Maintenance, repair, flight tips and flight log

Scroll through the document, or click to jump directly to a section: Motors, Flight, Fuses, Before you even think about flying, Preflight checklist, Andy's Flight log.

Motors

If you have to replace a motor or motor mount, get out the soldering iron. Swapping out motors and motor mounts require that you must rerun wires through the motor mount itself. To do this, you must remove wires from the motors and resolder them.

Before soldering on a motor, make sure you've got the wires connected to the right motor terminals! The front and rear rotors spin counter-clockwise, and the left and right rotors spin clockwise. This means that the front and rear motors spin clockwise, and the left and right motors spin counter-clockwise. Test for yourself to verify things are spinning correctly before applying solder.

Flight

If your trim settings are way over to one side, and the Draganflyer's hover is still off-level, then realign the rotors to the Draganflyer's circuit board. Note that small adjustments here will produce big changes in flight performance. If you're constantly having to readjust this, your frame or mounts are loose: Tighten the frame screws to prevent rotor alignment changes. See the manual's section "Flight Preparation and Trimming" for more detail.

If you hear a high-pitched whirring sound when flying, you may have a problem with either the rotors or the decals. In extreme situations, this can also cause problems with lift, as more power is required to maintain altitude. If you've applied decals to your rotors, examine those decals. The decals may be slightly separating from the rotor on the rotor's leading edge, and the whirring you hear may be part of a decal vibrating as the rotor spins. Less than a centimeter of separation can cause this. To fix, remove the decal.

If you don't have decals, or are sure that's not the problem, examine your rotors for signs of wear or tearing. As funny as you may think it looks, the Draganflyer should never be used as a lawn mower: Even a few encounters with blades of grass will wear out the rotors. If your rotor lines are no longer smooth, sand them carefully until they are. If too much of the rotor is chipped or torn, replace it.

If you can't tell what rotor is causing the problem, gently but firmly hold down the Draganflyer with one hand, then turn everything on and spin the rotors until you hear the noise. Move the right control stick up, down, left and right. As power is transferred from rotor to rotor, you can isolate which one is noisy.

Fuses

If you're blowing fuses after landing, you're probably trying to turn the rotors when they're unable to do so. If the motors can't turn, a fuse will blow, so avoid landings in tall grass, and cut the throttle before crashes. According to RCToys:

"The fuse is in place to prevent damage to the circuit board. If the rotors are trying to turn, and there is resistance on any of the motors, the fuse will blow. If a crash or rough landing is imminent, it is best to cut the throttle so no power is being applied to the motors."

Before you even think about flying

With the addition of the "crash kit", have the following equipment available. While the website states that a pair of pliers are all that is needed to assemble (the unit also ships with a small screwdriver and hex wrench), I found it helpful to have these tools on hand for repairs and maintenance:

Small flathead screwdriver (the plastic screwdriver that comes with the kit started to bend out of shape after some use).

Wire cutters / wire strippers (rewiring may be needed after replacing motor or motor mount)

Soldering iron with electrical solder (soldering is required when replacing a motor or motor mount)

Electrical tape (may be needed after rewiring)

120 grit sandpaper, or a Dremel tool with sandpaper wheel (used for smoothing out roughness and inconsistencies in the rotors).

Spray paint (Okay, this is 100% optional, but I found a light coat or two improves the look of the rotors better than the included decals, which tended to peel off, perhaps from humidity or my bad application.)

Depending on what you need to repair, things may get somewhat complex. Make sure you have a good understanding of the Draganflyer's components, or are mechanically inclined. The manual gives a very detailed piece-by-piece schematic. Use it.

Watch the instruction video first, then read the manual to get the detail. You'll see good basic build instruction, as well as showing you how all components (even some of the prepackaged ones) fit together, and a good visual overview of the helicopter. The video will help set expectation as to how the Draganflyer should perform, and the manual will give you the knowledge to make it happen easily and safely.

If you have a Draganflyer with onboard camera, remove the camera system while learning to fly the Draganflyer. This prevents damage to this expensive module during the inevitable "learning" crashes.

The most important thing I can stress about flight control: Learn how to hover before you try any other kind of flight. Learning hovering is very important for establishing control. It says this in the manual and video, but it's so important I'm also stressing it here.

Get an extra Draganflyer battery. Flight time depends on many conditions, but is around 20-30 minutes. More batteries mean more fun before you have to recharge. (You should be fine with only one battery for the transmitter, as it will last an hour or two between recharges.)

Get the crash kit. When you've gotten good at flying, crashes should be rare. But getting experienced, particularly if learning on your own, will require (at least) a few rough landings or new rotors. The crash kit gives you needed spare parts for most repairs.

Preflight checklist

Make sure all batteries are fully charged.

Make sure the heat sinks are tight on the motors.

If your Draganflyer has an onboard camera, check the camera mount and camera transmitter antenna unit. Make sure the camera is secure. Make sure the connector in the camera's circuit board is inserted firmly. Note that the camera connector is intentionally a little loose. According to RCToys:

"The connector is loose as to reduce damage to the wiring. In a crash, it will easily pop out. However, it won't do this during flight."

Prepare the control stick: Set all trim levels to the center settings. Make sure throttle control is off (all the way down)

Gently wiggle the platform mounts (the rods and brackets that hold the circuit board in place) to make sure they aren't loose. Tighten if needed.

Sight down the rotors to make sure they are horizontally matched with the Draganflyer's circuit board. If they're not, realign them. If they're loose, tighten them.

Gently pull at the thin carbon fiber rods. They should not pop out of their plastic mounting brackets. If they do, your frame is loose - tighten it.

In addition to the above components, periodically check and tighten all screws on the unit, paying close attention to the nylon screws for the rotors, and those underneath the carbon fiber battery platform.

Andy's Flight log

This flight log documents my personal experience in learning the Draganflyer from the beginning, never having touched it before. This is not meant as a "how to" document, only as a way to show what I experienced so that others can learn from it. Your personal experience, and the amount of time it takes you to get comfortable with the Draganflyer, will vary. Times below are approximate, and were recorded over the course of about 2 months. The time estimates are of how long I spent trimming and flying the Draganflyer during each entry, and do not include time for maintenance or repairs.