eflyer1

I was wondering about the art-tech wing dragon, How slow is it because i was turned off about the slowstick being how slow it was. It states that it has a 400 size motor. Also i am a beginer and i was wondering if this is a good begginer plane. Am i going to be able to use the electronics in these planes later if i upgrade?

twmoody

Go to the Rockford Hobby Town and look at the "Ventura". It is a very good flying airplane that comes with everything and only costs $125. You could use everything later in another plane but I don't think you will get tired of it anytime soon. I have had mine for a week now and even with 5 other planes it is becoming one of my favorites.

It is pretty easy to get 15 to 20 minute flights and I have managed 30 minutes.

I live in Rockford and fly at the Rockford Park District field out on Harrison Rd. If you would like to see it fly let me know and we can set up a time.

Tom Moody

lozza

The Wing Dragon will fly slow on low throttle, because the very large wing gives it a very low stalling speed, but on full throttle it has reasonable speed. The latest ones have 480 motors, and this makes quite a difference. The servos and ESC are standard items that you could use in other craft. You can also replace the ESC, servos and radio with "name" brand ones if you want to.

My opinion is that it is a very good beginner's plane, because it is easy to fly, slow if you want it to be slow, and easy to repair if you do have a mishap. The pusher design means the vital parts are well protected in a crash. My sons and I have crashed ours many times, but it refuses to die.

I don't recommend the charger that comes with it, but the battery is fine. If you intend to do a lot of flying, get yourself a good peak charger that you can use later with other planes, and a couple of spare batteries.

I like the fact that the Wing Dragon uses proper threaded pushrods and clevises, so you can adjust the control throws and trim easily, unlike some other cheap "ready to fly" planes. Remember to use the INNERMOST hole at the control surface horn and the OUTERMOST hole at the servo to get the MAXIMUM throws, after you have some experience. It will then easily do loops and fly inverted, so you won't get bored with it too quickly.

eflyer1

Well thats the answer i was waiting for. U just inspired me to get 1. As long as they arnt to slow i want 1. I think i will be putting out the order tomorrow. Hopefully i can get 1 with the 480

eflyer1

Well i just ordered today. The seller is shipping it out tomorrow. IT should be here in a few days. I cant wait. I hope i dont crash it alot. I have a few questions but dont want to start another post so i will just ask them here. I was wondering what is easier taking off on the ground, or doing a hand launch? Also, when im ready to take off on the ground do I use the elevator at all? If so up or down? This is sorta a newb question but if i push the transmitter control down for the elevator will the plane go down and viseversa? Another question is can i take that goofy guy that fly's on the front of the wingdragon off while flying? Thanks im so excited im glad i did research and got the wingdragon instead of the fb commander i dont think i will get bored of the wingdragon.

lozza

Have you seen flying movies where the pilot pulls hard BACK on the stick to make the plane pull out of a dive? Well it's the same with your Wing Dragon (and all other RC planes for that matter). Push DOWN on the elevator stick to make it go UP. You're right, that seems the opposite of what you'd think, but it's been like that since the very early days of flying.

Make sure you fly in a BIG area with no obstacles, and no wind, or very very little, at first.

I think it's probably easier for you to throw it at the start. Even better, have a reliable friend throw it for you - straight and level, into the wind, with you applying full throttle. Pull down gently on the elevator stick, and it will climb away. Don't be in a hurry to turn at first, wait until you have gained some height. Then apply very SMALL stick movements and watch the plane's reaction carefully. The newbie's most common mistake is to make large stick movements, then to over compensate with even bigger ones when he/she gets into trouble, then crash!

If you do take off from the ground, choose a nice smooth surface, and point the WD into the wind. Your biggest problem will be keeping the plane in a straight line while it is still on the ground, by deft use of the rudder. Apply some UP elevator (i.e. push DOWN on the stick!) and up she goes! Once you have succeeded with this once, you will find it easy thereafter.

Always cut the throttle if you see you are definitely going to crash, even if it is at the very last instant. This will decrease damage and stop the prop chewing up the trailing edge of your wing. If you get into trouble at any time, cutting the throttle and letting go of the controls is not a bad strategy, as the WD is naturally very stable and will right itself quickly given a little bit of height.

My son has a FB Commander. They're actually pretty good, but I think you will do just as well with the Wing Dragon, and you won't have to make the difficult transition from 2 channel to 3 (or 4) channel later. The Wing Dragon is easier to control at slow speeds than the FBC, you have a lot more control with 3 channels, and varying the control throws is so much easier. I think you made the right choice.

Good luck!

eflyer1

Well thanks for the reply. I cant wait to get it. One of the main reasons that i decided to get the wd over the fb commander is because it has the elevator, so i can fly in a little heavier winds. Also Most of the electronics can be used if i want to on my next plane. I got a pretty good deal i think also on the wd, i paid 85.00 for it brand new in box and 5.00 dollar shipping. It should be shipped fast because its like a hour and a half drive if that, away from the seller. Is it hard to do touch and goes with the wd?

lozza

It's good for touch and goes, and you'll soon learn to do impressive well controlled landings. You have got a pretty good price I would say.

afac

Hi,

I want to buy a wing dragon and I had a question. I was wondering what was the flight time with the stock battery? I look on a couple of website and some say 10min and other say 15min. That quit a difference and I wanted to know the opinion of some body how owns one.


Thank You

Andy

lozza

It depends on flying style. If you are on full throttle all the time, then it will be 10 minutes or less. If you glide a bit from high up, do some slow passes on half throttle, then you can get to 15 minutes or more.

What's more important is to get a couple of extra batteries and a good peak charger that can recharge the battery in an hour or so. Then you can fly all day, with one battery in the plane, one cooling and one charging.

I use a Hitec CG-340 charger and it is excellent. It can even charge two batteries at once if you make up the right harness.

Mhale71

you can do upgrades later on though, like, li-po battery which are half the weight and twice the capacity and a 480 motor for good power boosts, however, li po batteries arent very cheap

AgCat1982

I wish you lots of luck, but, as you say, you are a beginner, unless you are a natural, you need a slow plane to start with. You would be MUCH happier! The faster they are the more likely you will make a plastic fence post out of one! Believe me I know!

The Slow Stick is very forgiving and will let you get the technique down of having to control backward when the plane is coming toward you and opposite when going away. Get it backward in a fast low turn and it will become a lawn dart every time!!

I hope it works out for you so you don't get discouraged. A lot of us newbies had to learn the hard way!

Good luck

vinzlum

Can i know whats the setings when you charge your wing dragon batteries? I have a Super Nova peak charger. i set the charger to charge at 1000mAh capacity and at 1A for the current. but it took 1 hour for me to fully charge the battery. I there a faster way?


Thanks

lozza

I think 1A is about as high as you should go, and it will take at least an hour at that - since it is a 1 Ah battery. A higher current could shorten the life of your batteries. If your SuperNova can charge up to 14 cells, then you could charge two Wing Dragon batteries in series at a time, if you have the right harness to do it with. Then you can charge TWO batteries in one hour. If you do this, both batteries need to be in the same state of discharge, as they would be if you had run them both down to the point where the motor stops in your Wing Dragon.

afac

Thank you for the info about the flight time!

I should receive my Wing Dragon in 2 days and can't wait to fly it!


Andy

herr_howard

AFAC, who did you order your Dragon from? I live in Leesburg and I'm contemplating buying one as well. I think I've narrowed my selections down to the T-Hawk from Toytronix and the Wing Dragon. I've seen them offered at Hobby Lobby as well as on-line on eBay. The eBay offerings seem to be a little less expensive, but I'm not sure if they come with the 17g servos or the 9g servos (I understand the lighter servos can cause a little weight imbalance) or if they come with the single-stick controller with the slider for the electric motor.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

afac

Hi,

I ordered mine from Hobby-lobby. It is a couple of bucks more expensive but I wanted to be sure that what I will receive is what I ordered. I am a little bit scared to order from Ebay or rcu market place. It seems that there is a couple a variation of the wing dragon out there (with different servo and different Tx) and I wanted to be sure to have a good one that is ready to fly without having to make any special settings. I ordered other stuff from hobby-lobby and I was happy with them every time (they ship really fast after you order usually).

Andy

vinzlum

One question. If you said i can charge 2 battery packs at a time with my Super Nova, then what will the settings be? Still 7 Cells, 1000mAh? Or 14 Cell 1000mAh? Please advice.

lozza

I don't know your specific charger, but since you have the two batteries in series, as far as the charger is concerned, it is one 1000mAh 14-cell battery and the charging current should still be 1000mA. Of course, you have to have the right wiring harness to do this. I have not done it myself, but my Hitec charger comes with instructions showing how to do it. Have a look here, on page 1
http://www.hitecrcd.com/Support/Manuals/CG340.pdf

afac

Hi,

Hi,

I received my wing dragon yesterday from hobby-lobby, Here are my first impression :

The plane is bigger that what I thought. It fly a little bit faster that what I expected, but still it is a pretty comfortable speed. The controller it self is pretty good (it is white with the rudder and elevator control on the right and a slider for the throttle on the left). The plane it self fly really well. Out of the box the push rode are connected to the servo on the outer hole of the servo arm, and I set the both surface on the middle hole. With that setting I find it pretty smooth and equal in the command ( I read a bunch of posts that say to attach the push rode the inner hole on the control surfaces, but after a first test flight i find that setting too sensitive for me). With the full throttle for take off and then half throttle, I could fly 12 min. The plane is very stable and after a couple of minutes in the air I felt comfortable enough to make some loops and lazy 8s, I also managed to make a few second inverted flight! Overall it is a excellent package. It is worth every single dollars. For me I find it worth paying a little bit more ( $127 with shipping from hobby lobby) than getting it from ebay or the market place, because I have read a lot of post in RCuniverse and RCgroups about people having trouble with the transmitter, or the setting of the plane (different servo type resulting in a bad CG). I would really recommend this plane!

Andy

vinzlum

Good choice there. But remember to strength the 2 screws at the tail which holds the rear landing wheel. I lost mine after a crash and i have to fix it by using a 'U' shaped 1mm wire. And remember to glue the 2 pieces of wings tightly. The fuselage at the center part where the servos and reciever sits is the weakest. I am thinking of strengthening it by using some thin wooden strips. Maybe some ply wood. Not sure if it will change the CG....will let you know after i test it out.

MERLIN V12

My Feedback: (4)

Hi
You are right ahead of me thru this wing dragon stuff.I almost did the E-bay thing.I now
realise that different wing drangons are out there with different equip.
Did you get the better servos from Hobby LOBBY.....also I only see the 380 motor on that site.
I know the white transmitter is the one to have.Sorry for all the questions but i know you just did this and i would rather ask than get beat.I won't order till I here from you. thanks jm

afac

Hi JM,

The wing dragon from hobby lobby has the white transmitter and 2 black servos, that works very well. The motor is a speed 380 and give plenty of thrust. Overall I am very very happy with it. I didn't had to make any cg adjustment, it really fly right out of the box. The transmitter is pretty good quality and work fine. The plane it self fly very nicely. As other people reported, I noticed that there is some fluctuation in the engine RPM (when it's not full throttle) when you give pitch and yaw command. But nothing bad, you don't even realize that when you fly. Bottom line is that the one from hobby lobby is a good choice and is you expect.

I hope this help, you realy gonna enjoy it.

Good luck,

Andy

MERLIN V12

My Feedback: (4)

Thanks for the quick reply Andy. You have sold me on it. I will ordre it Hobby Lobby very soon.
John

MERLIN V12

My Feedback: (4)

It's on the`way. They could not tell me the tx color (white or black) but said it is the latest version.
i'll post when i get it.