??dragonfly??

hello
i understand there is a few dragonflys out there
what would be the best walkera dragonfly or the dragonfly ??
ebay sells both or what would be best from walkera dragonfly,dragonfly or smartech 4ch ep helicopters??
good range of spairs? ebay sell all
or is ebay a bad idea ?

thanks
Jason

P.S cant aford a nitro or similar ok

[sportygreg]

The Walkera Dragonfly is a Chinese copy of the GWS Dragonfly which is higher quality[and costs a lot more].The Walkeras are not the best quality but they take a beating and parts are cheap and readily available.You won't find anything for less money than a Dragonfly #4.Honeybee[Twister in UK] has better radio and more stable than Dragonfly[and costs a little more].I got my Dragonfly on Ebay-just make sure seller has a high rating[look for 98-100%].If you have a defective helicopter the shipping charges are usually not refundable so read feedback on the sellers and choose one who has the most positive feedback from buyers.A $75.00 helicopter becomes a $110.00 helicopter with shipping charges-I paid $35 for shipping and the package label showed $9.50 actual shipping.The dealers make their profit on inflated shipping that's how they can sell for what seems to be a low price.It's still cheaper than a hobby store so what can you do?

[thecheat]

what is your budget? If you've got $350 in store, then get the 36 as well as an align420LF and the higest rating of amperage on an ESC you can find. the rest of the money ($50) is for spare parts when you need them, for any heli you get make sure you have a $50 dollar reserve for parts. oh and if you don't go for 3D and chose FP (fixed pitch) then get the #4 it's the best possible deal you'll find on a FP heli. then if you have enough get a brushless motor and an 15A ESC for it and you'll save yourself lot's of money in the longrun.

I purchased a Walkera fixed pitch from eBay. When I got it boy was I surprised. It was CHEAP! I mean, it was an OK purchase price but the quality...well... The skids would fall off, all the CF frame tubes would let go and actually it was a real mess. I might also remind you that my Walkera was "RTF." NOT. The Xmitter was a mode one as well. The 4 in 1 electronics were problematic. I broke a couple of rotor blades and a tail rotor just trying to get it to stabilize and hover. I sold it on eBay for less than what I bought it for. It is, as they say, a knock off. But when IBM was selling the PC a lot of people copied it (Dell, HP, PB). Even though those computers were not IBM's, they worked just fine.

My boss, seeing my Shogun decided to get into helos. He read a lot and ended up buying a Blade CP. If you read the instructions for the Walkera, the Chinese to English translation is quite amusing. But I looked at the Blade instuctions and they were as clear as a bell. For 219.00 it came with everything but xmitter batteries. It was also a mode two flyer. And quite honestly, it was the same design as the Walkera but much better built. I am not trying to sell you a Blade! Example: English-decals. Chinese-decays. And when you are trying to set up your helo for perfect flight, you need perfect instructions!

For the short run, the cheaper Walkera is better. And, as it is a knock off, parts are readily available. But, in the long run, I am not so sure the quality would hold up. As they say, you get what you pay for. Personally I would rather be flying than fixing. For a training, crash and burn helo, the Walkera would be OK. After learning on it and maybe destroying it, you can take that knowledge to a higher plane (so to speak) -Just my 2.5 cents-Best O luck!

Mark