Previous Thread
To me, it really does sound like the trim is a bit off on your controller. Make sure that it really is centered...the notch that serves as the equalibrium to your Dragonfly will be significantly thicker than the other notches. I honestly cannot think of another reason why this would happen.
Something of that nature started to happen to mine, but once I turned the dial back to center the problem was fixed.
If this doesn't fix it, I would keep talking to wow wee about this problem. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you!
Shane
PS...I just thought of something else.
Is your propeller still in good shape? If you have any question about that I would go ahead and switch it out with the extra that came supplied in the box.
I'm really pleased with my new dragonfly, however I can't help but think that it might be sub-par to most of the other ones being sold. This is because it has an aggrevating tendancy to turn left, which requires constant correction, but more importantly, restricts its ability to turn right! I know that wowwee suggests using the "trim knob" to fix a problem like this, but that seems to be a rather mediocre fix to me as it A. increases the probability that you will break the tailrotor or burn out its engine and B. makes the dragonfly turn sluggishly in BOTH directions (which judging by most of the videos online, is not a problem most people are having). So.... if anyone has any suggestions, or is merely experiencing the same problem (or not) I'd like to hear from you (I've already tried adding weight to the right landing gear to try to correct the problem, but to no avail) thanks!
February 19, 2007 12:42 AM
February 24, 2007 2:15 AM
Shane said: To me, it really does sound like the trim is a bit off on your controller. Make sure that it really is centered...the notch that serves as the equalibrium to your Dragonfly will be significantly thicker than the other notches. I honestly cannot think of another reason why this would happen.
Something of that nature started to happen to mine, but once I turned the dial back to center the problem was fixed.
If this doesn't fix it, I would keep talking to wow wee about this problem. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you!
Shane
PS...I just thought of something else.
Is your propeller still in good shape? If you have any question about that I would go ahead and switch it out with the extra that came supplied in the box.
The trim dial is definitely centered, as the propeller does not spin without input from the controler stick, and unfortunately it was turning left straight out of the box so I don't think it can be the prop :S. After flying it a bit more, I've gotten better at compensating for the turn bias, so it's not quite as much of an issue anymore, although it is definitely still annoying. My only thought is that the wings must somehow be providing disproportionate thrust in some manner, so I may eventually switch them out for the replacements to see if that fixes the problem. Thanks for the input!
February 24, 2007 12:44 PM
Hey,
No problem!
I know that I would be pretty upset if my unit was a lefty right out of the box. That's not saying that I don't like lefties...hah...corny I know.
Yeah, I would try the extra wings as well. I really hope that you start getting things straightened out...no pun intended.
Shane
February 25, 2007 8:17 AM
I am having the same problem. It will fly in a left handed circle without the tail rotor spining. I like this thing enuff where that isnt a dealbreaker for me, but it would be nice to fly inline once.
I have had it to over 40' in the air. I also have alot of trees around me, and have found that having a few lengths of 3/4" pvc and couplings has made a stick big gnuff to get it out of the trees.
So if a solution for the left hand turn is known please share. Im gonna buy another one soon for the kids.
Dec
March 5, 2007 1:31 PM
You're not alone in this left-turning issue... over at RCgroups.com, there was talk about this and a bunch of "me too"s. Actually, I'm one of them - it's actually to the point where somedays it won't turn to the right, it's pulling left so bad.
But, for $50 and a brandnew flapping/fling thing, what can you do?
-Doug
March 5, 2007 2:32 PM
Try looking at your Dragonfly from directly behind it. Is the styrofoam tail straight, or does it seem slightly twisted in a counter-clockwise direction? I have had this problem once or twice and it was a simple fix...I VERY GENTLY twisted the tail back in a clockwise direction and it seemed to correct the flight. The plastic calliper that holds the tail rotor to the graphite tail shaft must be aligned perpendicular as well. Again, be careful when trying this adjustment. The mini motor is adhered to the styrofoam with some weak adhesive, so if it peels free be sure to reattach it with gentle pressure once both pieces are alligned properly. Hope this helps...
March 7, 2007 8:59 AM
I just got my dragonfly, and although I can't keep it airborne for more than 30 seconds, I had that exact same problem. Using the trim on the controller did correct it, but it was very annoying having the rotor spinning ALL the time, even when it wasn't flying.
I knew it couldn't be the rotor itself because that wouldn't make any sense - it was veering left without rotor control...so I changed the wings to the spare wings it came with, and presto - no more veering! If that doesn't work, try swapping the left and right wing...
Now I just have to figure out why I can't keep this damn thing airborne. It only loses altitude when turning, so maybe I'm unconsciously letting off the throttle while turning??
April 4, 2007 6:13 PM
Thanks for the tip DragonFly, I was planning on doing that but wasn't quite sure if it was worth the time. Switched the wings and saw a monumental improvement (20 second flight times to unlimited flight times). My 'fly still prefers to turn left and takes a hint of right stick to keep it going straight, but it's definitely flyable now.
To anyone else reading this topic or who has this issue: switch your wings - the difference 5 minutes makes will astound you
April 5, 2007 4:40 AM
Yep, I had the same problem on one of mine. In fact, if you take a look to the Dragonfly from behind you can see that the tail is slightly twisted to the left and since the tail motor is also slightly more on the left side, the Dragonfly tends to fly always to the right. As I tried to twist the tail clockwise I accidentaly squeezed the tail at its exiting, so what I did was pushing the tail to the right and then applying cyano, this hold everything together again. I have been flying since then a lot, crashes included and the tail holds perfectly. Just reckoned that I could have twisted even more since it still tends to fly to the right but not as much as before. Just my two cents. Greetings
April 12, 2007 4:49 PM
I have the same left-hand turning issue right out of the box. I reversed the wings with no change and tried the extra set which caused a more pronounce death spiral. WooWee has been very helpful and is sending me a complete new body minus wings so once I have received it, I'll test it out again. I tried some masking tape as extraweight on the the right wings and it helped a bit but you must find the right position on the wing to prevent stalling or nose dives; too much weight affects the dragonfly's total weight and bogs its flight! Once I get this figured out, it should be a riot! As I'm an entomologist by trade I couldn't resist getting this thing! I can maintain a decent counterclockwise circle in the basement, but no right-hand control eventually leads to a meeting with a telepost or wall.
Moderator
- member since: 03/10/2007
- rank: 5 of 1985
-
location:
Madison WI, United States
- 15 articles authored
- 14 blog entries posted
- 59 forum threads started
- 1299 comments
April 12, 2007 5:20 PM
cdem-
Can you try the nose weight/tail add-on mentioned in this thread? I'm really curious if the wider tail will help agains the left-tendency.
cheers & good luck! -Scott
(ps want to sell your original (dragonfly) body to science? or does WowWee want it back?)
(pps- entomologist, where?! My professional background is Drosophila and Manduca - molecular biology and behavior/neuroanatomy)
(ppps- Welcome to the forums! I hope you find some useful info here! 
)
Visit my Roving RoboReporter blog!
April 12, 2007 7:38 PM
Milw (Scott): I'm a stored-products entomologist with Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba, primarily doing research on detection and prevention of insect pests in stored grain, and processed cereal food products. I know what bugs are crawling around in your clearance cereal boxes and home pantry! LOL! Mostly beetles, weevils, a few moths and grain mites; also spoilage of cereal foods from fungus and potential dangers from mycotoxins. I'm playing around with some counterweight masking tape to get more weight on the right side to make it travel in a straight line, some improvement but not enough to fully satisfy me yet.
April 13, 2007 10:05 AM
Just a thought as several people have complained about flight problems? I wonder if the factory test flies them before packaging for quality control? When I examined several dragonflies available at Radio Shack, I noticed varying degrees of creasing and nicks in the tail foam; as if some had been used minimally, but to varying degrees. It would make sense to do a simple test flight to insure that the beast flies straight and turns in either direction. One thing to note, is that WowWee had no hesitation in deciding to replace the body of my dragonfly after I provided the serial number and proof of purchase, so perhaps there was a production problem over a particular number of units were something was misaligned. I think I will test it outdoors away from walls and teleposts for a better idea of how my trim adjustments work out. I really don't want to add a large rear stabilizer which resembles a bird's tail, but rather try and keep it looking as Odonata-looking as possible!
April 16, 2007 1:21 PM
Well, I finally tried flying outdoors and can recommend that this should only be attempted in dead calm or with wind so minimal it is virtually undetectable. The dragonfly seems to handle totally different than indoors causing me to relocate the masking tape counterweight on the wing to get the cg correct. It still turns to the left but I was able to keep it aloft for a good amount of time until ever-so-slight wind gusts caused it to take a dive. An additional problem I noticed is that my right-hand turn thrust was intermittant when the dragonfly was in flight, but operated correctly when held in hand; this compounds the problem of trying to compensated for the steady left-hand turning problem. This happens even at a close range of 10-15 feet! Anyone else notice anything similar?
Moderator
- member since: 03/10/2007
- rank: 5 of 1985
-
location:
Madison WI, United States
- 15 articles authored
- 14 blog entries posted
- 59 forum threads started
- 1299 comments
April 16, 2007 3:02 PM
The range on the controller is not great, and if it isn't all the way extended, its even worse. The curious thing, if the DF flies out of range it'll keep flapping- so if it did go straight, one could possibly see it fly out of sight!
cheers- Scott
Visit my Roving RoboReporter blog!
May 7, 2007 4:03 PM
One thing you may want to check for is whether the tail rotor begins to spin when you power up the wings. There seems to be a loose connection on mine and while I can correct the spin when it is stationary by adjusting the trim as soon as the wings power up the tail rotor cranks up.
November 9, 2007 11:47 AM
I have noticed the tail is twisted on mine as well, and my friends right out of the box. I think milw has a point, this thing does have a tendancy to go off on its own when it gets out of range, and if it did go straigt it may go out of sight. This could be a form of failsafe to keep the dragonfly from simply crashing when it goes out of range, and to keep it from going into the tree you were headed toward before that happened.
I've also noticed that when this occurs, it tends to 180 around back to me before the wings decide to stop flapping, this makes me think its more of a failsafe.
Moderator
- member since: 06/07/2007
- rank: 2 of 1985
-
location:
United States
- 3 articles authored
- 48 forum threads started
- 1777 comments
November 9, 2007 12:43 PM
That would be in keeping with a lot of RC plane rigs, which default to a slow circle if they lose their control signal. I'm guessing the theory is that the plane will either circle back into range, or allow the flier to move torwards the circling plane until contact is reestablished.
All of this is 2nd hand knowledge for me. My only plane was a tethered one. It had a perpetual outward turning rudder to help keep tension on the control strings. I do hang out with some RC fliers occasionally. They're much in favor of "fail findable" operating modes.
ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)
Add Your Reply
Sponsored Links
Copyright © 2008
Capable Networks LLC.. All Rights Reserved.
RSS |
Privacy Policy |
Advertise With Us |
Terms of Use |
About Us |
Contact Us |
Site Map
Our Capable Community Network:
Drobo Space |
DVR playground |
MediaSmart Home |
Monster Community |
MotoDash |
My DigitalEntertainer |
My Open Router |
Presto Place |
Robo Community |
Sansa Community |
Sling Community |
TechLore |
TiVo Community
Product names, designations and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of WowWee Group Limited and all copyright in the associated images is the property of WowWee Group Limited. RoboCommunity.com is not affiliated with WowWee Group Limited.
