ROAR (Remotely Operated Auto Racers) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting rc cars and trucks. ROAR also provides liability and bodily injury insurance for it’s members who race at ROAR sanctioned events and keeps a database of approved lithium polymer batteries. Tested at ROAR’s laboratory, approved lithium polymer batteries need to meet criteria including safety and performance. If you’re racing your electric car or truck at a ROAR sanctioned event, you should use approved batteries. We carry all of ROAR’s approved Thunder Power RC batteries, listed below:

You can browse through our huge selection of Thunder Power RC lipo batteries on our site. We pride ourselves on carrying every battery that Thunder Power RC manufactures, so if you see one that we’ve missed, feel free to contact us.

All RC airplanes and helicopters are controlled by servos - small, electromechanical devices that allow everything from controlled flight to payload releases. So what are servos?  How do they work? And how do you choose
the ones that will work best in your model? We’ll answer all these questions, and take you through everything from the basics of servo operation to their technical details.

What is a Servo?

A servo is a device that can rotate to an arbitrary position, as set by the user. Servos usually consist of a small DC (direct current) electric motor, several gears, and a head where an arm or wheel can be attached. When the user tells the servo what angular position to move to, the servo rotates and holds that position until further input is specified. The servo holds position because external forces are always interacting with the aircraft, and would set control surfaces to undesired positions unless stopped. Servos exert a torque on external forces, that prevents them from changing the position of any control surface.

How Servos Work

A servos job is to convert the angular movement of a servo arm to the linear movement of a control surface. This is done by attaching linkages, called control rods to the servo arm and the associated control surface. When the servo head rotates, it pushes the control rod back and forth. The rod is linked to a control surface, and can move it up or down as the servo rotates.

Servos are controlled by three wires: two to provide the DC power that the motor needs, and one that sends the signal, controlling the servo. The signal wire works by sending the servo a series of pulses, which are interperted by it’s internal circuitry. By varying the timing of each pulse, the servo knows exactly which position to move to.

Choosing the Right Servo

Servos have a number of defining properties that make them suitable for different applications:

1. Torque – This is a measure of the servos “strength”, or how much “push” it has. More precisely, torque is the product of force and the radius at which it acts. This is shown graphically in the figure on the right. Bigger planes need high torque servos to move their large control surfaces. In general, servo size goes up with rated torque.
2. Speed – Speed measures how fast the servo can move from one position to another. Different RC airplanes and helicopters will need servos with different speeds. For example: a trainer doesn’t need to change control surface positions rapidly, but a 3D helicopter or plane does. High speed servos are many times more expensive than standard ones.
3. Dimensions – As stated previously, the dimensions of a servo increase with the torque that it provides.
4. Weight – The weight of a servo depends on several variables. Most often recorded in grams, the weight of a servo is always reported on the package.
5. Bearings – There are two ways to support the output shaft of a servo – bearings and brushes. Brushes are cheaper, but bearings last longer and operate more smoothly. Very small and very cheap servos tend to be brushed, while high end and very large servos generally have bearings. It’s possible to upgrade a brushed servo to bearings, with several upgrade kits being available on the internet.
6. Gears – Most hobby grade servos use nylon gears, while higher end servos use metal gears. Metal gears add more weight, but their advantage is that they can’t “strip”, causing an RC helicopter or airplane to crash. Metal gears wear over time, which can cause “slop” in their rotation, but the gears can be replaced somewhat economically. In general, nylon servos are adequate for sport flying. If you’re particularly worried about losing a model in a crash, or are flying intense aerobatics, a metal geared servo could be the right choice.

All RC kits and ARFs will specify the type and brand of servo required. Generally, you should adhere to these recommendations.

Digital Vs. Standard

Servos can be of two types: digital, or standard. Both digital and standard servos can be used with a normal receiver, the real difference is performance.

All servos use a series of short pulses as signals that determine what angular possition they should maintain. This series of signals is usually very fast, somewhere around 50 pulses per second maximum. On a standard servo, this rate is so fast that small movements of the control sticks may not have an affect. This means that there’s a small deadband on the control sticks, in which no servo movement takes place. Although it’s not a problem on trainers and most sport class models, the deadband becomes a significant issue with 3D aircraft. Even a small delay with a 3D aircraft could cause a crash.

Digital servos remove the deadband by speeding up the rate at which it receives pulses. Usually, this is increased from around 50 to 300 pulses per second. This increase in resolution allows the servo to operate much more precisely.

RC Servo Motors

The motors that drive RC servos come in several different types. Here’s a list of the most common varieties, and some information on each to help you decide which ones to use:

• Coreless – Conventional motors use copper wires wrapped around metal cores to form electromagnets. In a coreless motor, there is a metal mesh that rotates around the permanent magnets. Coreless motors respond more quickly than conventional motors, because they don’t have to overcome the momentum associated with heavy metal cores.
• Brushless – Servos can be powered by brushless motors, giving them longer life, faster response time, and more torque.
• 3 Pole and 5 Pole – Electric motors have permanent magnets, called poles, that electromagnets are attracted to. Servo motors can have either 3 or 5 poles, with more poles providing better torque. If you’re new to RC or have a regular sport model, you probably won’t notice the difference between 3 pole and 5 pole servos.

Now that you know what servos to get for your model, you can browse the large number of servos available on our website.

What You Need

To do this project, you’re going to need a few materials:

• An RC helicopter, or RC airplane with 3 channel control or better – You’re going to need a stable platform to take pictures from. Helicopters are useful because you can hover in one position, but airplanes are cheaper. You might already have an airplane or helicopter around, but if you don’t, the Multiplex Easystar works well for this project. Note that to make a remote shutter function, more than 3 channels are needed.
• A lightweight camera, with remote shutter operation – You need to be able to remotely trigger the camera. This can be done a number of ways, but the simplest and most economical is to attach a servo to the top of your camera with rubber bands. Make it so that when you throw a spare channel switch on your transmitter, the servo arm will move and press down the shutter switch. As with any mod, feel free to create your own solution.
• A large protractor
• Some string and a weight – Clay works well as a weight, I’ll explain why you need it shortly.
• A drinking straw – You’re going to need this to build a sight for the protractor.
• Measuring Tape – You need to know the altitude of your aircraft, and to do this, you need to measure it’s distance from you. Landmarks with a known distance can also be used – consult any street map with a scale for these.
• A notebook / paper / pencil
• A friend to help – You can’t fly your aircraft and make measurements at the same time. Take a friend along to help you, and ask them to record the measurements.

The Math Involved

Now we come to the hard part – a little bit of math. You don’t really need to understand all these derivations, feel free to simply use the formula that I’ll give you. The problem is this: given an aerial picture, how can we figure out the scale?

We need the altitude of the airplane to figure out the image scale. This can’t be done directly, so we measure the angle (a), the distance (d), and use them to compute the height (h). This is a right triangle, and there are some handy trig functions that apply. In this case, we use the tangent function, which gives the ratio of the opposite and adjacent sides.  This is expressed as follows:

By taking the tangent of the angle a, and multiplying by the distance (d), we get the height (h). Here’s the formula that you would use:

So how do you get the angle? It’s simple: take the protractor and tape a piece of drinking straw to the flat bottom. Then attach a piece of sting to the bottom center of the protractor, so that it dangles straight down the 90 degree mark. Use the ball of clay to make a weight at the bottom of the string. Now, when you tilt the  protractor, the string will measure the angle. Be careful though: the angle with respect to the ground is not what’s read directly off the protractor scale. Reading the difference between the indicated angle and 90 degrees will give you the angle you need.

So why do we care about the altitude? Well, it turns out that the ratio of the altitude and the focal length of the camera is the image scale! You can find out the focal length of your camera by reading it’s manual. This is usually expressed in millimetres, so convert it to whatever  unit you have used to measured the distance, and thus the altitude in. Let’s put that all in a convenient formula:

And that’s the only formula you need. Just measure the distance, and the angle, know the focal length, and you’re done.

How to Do the Measurements

All that math was fun, but how do you actually measure distances using this method? I’ll illustrate with an example:

Suppose that you’ve just gone out to a field, and want to measure the distance between a tree and a building. The first step is to find a landmark you can fly over with a known distance. Using a measuring tape or map, you find that a nearby hill is 50 feet from where you’re standing. With a friend ready to measure and write down the angle, you launch your airplane and fly over the nearby hill, taking several pictures. Your friend sights the model aircraft through the protractor – straw device built earlier, and finds the angle to be 75 degrees.

Using a calculator, you find the altitude to be:

After landing, you download the pictures and print them full size, with no scaling. Your camera’s user manual reports that the focal length is 152 mm (millimeters). Converting this to feet is easy, just type it in Google or multiply by the number of feet per millimetre. 152 mm is 0.48 feet, so you plug that into the formula we derived earlier and obtain the following:

This means that distance measured on the picture is 0.000257 times as big as the real distance. You’re almost done: using a ruler, you measure the distance between the tree and building on the image to be 1 inch. Converting this to feet (because we want the distance between the building and tree in feet), gives a distance of 0.0833 feet. Now, multiplying this by 1 divided by the picture scale gives a final answer of 324 feet.

And that’s it – you’ve just measured the distance between two objects using nothing more than a RC aircraft, camera, and a little trigonometry. Just keep in mind that you have to know the distance between the airplane and you accurately for this to work – always take pictures right on top of the marker with a known distance.

© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
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Brushless Motor Benefits

Before going into how brushless motors work, here’s why they’re useful:

• More Efficient – Brushless motors are much more efficient than conventional brushed motors. This efficiency has been measured to be between 85% to 95% better than brushed motors.
• Less electrical energy is wasted as heat,and more is used to do useful work.
• Reduced Noise – Brushless motors have fewer mechanical parts than brushed motors, so they emit less sound.
• Longer Lifetime – Fewer moving parts are in mechanical contact than in brushed motors, reducing wear.
• Reduced EM Interference – Brushless motors emit less energy as electromagnetic (EM) waves than brushed motors do. This contributes to their efficiency, and helps reduce radio interference.
• Torque, Voltage, And RPM Linearly Related – This means that the amount of torque or RPM produced by the motor divided by the voltage put in is a constant, making it easy to predict how much power you’re going to get.

How Brushless Motors Work

On a fundamental level, an electric motor’s only job is to convert electrical energy (like that provided by a battery) into mechanical energy, like the turning of a propeller or rotor blade. There are two basic facts that allow electric motors to work:

1. Electric and Magnetic Fields are Related - That is, every moving charge produces a magnetic field, and magnetic fields can produce electric charge.
2. Magnets Interact – Magnets will align when placed near to each other. All electric motors basically consist of two magnets. One of them is permanent, the other is a coil of wire that, when charged, becomes a magnet.

The motor is designed such that the magnetic fields produced by each of the magnets are always out of alignment, causing the motor axil to rotate. This is similar to what happens when you hold a permanent magnet to a compass – the compass swings position so that it lines up with the magnets field.

With the brushed motor design, the magnetic fields are kept out of alignment by turning on the different coils of wire that surround the motor axil in succession. Metal brushes make mechanical contact with the rotating axil and the contacts with each metal coil. As the axil rotates, the brushes contact different coils. The end result is that current flows through different coils at different times, constantly changing the magnetic field and rotating the motor shaft.

It’s here that we see the main problem with the brushed design: the contact between the motor coils and the brushes causes friction, which increases with speed. The metal coils wear out over time, and are prone to sparking. They can also ionize surrounding air, creating ozone. So how can we get around these issues? The answer lies in the brushless motor design. Instead of using mechanical brushes to turn on the various wire coils, an ESC (electronic speed controller) is used instead. The ESC switches the motor coils on or off rapidly, and is synchronized to the motor axil position.

Always look for an ESC with a capacity (measured in amps) greater than that of the motor you’re pairing it with.

Some Common Terms Explained

There are a number of special terms associated with brushless motors. Here are explanations for some of the most common:

• RPM – This is a measure of angular speed, or how fast something is rotating. A motor’s RPM is simply how fast it can rotate.
• KV Rating - Remember how we said that the relationship between voltage, torque, and RPM was linear for a brushless motor? It turns out that the number of RPM provided by each volt is the same, called  the KV number. The KV number’s useful because it let’s you figure  out how many volts you need to achieve a certain RPM, or vice versa.  For an example, a 980 KV motor powered by an 11.1 volt battery would  spin at 980 x 11.1 = 10878 RPM with no load. The KV rating always  assumes no load on the motor, so the actual RPM that your achieve  will be less than the one you calculate.
• Continuous / Burst Current – Continuous current measures how much current a motor can handle continuously, for an extended period of  time. Burst current measures how much current a motor can handle for a short amount of time, about a few seconds.
• Current Rating – This is the maximum current that a given motor can handle, measured in amps.
• Inrunner / Outrunner – These are the two major brushless motor  designs. An inrunner brushless motor has stationary coils, and a   rotating permanent magnet on the motor shaft. An outrunner  brushless motor is the opposite, it has a stationary permanent   magnet, and rotating coils. Outrunner motors have lower KV ratings, so they run at a lower speed with more torque. This could allow you to direct drive larger props without a gearbox. RC cars and boats tend to require inrunner brushless motors, rather than outrunners.
• Torque - Torque is a measure of angular force, or how much “push” a rotating shaft has.  Watt – This is a measure of power, or how fast energy is used.
• Volt – This measures electric potential, or how much “push” the electrons from a battery have. A greater voltage means that more   energy is being applied to a given amount of charge.

Choosing a Brushless Motor

Most airplane manufacturers will recommend certain brushless motors for different models. However, if this is not specified, a good starting point would be to check what other people are using locally,or search the web. We frequently visit RCGroups, RC Universe, and WattFlyer to see what the RC communities are using. If you have a brushed motor that you are replacing, choose a brushless motor that is the same physical size, and uses about the same wattage. To determine the wattage, multiply the current your old motor draws by the voltage it’s run at.

© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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The Blade MCX is a great RC helicopter

Replacing the Blade MCX RC Helicopter Flybar

The main flybar stabilizes the top rotor, and spins at a great speed. Because it’s built on top of the main rotors, it tends to fly off during a collision. Fortunately, it’s almost never damaged and most of the time can simply be snapped back into place. Should yours break for some reason, here’s how to install a replacement.

1. Check the Flybar For Damage – There’s very little that can actually break on the flybar, but check it against this picture to be sure it isn’t actually damaged.
2. Snap off The Flybar Linkage – You’ll find a small black linkage on the flybar (the plastic part, about 1 cm high, that dangles down freely), which connects to the top rotor blades. Snap it off gently, and place it somewhere where it won’t get lost.
3. Lift off the Flybar – The flybar is held between a black plastic clevis (the plastic holder on top of the rotor shaft). Gently spread the clevis apart using your fingers, and lift the flybar out.
4. Install the New Flybar - Slide the new flybars centre into the black plastic clevises between the top rotor blades. Line the plastic extrusions on the helicopter’s flybar up with the holes in the clevis and snap it into place. Do the same with the small linkage, snap it onto one of the plastic extrusions on the top rotor blades. It doesn’t matter which side of the top rotors you attach the linkage to.

Replacing the Blade MCX RC Helicopter Top Rotors

A severe crash can crack the top rotor blades. Repairing them with tape or glue isn’t a good idea, because it causes an imbalance that makes the helicopter hard to fly. Your best bet is to simply replace them – here’s how:

1. Unscrew The Rotor Blades – Using a small Philips head screwdriver, remove the two small screws holding the top rotor blades. Be sure to set the screws where they won’t get lost or roll away.
2. Remove The Rotor Blades – The top rotor blades lock into each other, gently pull them apart and remove them.
3. Install the New Rotor Blades – At the top of the rotor shaft, you’ll see two black holes protruding outwards. Place each rotor blade (right side up) into the shaft, and snap them together. It is possible to put the rotor blades in upside down – don’t do this. Make them look the same as the bottom rotor blades.
4. Re-install the Small Screws – Using a Philips head screwdriver, replace the two small screws that you removed earlier.

Replacing the Blade MCX RC Helicopter Landing Skid

The landing skid is one of the easiest Blade MCX parts to replace. It simply pulls off from the bottom of the helicopter fuselage. You don’t always have to replace a damaged landing skid, most of the time some thick or medium CA (super glue) can fix it perfectly.

1. Remove the Rechargeable Battery – You’ll need to hold on to the battery mount to remove the skid.
2. Remove the Skid – Grab the skid by the battery mount and pull it off gently.
3. Replace the Skid – Install a new landing skid by pushing it’s two pegs (found near the battery mount) into the holes in the bottom of the fuselage.  Be sure to do this gently – don’t damage the helicopter by using too much force.

Replacing the Blade MCX Inner Shaft

The inner shaft turns the top rotor blades. After a few crashes, the rotor head / hub where the flybar connects can become bent, or the inner shaft itself can snap. If you’re in a particularly bad crash and the inner shaft breaks, here’s what to do:

1. Remove The Battery and Skid – The battery slides out, and the landing skid can be pulled off.
2. Remove The Flybar – How to do this is mentioned above.
3. Remove The Top Rotor Blades – This was also previously mentioned.
4. Remove The Bottom Gear – On the bottom of the fuselage, you’ll find two white plastic gears. Remove the bottom one by loosening the screws on the silver washer glued to it. Don’t remove the little black screws completely because they are easy to loose. Just loosen them enough to let the bottom gear slide off. Then gently pull the bottom gear downwards and clear of the inner shaft.
5. Pull Out The Old Inner Shaft – The inner shaft can now be slid out of the outer shaft by pulling it upwards.
6. Insert the New Inner Shaft – Slide the new inner shaft into the hole on the top of the outer shaft – it should drop down easily.
7. Replace The Bottom Gear – Slide the bottom gear onto the inner shaft so that it meshes nicely with the motor shaft gear. Tighten the small black screws that you loosened earlier.
8. Re-Install All The Other Parts You Removed – Add the upper rotor blades, flybar, landing skid, and battery.
9. Test it – Make sure that turning the upper rotor blades makes the lower white gear move. If it doesn’t, then the small black screws on the lower gear aren’t tightened sufficiently.

Replacing Blade MCX RC Helicopter Rubber Grommets On The Canopy

The Blade MCX canopy is held on with small black rubber grommets. These rubber grommets can sometimes fall off and get lost, but replacing them is easy – here’s how:

1. Pick Up a Grommet – Yeah, I know this one sounds obvious, but picking up the small grommets without losing them is hard. The way that works best for me is to let one sit on a table, then press a finger down on it. The grommet should stick to your finger, and you can then place it where needed.
2. Push the Grommet Onto The Blade MCX Body – Push the grommet onto the shafts in the fuselage using your finger. Doing this isn’t easy, and it may take several tries.

© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
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Criteria for applying for a SABEX award include the following:

• Potential for Market Expansion
• Projected Product Life Cycle
• Uniqueness of Product
• Development and Developmental Stages
• Product Age

We’re very proud to be honoured with this award, and will continue to strive for business excellence.

© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
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Prevent this from happening to your batteries by following these tips:

1. Store lithium polymer batteries in a flame proof LipoSack while charging. - Charging your lithium polymer batteries in a flame proof LipoSack can contain a fire should it occur. It could mean the difference between a minor clean up and the loss of your house or car. Also make sure that the storage area is well ventilated.
2. Read the manual – The importance of reading your battery and chargers manual cannot be emphasized enough. The battery manual will state the proper charging rates and times.
3. Use common sense – Don’t charge batteries unsupervised. Even when you do everything right, incidents can occur. Also, do not charge lithium polymer batteries in your car. A flame out can be disasterous if it occurs inside a vehicle.
4. Use the right battery charger – Charging a lipo battery with a charger designed for other batteries will cause problems, and will probably result in a fire.
5. Charge lithium polymer batteries on a fire proof surface – It’s really important to charge lithium polymer batteries on a flame proof surface such as concrete. In the event of a fire, a fire proof charging surface will stop it from spreading, or at least slow it down significantly.
6. Keep a fire extinguisher, or bucket of sand near the charging area – If a fire does occur, you don’t want to be running around looking for something to put it out with. Water will not help put out a lipo fire. Being a conductor, it will cause a short circuit and could even make the fire worse.
7. Don’t charge lithium polymer batteries near flammable substances – Lithium polymer batteries are flammable enough as it is. Don’t make the problem worse by storing flammable substances near charging batteries.
8. Check lithium polymer batteries for swelling prior to charging and each use – A puffed battery is unstable, and can be in danger of exploding. If you see a puffed battery, immediately disconnect it from the charger or aircraft and put it in a bucket of water. Dissolve a few tablespoons of salt in the water to aid conductivity, and leave the battery in the bucked for about 4 days. The salt water depletes any power remaining in the battery by creating a short, and it can’t catch fire while underwater. After the four days are up, take the battery out and cut off the connectors (which may come in handy for other projects). You can then dispose of the battery in the trash. The battery no longer contains toxic metals, won’t harm the environment, and by using the salt water you’ve guaranteed that it won’t catch fire. This should be done as soon as you see a puffed battery. You can’t salvage a puffed battery, the best you can do is to dispose of it safely.
9. Never charge a lithium polymer battery in a model – If you charge a lipo battery in your RC airplane or helicopter, you are risking the total loss of your model. Only charge lithium polymer batteries on a flame proof surface, in a LipoSack.
10. Make sure the charging leads are connected properly – Connecting positive to negative and negative to positive can cause a major fire.
11. Don’t overcharge batteries – By their very chemistry, lithium polymer batteries cannot be discharged to a potential of less than 3 volts without damage. For the same reason, don’t charge them to over 4.2 volts. This means that you have to land your rc aircraft before the motors stop turning. Some aircraft come equipped with a voltage cut-off, others do not. If you don’t have a voltage cut-off, then land as soon as you sense the propeller or rotors slowing down.
12. Double check that the charger settings are correct – Lithium polymer battery chargers require you to set the battery configuration. Ensure that this configuration matches the battery you’re charging, or else your lipo could get overcharged and explode. Some chargers automatically sense the battery configuration, but make sure that the setting is correct regardless. They have been known to be wrong on occasion.
13. Balance lipo batteries – Lithium polymer batteries have balance connectors, designed to make sure that each cell in the pack has the same charge. If this isn’t the case, some cells can become overcharged and explode.
14. Never let the battery leads touch – If the battery terminals touch each other, the battery will short circuit and, in most cases, be destroyed. If this happens and you get a puffed battery, dispose of it by following tip 9 above.
15. Don’t ever store / charge lithium polymer batteries in your car – Unless you hate your car. Batteries can and do explode, and if this happens inside a vehicle the result is usually catastrophic. On a hot day, temperatures can rise inside the car and cause stored packs to rupture.
16. In the event of a crash, remove the battery and supervise it for at least 4 hours – A crashed plane’s battery can appear fine, but can have an internal short circuit. This short circuit can cause an explosion, even hours after the crash occurred. A LipoSack is a great place to keep a battery that’s been in a crash. If enough time elapses and nothing happens, then your battery is probably fine. If you see puffing, dispose of it immediately following the instructions in tip 9 above.

Always use common sense, read the manual, and know the risks associated with lithium polymer batteries. Handled properly, the risk of a fire is relatively small. Store lithium polymer batteries in a LipoSack for additional saftey.

© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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1. Build An Awesome Airframe – Several users of rcgroups.com have reported that replacing a micro heli’s styrofoam airframe with cable ties works wonders for flight performance. I think the key’s in the reduced weight, letting the RC helicopter fly faster and higher. Some might prefer the original fuselages looks, others may like this minimal appearence. Make the new airframe using plastic cable ties available almost everywhere, and thick CA glue. Remove the old styrofoam fuselage with a sharp hobby knife, being careful not to damage the internal components, and then build up a new airframe with the cable ties. Here’s a picture showing one such airframe, click the image for a larger version.
2. Print a Landing Pad – This isn’t really a micro RC helicopter mod, but printing off this RC helicopter landing pad gives you a landing practice area. Landing RC on a small target can be challenging, so this makes for a great RC helicopter game.
3. Color Your RC Helicopter With Spray Paint – In most cases, micro RC helicopters are made of foam with a base color of white. You can use foam safe spray paint to give your RC helicopter a unique look. You can also use clear plastic to add a canopy.
4. Build Your Own Fuselage – Most people have a few foam dinner plates laying around, which provide the perfect material for building micro RC helicopter fuselages. Remove the original fuselage with a sharp hobby knife, and build up a new one using material from the foam plates and a foam safe CA glue. This has been done many times, with some remarkable results. Here’s one of the coolest. You can find inspiration by looking at the many mod threads on rcgroups.com and similar sites.

We hope you enjoy doing these mods. Have fun with your mini and micro RC Helicopters!

You can pick up parts and helicopters for these projects on our website.

© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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1. Keep A Few Replacement Parts Handy – Accidents happen, and waiting for replacement parts to come in the mail can be a pain. When you order a Blade MCX, also order a few of the most needed replacement parts. These include the main landing gear, stabilizer fly bar, upper main rotor blades, and inner shaft. We’ll post a detailed how to for adding replacement parts to the Blade MCX shortly.
2. Trim the Heli For Easier Flight – The Blade MCX transmitter has trim tabs that you can use to cancel out unwanted movement in flight. Apply trim by bringing the helicopter to a stationary hover, and letting go of the control sticks for a moment. Note the direction that the RC helicopter drifts in, and  press the buttons near the transmitter sticks in the opposite direction to compensate. Each trim tab corresponds to the control stick it’s placed next to. Page 15 of the manual has detailed instructions for trimming the Blade MCX.
3. Land Before LVC (Low Voltage Cut-off) – At low voltage cut-off, the RC helicopter’s red LED lights will start to blink. This means that the lipo battery is at a minimum voltage, and can’t be drained further without damage. Land immediately. Flying past LVC will damage the battery, and you’ll get shorter flight times as a result.
4. How To Fly Faster – Flying forwards using only the pitch control doesn’t make the Blade MCX go very fast. You can increase speed by increasing throttle as you pitch forward, and by flying in a gradual left or right turn.
5. Lubricate Moving Parts – If you have trouble controlling the Blade MCX, it could be because parts are not moving freely enough. Use a small amount of light lubricate on the moving parts near the rotor head to allow them to move more smoothly.
6. Replace the AA Batteries Included With The Blade MCX – The AA batteries included in the box aren’t as good as those you can get locally. They work fine in the transmitter, but they won’t charge the Blade MCX battery nearly fast enough.
7. Keep A Spare Battery Charged When Flying – Why interrupt flying to let the battery charge? If you have a spare battery for the Blade MCX, you can charge one while you use the other, reducing down time for charging.
8. Keep the Main Shaft Clean – Foreign objects, especially hair can get stuck in the Blade MCX main shaft. This will make the motors struggle, and could stop them completely. Check for hair or other objects wound around the main shaft before flying and remove any you find with a pair of tweezers.
9. Use Rechargeable Batteries in The Charger – Using rechargeable batteries in the Blade MCX battery charger will save you money.
10. Close Doors And Turn Off Fans – Closing doors and turning off fans in the flying area will reduce drafts and make flying easier. The Blade MCX was not designed to handle any wind.

© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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The Havoc Stinger is a new mini RC helicopter, based on the successful Havoc / PicooZ design. Features include:

• Available in three different colors, green/purple, yellow/orange, and blue/orange
• Powerful 50mAh 3.7V Rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery
• Charge time: 15-20 minutes
• Flight time: 5-9 minutes
• Battery charger is built into the transmitter
• Compatible with all of our mini helicopter parts

The coolest new feature is the glowing eyes and cool insect design, which are included in all three colour schemes. The mini helicopter parts are available in different colors, so you can add matching rotor blades and tail props to the Havoc Stinger.
The Havoc Stinger is for indoor flight only. You can add small amounts of weight to the nose or tail to make the Havoc Stinger move forwards or backwards more quickly.

© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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We are pleased to announce that we will be adding the amazing Blade MCX indoor micro RC helicopter to our inventory. The Blade MCX is the next step in the world of indoor RC helicopters, and has several amazing
features that set it apart from the crowd.

Blade MCX Main Features: What you Get In The Box

The Blade MCX includes everything you need to fly, right out of the box. Here’s what’s included:

• Blade MCX RTF Micro RC Helicopter
• 2.4 Ghz, DSM-2, Spread Spectrum Transmitter (Includes 4 AA Batteries)
• Portable Lipo Battery Charger (Includes 4 AA Batteries)
• 1 cell, 3.7 volt, 110 mAh lipo battery
• Small Screwdriver for Assembly
• Extra Canopy Securing Rings

Because you don’t have to purchase additional parts to fly the Blade MCX, it’s perfect for beginning pilots who are new to the hobby. The
Blade MCX is also well suited to pilots with previous RC helicopter experience, for flying indoors and during the winter months.

Helicopter Features

The most innovative feature of the Blade MCX is it’s fully proportional, four channel radio. Having four channel control means that pilots can fly the helicopter with four dimensions of freedom. Just like a large, expensive RC helicopter, the Blade MCX can fly up/down, rotate left/right, pitch forwards/backwards, and bank left/right. Having a four channel radio system lets you precisely control the Blade MCX’s movement through all three dimensions. Four channel control is nothing new to RC Helicopters, but what makes the Blade MCX special is it’s size. With a rotor diameter of 7.5 inches, and a length of 7.9 inches, it can easily fit into the palm of your hand. It is very uncommon to find RC helicopters of this size and price range with four channel control.

The Blade MCX features a coaxial rotor design. This coaxial design gives the helicopter great flight stability, and removes the need for a separate tail rotor to control yaw (rotation about the main rotor
axis). The main rotors spin in opposite directions, cancelling out any yaw caused by their rotation. Coaxial helicopters are great for flying indoors, because they are inherently stable and so can be controlled very precisely.

The Blade MCX uses a tiny 1 cell lithium polymer battery for power. Unlike most micro RC helicopters, the battery is removable and interchangeable. Each cell provides 3.7 volts of power with a capacity of 110 mAh (Milli ampere hours). You charge the battery using the included base station, which runs off four “AA” alkaline batteries. A typical charge takes about 30 minutes and provides an average flight time of 6 to 8 minutes. Because the battery is interchangeable, we recommend that you purchase an extra so that you can use one while the other is charging.

The Blade MCX uses a genuine Spektrum DS-2 type radio system. The helicopter radio is fully compatible with many other DS-2 transmitters, including the:

• Spektrum DX5e
• Spektrum DX6i
• Spektrum DX7
• JR X9303
• JR 12X

Modular radios which have Spectrum modules installed will also work with the Blade MCX. Please note that the Spektrum DX6 is not compatible.

Spread Spectrum technology greatly reduces the chance of any radio interference from other aircraft of sources. It also uses a short transmitter antenna, allowing the transmitter to fit in a small and sleek case.

Blade MCX Transmitters are all mode 2, meaning that throttle and rudder are controlled with the left stick and pitch and roll with the right. The transmitter throttle stick is not spring loaded, so it remains at the position that it was last set to. Most RC helicopter pilots prefer this, as it allows you to remove pressure on the throttle stick while hovering. The radio has a dual rate feature, which allows you to choose how fast the helicopter responds to your commands. Beginners should start with mode 1, which can be set by pressing down on the right control stick and holding until the red light starts blinking. Setting the transmitter to mode 2 is done the same way.

Weighing only 1 ounce, the blade MCX is virtually crash proof. A sudden drop from a few feet above the ground won’t damage it, and in most cases minor collisions with walls are not a problem. In the event of a crash where damage does occur, we carry a selection of the most commonly needed replacement parts. Although it is not indestructible, the Blade MCX’s durability makes it an ideal gift for anyone over 12 years of age.

If you want to get into the exciting world of RC helicopters, the Blade MXC makes a great starting place. It will teach you all the basics of RC helicopter flight, and can be used as a stepping stone to more advanced models. If you’re already an experienced RC helicopter pilot, you’ll be impressed with the Blade MCX’s control and stability. Watch our site for tutorials on the Blade MCX, including a how to for installing replacement parts.

You can check out the blade MCX on our website.

© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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Lithium polymer batteries are one of the best things that ever happened to electric RC flight.

Batteries In General – How They Work

Before taking a look at what makes lithium polymer batteries special, we need an understanding of how batteries work in general. So, whats a battery? A battery is an array of electrochemical cells, wired together in series or in parallel. Each electrochemical cell can be thought of as a device which can “pump” charge. By wiring the individual cells together, we obtain an efficient device which can move electrical current in the way we need it to. Each electrochemical cell actually consists of 2 “half-cells”. The half cells are connected by what is called a “salt-bridge”, an electrolyte which allows ions to travel through it. The cell is constructed out of materials such that electrons want to travel from one half cell to another. Eelectrons flow into the cell at the cathode (positive electrode) and flow out at the anode (negative electrode). The electrolyte permits this travel, and the net result is whats called a potential difference between the cell terminals.

Electric potential is really just a fancy word for a simple concept: the amount of energy that a certain amount of charge contains. Think of it like this: if the wires to each cell were water pipes, and the cell was a pump, the potential would be the pressure in the pipes. Potential is usually measured in a unit called the volt. One volt corresponds to one joule of energy (about the energy needed to lift an apple 3.2 feet), per 1 coulomb of charge. A coulomb is simply a number of electrons (6.241506 × 10^18), the negatively charged particles which carry current.

It’s here that we see the first important advantage that lithium polymer batteries have over other types. Each lithium polymer cell can produce up to 4.2 volts. Other battery designs, like nickle metal hydride (NiMH) and nickel cadmium (NiCd) only give a maximum of 1.2 volts. From this we can see that you need fewer lithium polymer cells than NiCd or NiMh cells to produce the same voltage.

Besides maintaining a potential difference between the positive and negative terminals, a battery also
has to be able to maintain that potential difference for a set amount of time. The reason that we have to charge batteries is that over time, each chemical cell reaches equilibrium. At equilibrium, no ions want to travel between the half cells, and so no potential difference is created. With rechargeable batteries, sending a current through the cell reverses this process, so it can be used again.

Every battery has a capacity associated with it. Capacity measures the amount of charge that the battery can provide, usually given in milliamp hours. Think of amps as measuring the rate that charge travels at. 1 Amp corrosponds to 1 coulomb of charge moving per second. Because a coulomb is such a large measure of current (comparable to that found in lightening strikes), RC aircraft batteries use milliamps (thousandths of an amp) to measure current. Because amps measure the rate of charge, multiplying the current in amps by the time the battery operates gives us the total charge that the battery can move. This is expressed as follows:

If the capacity is known, we can find the time the battery can operate by dividing by the current. From the above equation:

In summary, batteries have two primary, defining quantities. The voltage, or potential difference, measures how much energy per unit charge the battery provides. The capacity measures how much current the battery can provide, or the time that the battery can operate while a given current is being drawn.

Lithium Polymer Batteries – Some Terms Explained

There are a few naming conventions and terms that the RC community has adopted, which express the number of cells in a pack, how they are wired, and how fast the pack can be discharged. The “C” is a common unit, which tells how long it takes to discharge the battery in fractions of an hour. For example, discharging a pack at 1 C would take 1 hour, at 2 C it would take a half and hour, and so on. If we take a 3000 mAh battery and discharge it at a rate of 3000 mA, it will take 1 hour and the battery will be discharging at a rate of 1 C. You get the charge / discharge rate in C by dividing the capacity by the current.

Every lithium polymer battery consists of cells wired in series and parallel, and the number of each is specified on the pack. The naming convention looks like “XSYP” where X is the number of cells in the pack, and Y is the number wired in parallel. As an example, a 4S3P battery would have 4 cells in series, and 3 in parallel, giving 12 total.

RCToys.com has a huge selection of lithium polymer batteries, and the chargers, balancers, and power supplies needed to use them.

© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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Rotary Modeler Magazine, one of the leading magazines in the RC helicopter industry, has written a 10 page, in depth review of the Draganflyer X6 UAV. Their review covers all aspects of our latest UAV helicopter, including applications, build quality, flying characteristics, and included accessories. The X6 UAV got a rave review, with the authors citing it’s simplicity, functionality, and versatility.

One of the main points of interest that the reviewers found was our optional FLIR infrared video camera. The FLIR camera is the most sophisticated available, being able to see in the dark and spot people from a great distance. When commenting on the two available FLIR cameras, the Photon 320 and the Photon 640, the reviewers made the following comment:

“With either of these cameras, people “leap” out of the video even from great distance. As a result, these cameras are perfect for search and rescue operations and over the years have been responsible for saving many lives.”

Thermal Infrared cameras like the Photon 320 and 640 used to be large, cooled units that required a huge amount of power to operate. Now, the technology has advanced to the point that we can install and deploy a FLIR camera on a Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) such as the Draganflyer X6.

The reviewers also noticed the build quality and design simplicity of the the UAV, commenting that:

“When you remove the X-6 from the case you can immediately appreciate the simplicity of the design, making this a very robust and easy to maintain aircraft.”

In particular, the reviewers really liked the very bright OLED display screen built in to the transmitter. You can see the screen clearly, even in direct sunlight, ensuring that you don’t miss critical flight information due to glare.

All in all, the Draganflyer X6 got a fantastic review. You can read the review by picking up a copy of the May/June 2009 issue of Rotory Magazine, available from Rotary Magazine’s Web Site and most hobby stores.

© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
RSS: www.rctoys.com/pr/feed

• Clean Your Transmitter - Everyone loves the way brand new transmitters and other RC equipment looks, but after a few trips to the flying field it can accumulate dust, grass, and other debris, You can make your transmitter look like new by brushing it off with some stiff paintbrushes. Get the dirt trapped in hard to reach places using compressed air, available from most computer stores in canned form. A soft cloth and some glass cleaner solution can be used to wipe off any displays.
• Secure an Antenna – Many RC model airplanes have long wire antennas, which need to be fixed to the fuselage to prevent them from dangling in the wind. Make a secure and adjustable attachment by taking a short (~1 inch) length of fuel tubing, and passing the wire through. Then push a small pinhead into the fuel tubing so that the wire can’t fall out easily. You can then glue the fuel tubing onto your airplanes fuselage wherever it’s convenient. Tighten the antenna by gently pullign on the end.
• Safe Storage for Wings and Fuselages – Keeping RC model airplane wings and fuselages out of harms way can be a hassle. Many hardware stores sell portable shelving units, which you can use to safely store your RC model airplanes. Install the shelves on a wall, but leave off the solid wood planks that create a surface. What you will be left with is a series of protruding beams, that you can set RC model airplane wings and fuselages on. The shelves let you stack several aircraft on top of each other for efficient storage.
• Securing Screws with Silicon – Ordinary silicon gel can be used to prevent screws from vibrating loose. As an added bonus, you can peel the silicon off easily when you need to undo the screw.
• Prevent Parts from Rolling Away  – You can prevent small screws and other metal parts from rolling off your workbench by taking any large, flat container and gluing some magnetic strip material to the bottom. Metal parts will stick to the magnet and will not be able to roll away.
• Remove Thread Lock Compound – Thread locking compounds are great for preventing parts from vibrating loose in flight, but removing screws secured with thread lock compound  can be a pain. Avoid stripping screw heads by first touching a hot soldering iron to the screw for a few moments. The heat will melt the thread lock compound, allowing the screw to come loose easily.
• Cheap Wingtip Protectors – Model airplane wingtips can get scuffed on grass and pavement runways. Prevent this by adding small strips of plastic, obtained from soda bottles. The plastic can be attached using glue or small wood screws.
• Secure Servo Leads – Having a servo lead come off in flight can be disasterous. Prevent this by tying the servo cable in a loose knot after you plug in the leads. This will prevent the cable from coming loose in flight, and removing them is a snap.
• Avoid Pulling The Connectors Off Servos – Pulling the wire off a servo connector is annoying. Prevent this by bending in the ends of ordinary tweezers, to make a tool that can grab on and pull of a servo lead. The bent ends can grab right on to a stubborn connector.

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© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (PRWEB) March 26, 2009 — From the pages of Popular Science Magazine’s “Top 100 Innovations of the Year“, Draganfly Innovations’ Draganflyer X6 UAV RC Helicopter has made the significant leap to commercial utilization.

The six-rotor, one kilogram, electric, VTOL, UAV helicopter designed for aerial photography and videography was used by the Forensic Identification Unit of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) on February 21, 2009 to collect evidence in a homicide investigation in a remote area outside of Kenora, Ontario, Canada. This represented the first operational mission of a federally approved, commercially produced Unmanned Aerial Vehicle by an emergency service in North America.

Then, in March, 2009, the Saskatoon Police Service announced that it will follow suit, becoming the first urban police service in North America to utilize the Draganflyer X6 Police UAV for aerial forensic purposes within city limits.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles such as Draganfly’s Draganflyer X6 helicopter are subject to Transport Canada aviation regulations. Prior to the Saskatoon Police Service being able to test the Draganflyer X6, Transport Canada officials were in Saskatoon for a flight demonstration, to undertake their standard risk assessment testing, and discuss technical issues with Draganfly Innovations.

Under the Special Flight Operations Certificate granted by Transport Canada, Draganfly Innovations personnel will operate the Draganflyer X6 Police UAV Helicopter while Saskatoon Police Service personnel will operate the cameras used for forensic support.

The use of UAVs goes back to the 1950’s with the military, but only recently has it evolved into police applications. One of the innovators was Identification Constable Marc Sharpe of the Kenora Identification Services unit of the Ontario Provincial Police.

The Ontario Provincial Police's Draganflyer X6 UAV helicopter captures high resolution aerial photographs of major case scenes. The Draganflyer X6's onboard camera has remote controlled zoom, tilt and shutter. Typically, one police officer controls the UAV and another operates the camera controls.

“Having used a fixed wing UAV since 2007, I could see the potential for great benefits to our forensic support operations. It gave us the ability to collect aerial evidence quickly and at minimum cost,” states Sharpe. “However, it also became apparent that in order to improve and expand operational effectiveness, an optimal UAV would need certain attributes. It would need to be small and light, have Vertical Take Off and Landing VTOL capabilities, have a GPS hold system while hovering, be constructed of exceptionally strong materials and be completely transportable.”

The Draganflyer X6 met all Sharpe’s requirements for a Police VTOL UAV. Sharpe continued, “The Draganflyer X6 enables us to economically obtain high quality aerial photos of major case scenes in a timely fashion.”

About Draganfly Innovations Inc.:
Draganfly Innovations Inc. has been manufacturing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles including radio controlled helicopters, airplanes, and airships for the past eleven years. From toys to industrial tools for police and military, Draganfly Innovations Inc. strives for optimum performance and ease of use. Draganfly’s innovative products have been featured on CNN Headline News, MSNBC, Discovery Channel, and in magazines and newspapers such as Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Gizmodo.com, WIRED, GQ, Stuff, Maxim, The New York Times, and The London Times. All Draganflyer helicopters, including the new Draganflyer X6 are exclusively available from Draganfly Innovations Inc.

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© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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