[ShAdOw]-[HeLiX]

lol..sorry bout cheap the subject rhyme :S It does explain my problem pretty well.

I've flown about 6 times, and 2 times after that when ever I fly with a full battery pack, at full throttle, the Dragonfly only goes up to around 5-15 cm (2-6 inches), bouncing along the floor (I'm using training gear...very bouncy..hehe).
The first few flights, I could fly all the way up to the ceiling with power to spare. I'm sure it's not my battery packs because they read around 10 volts at around 2.5 amps on my multimeter (and it is highly unlikely that both of them have failed).

Have the brushes in my motor burned out?
I also notices that my rotor head is bent up a lot during flight (the coning effect...I'm not even in forward flight and only 10 cm above the ground), so I'll be getting a head stiffener. Could the coning also be a part of my problem?

What is a good replacement motor to use that isn't too expensive? I was thinking of getting a 370 motor and a direct drive tail system - all with heatsinks


Thanks, Arrian

[ShAdOw]-[HeLiX]

Anyone had this problem before? Do you know how to fix it?

dorme1

have you checked the angle of the paddles at the ends of the flybars? I noticed that if mine aren't at a pretty steep angle it takes all the motor can dish out to get it off the ground, and then it does what you're describing. But, if I angle them a bit harder it takes off at about 60-70% throttle. hope I don't sound like a dumbass but I'm learning still. oh yeah and it might just be that training gear...I'm finding I do better without it. It is a bit of weight for the heli to lift.

Flying Weasle

your paddles should have no tilt at all. You should level the swashplate, then check and make sure the paddles are as flat as you can get them. Also make sure the are the same level of eachother. Your main blades provide lift, the paddle provide direction. You should not be using them for lift.

dorme1

oops! see learning new stuff every day! I'll give it a shot

[ShAdOw]-[HeLiX]

I've tried to make my main blades have a greater pitch, but it doesn't seem to work. Do you just twist them at the tips (the proper way ofcourse..) ?

For some reason, after I did that my heli flew pretty high after a sort of "power burst" (started spinning faster 1 minute into the flight) and I could go up to the ceiling. Maybe it is my battery?

I powered down after a minute because the main motor was hot (touch-burn for a minute hot..lol). After that it just stayed on the floor like it did before.


Hmm....I think I'll get a 370 motor and some heatsinks, and if that doesn't work then some Li-Po batteries and CF blades


- Arrian

Flying Weasle

Yea, go with a stronger motor, CF blades and a head stiffener. A 2 cell lipo will be lighter.
You will be happy with the new setup. And if you can spare the cash, a CNC swashplate is one of the best upgrades.

[ShAdOw]-[HeLiX]

I got it to fly higher by increaing the blade picth. When it's hovering above the ground at around 40cm, the gyro and til motor are both working pretty well (with some minor rudder control input needed).
If I go higher then i have to manually move the rudder stick a lot to counter the main blade torque. [:@]

Also, is it normal that if i put the throttle one click up of a 40cm hover that it goes up to the ceiling and beyond if it could, and one click down from that that it drops towards the ground quickly and even full throttle isn't quick enough to stop it from bouncing hard? I'm having a hard time keeping it at a steady hover level above 40cm. In turn the main blade drag is causing the heli to spin so it all leads to a hard drop/crash because I'm still a newbie on his 10th or so battery pack with a not-working-properly-heli lol . Any suggestions?


- Arrian

Flying Weasle

What setup do you have? Stock Dragon Fly?
This is because the main isn't providing enough torque to make the tail work hard. When you apply throttle, torque increases. Try upping the gain on the tail mixer and the gain on the Gyro.
What radio do you have? Does is have a ratchet throttle? Clicks in it?
Heli radios do not have the ratchet, they are smooth. What you want to do is take the back off and either sand the back of the control arm smooth, or move the tension bar, (depending on the model of radio you have)
I sanded the notches off of mine and bent the copper tension bar down to provide a little more resistance. Made all the difference in the world.

[ShAdOw]-[HeLiX]

I have the Futaba Skysport 4 channel transmitter that came with the Dragonfly heli. It's throttle isn't smooth, even if it was i would have a hard time putting it 0.5mm into place to keep my heli in a good hovering height.

Higher than 40cm the tail rotor has to spin at almost its max speed to keep up with the main blade drag. Is this normal? Do I need to adjust the gyro's gain to make it better for higher flight?

I'll get back to you tomorrow, it's to bed for me now.

Flying Weasle

It's not height that is doing it, it's the torque from the main motor. If it's low and you apply alot of throttle it will spin counter clockwise.
Yes, up the gain on the gyro and you may have to adjust the trim on the radio. I'd take the back off, move the tension bar off the back of the throttle stick and put it back together. This will make it easier to control.

helicraz

Hi [ShAdOw]-[HeLiX] ,

Did you managed to fix the problem for good? I am having almost the same problem. My dragonfly refused to take off, especially when I have the training kit installed. Not even 1 mm higher . Without the training kit, the best I got was about 1 cm off the ground at full trottle. The 1 cm only came about during sudden burst of power.

Really hope to know how you (or anyone reading this) get it fixed for good.

Cheers,
Nic