal resistance due to their innapropriate use in these higher current draw applications. I would count on using these for your heli, though a few people have had OK experiences with them, as they are not part of the manufacturer package, different resellers include different batteries, but the general concensus is they are not great
*inadequate power even with good lipo packs --explanation-- I believe for one thing, people are not breaking the motors in correctly, which can have a pretty big effect on performance. Second, often gear mesh is set wrong at the factory, especially on the tail rotor (not an issue on the 36 though). Gear mesh could also be tight on the main gear. Third, when these are put together, they are slapped together, and are probably at least somewhat out of balance. Third, if the mix is set wrong for collective pitch, all the blade rpm in the world isn't going to get you off the ground.
*Bad electronics --explanation-- the electronics probably arn't top notch, but if you pay attention to the position of the reciever with respect to the esc, and don't coil the antenna improperly, and never get into a situation where the antenna is pointing straight at you (no matter how good the radio system, you can get glitches this way do to radio transmission theory)

I've done a lot of research in a lot of places, and the above seem to be the typical problems with the 6 channel dragonfly's and more specifically the 36. I would if i were you pitch the included charger and get a better one, or go straight to lipo's, take the heli apart when you get it and put it back together carefully, as this will teach you its working mechanics, as well as give a you a chance to put it together correctly (balanced with right gear mesh and such), and properly route your electronics. I believe this can be a cheap and good heli if it is given a chance. When i get mine, i will try to document its setup and trial runs as much as a can for everyone else out there who is relatively new to helis.



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RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 9/4/2005 5:49:27 PM   
ewr101


 

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Joined: 8/27/2005
From: spring, TX, USA
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cool. i would like to see that process because i have a 36 on the way. also post pics if you can.

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RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 9/9/2005 6:45:23 PM   
mmc205



Posts: 27
Joined: 10/17/2004
From: Pottstown, PA, USA
Status: offline
Okay,
I got the heli in the mail the other day. My first impression....not too bad. I have a hitec optic six, and could not make it work with the stock reciever, so i took it off and replaced it with a dual conversion hitec supreme 8. No chance of glitches here. I made sure everything was tight and balanced. and took it outside. I was using a 1800mah lipo 11.1v pack that i used with my planes, so i knew the pack was good as well. The heli was relatively stable, and after some trim adjustments, flew pretty decent. Extremely underpowered though. I got it about 6-7 feet off the ground and then the power dropped out. i have heard several complaints of this using the stock electronics. I however was using a good reciever and electrifly speed controller. I think what happened was that the motor becomes so hot and starts to gobble up more and more power, that it draws so much from the pack that the speed controller cuts out, causing a brief power loss. I know it had nothing to do with glitching because i was using a rock solid tx/rx combination and great equipment. Therefore i don't think that the stock transmitter/reciever are that bad. i used them briefly before i flew just to check servo directions and such and didn't have any problems (actually, i did fly with them once. btw, if anyone would like to buy the stock tx/rx, drop me a line) The only fault i see in this heli is the motor is too weak to power it, overheating and causing other problems. i am replacing it with a cobalt 400, which will have plenty of guts (and is only costing me about $10). Well thats it for now, more updates to come.


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-U-CAN-DO .46 Electrified 5.5lbs 1kW
-Mini super Sportster 1.5 lbs 200 watts

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       Post #: 3

RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 10/2/2005 8:56:13 PM   
NOZZARCHELI



Posts: 67
Joined: 9/21/2005
From: newportGwent, UNITED KINGDOM
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HI....mmc205

Im interested in purchasing the stock tx and rx from you as spares, but i live in the UK.....any idea what price you are looking for....Thanks Regards Matt

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RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 10/2/2005 9:35:50 PM   
sparkling_fist


 

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From: London, UNITED KINGDOM
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yeah i could do with spare tx and rx as well

mmc205..
if you are still using the brushed motors.. you have to move on to brushless.
its amazing compared to brushed,. also the esc also has many amazing advantages

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RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 10/2/2005 11:22:02 PM   
NOZZARCHELI



Posts: 67
Joined: 9/21/2005
From: newportGwent, UNITED KINGDOM
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HI, Im using an align brushless motor with align speed controller at the moment......would recommend to anyone.....the power is awesome..................ebaY seem to have a surplus.....thanks Matt......i will post some more movies here once i get a new blade holder........broke in a heavy crash...........oh well...thanks again Matt

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RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 10/3/2005 5:25:40 AM   
Tiger27


 

Posts: 75
Joined: 9/5/2005
From: , AUSTRALIA
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Have to agree a brushless is the way to go, equally important is a good charger I got the swallow advanced for $99au and the batteries now charge correctly, although as mentioned the supplied lipo isnt good for much.
Other than that Im enjoying my 36.

Anyone know what the maximum length main blades can go on this with a 180l brushless, Ive got a set of Align woodies lying around but they are 335 so I might need to cut them down a little.

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RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 10/3/2005 10:31:19 PM   
thecheatscalc



Posts: 1228
Joined: 8/13/2005
From: fayetteville, GA, USA
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well if you do it right the supplied li-polys will do just fine with a efficent motor. 3200kv suggested.
since upgrading to a brushless I've gotten MUCH more power and have gone from can't get off the ground to able to have a payload, even on the "free" li-polys!

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RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 10/3/2005 10:37:50 PM   
sparkling_fist


 

Posts: 453
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From: London, UNITED KINGDOM
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im planning on getting the align 420 3200kv with its 25 esc..
it looks so cute.. i think allerc is a good place to buy it from.. does any1 know anywhere else that sells them?

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RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 10/3/2005 11:23:29 PM   
thecheatscalc



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Joined: 8/13/2005
From: fayetteville, GA, USA
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grand rc, $45USD... best price I've found anywhere, look in the trex 450X motor section

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RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 12/30/2005 11:26:03 PM   
aquinasrc


 

Posts: 6
Joined: 12/12/2005
From: LITTLE RIVER, KS, USA
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I POSTED A QUESTION A FEW DAYS AGO ABOUT A RUNAWAY THROTTLE, I HAVE FOUND THE REASON IT HAPPENED. WHEN I THROTTLED DOWN TO STOP AND THEN SWITCHED THE TX OFF THE THROTTLE GOES TO FULL, SWITCH ON THE TX AND IT STOPS, WHY?!!
I SUSTAINED A SLIGHT BIT OF DAMAGE TO THE BLADES AND LINKAGE AND I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF SOMEONE COULD POST SOME DETAILED PICTURES OF THE ROTOR HEAD LINKAGE SETUP OR POINT ME TO SOME ALREADY POSTED PIC'S.
I DON'T SEEM TO BE GETTING FULL MOVEMENT IN TILTING THE ROTOR HEAD LEFT ,RIGHT FORWARD AND BACK . THE COPTER IS ALSO YAWING TO ONE SIDE AS IT'S JUST ABOUT TO LIFT OFF, ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

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RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 12/31/2005 12:09:27 AM   
thecheatscalc



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From: fayetteville, GA, USA
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look at the bottom link in my sig, oh, and NEVER, EVER, turn off your heli AFTER the remote, the heli ALWAYS goes off first!

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RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 12/31/2005 5:01:20 AM   
tom_sandiego


 

Posts: 122
Joined: 11/20/2005
From: San Diego, CA, USA
Status: offline
Hello all and Happy new Year.

Beside the battery,motor and ESC do I need to change the gyro and servors?

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Tom

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RE: Walkera Dragonfly 36 - 12/31/2005 1:20:19 PM   
nickb00


 

Posts: 6
Joined: 11/30/2005
From: Geelong, AUSTRALIA
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Hi Guys
thanks for the reply to my previous post regarding some problems I am having. Seems like most people have some play in their blades, flybars, swash etc and when it takes off it goes to the left and back a little.

Was doing some hovering today with one of those 10C 1800mAh Silver Lipos (fully charged) you get from the Ebay merchants selling the choppers. The power just stopped and the heli dropped. No damage though, but my throttle wont start. The motor wont go, maybe its zapped? Though I could smell some burning when I took the bird in after my previous flight? Did not take any notice though as the smell went away very quickly. I also noticed that after the motor stopped, my throttle servo was rumbling at full throttle stick and would not stop. Dont know whats happened but no power to the motor, or motor has gone to heaven. Checking the servo too, just to make sure its ok.
Put the battery on a multi-meter to check voltage and current, 15V - sounds high but ok, 130mA - souns low, anyone know if this is normal. Also checked another fully charged Lipo - same thing 15V, 130 mA.....hmmm!
Any views, thoughts, ideas would be appreciated.
Hey guess what, its New Year now and all I am thinking about is helis.
Happy New Year everyone!!!
Nick B
Downunder.....way way down.

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