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WowWee/FlyTech DragonFly Review

Up-close view of the DragonFly
Above-view of full DragonFly
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The FlyTech DragonFly is a flying remote control (R/C) that flaps its wings to fly -- it's unlike anything I've ever seen. The day that I saw the DragonFly in a NY Times article, I couldn't help but buy one. The RadioShack.com website said they had them. I tried a local store and they didn't have a clue of what I was talking about, much less having one. I ordered the DragonFly online and saved money on the shipping by having it delivered to a local store. Kudos to you, RadioShack, for offering this "Ship-to-Store" option.

Table of Contents

Review at a Glance

On floor with wings flapping
Plain and simple - the DragonFly is fun. It's difficult to fly, well - that's not quite right. It's difficult to fly for long. But, the bright side - it handles crashes well. And, because it's so unique - the poor guy whose table I dropped it onto just laughed and handed it back to me.

Price and Purchase

Hand-launch of DragonFly
I purchased mine for $49.99 from RadioShack.com. I tried checking stock at some of the stores that are local to me, but none of them had it. It seems that the Picco Z helicopters share the same successful fate. Or, this is just too new to be at the stores. I ordered the DragonFly on the 8th and it arrived in the store on the 13th. Overall, I think the DragonFly is well-priced (and after playing with it for a while, well worth it).

Packaging

Box that the DragonFly came in
With a 3 year old daughter, I fully believe that toy packaging is the spawn of the devil - meant to drive us to hate our toys long before we ever get to play with them. That said, the DragonFly was a breath of fresh air - an appropriate amount of tape, 2 twisties, the absence of melted plastic and a very quick short time later, I had the DragonFly out of the box and on the table. Kudos to WowWee for taking considering my health and well-being in the packaging. The dimensions for the box are approximately 15" square by 5-6" deep.

Out of the Box & Assembly

Controller
For those who have experienced R/C aircraft before know that even the "ready to run" stuff requires assembly - be it wings, or whatnot. The DragonFly itself comes fully assembled. You have to screw in the antenna for the controller and put batteries into it. That's it. Voila - done. A quick note, of course I brought it into work for my first assembly, locating a screw driver for the battery compartment was a minor challenge until I found that a pair of scissors worked for the screw.

In DragonFly's the box, I found:
  • DragonFly bug-body
  • Controller
  • User manual (really just a multi-page pamphlet, but it says everything it needs to)
  • Spare propeller (good luck not losing it!)
  • Spare wings
  • Tail ribbon

Batteries and Charging

Controller with cord compartment open
DragonFly sitting on controller
Up-close view of DragonFly sitting on controller
View of cord connection for DragonFly charger
I was a bit surprised to find that the DragonFly bug-body itself didn't have any changeable batters in it - all six (6) batteries were stored in the controller. To charge the DragonFly, you open a compartment on the controller, hookup a wire to the bug's butt and turn both on. The charging indicator was a slow pulsing of LEDs in the bug's eyes. The first charge took 20 to 25 minutes and then we were ready to fly.

First Fly

In-flight picture
In-flight picture
In-flight picture
In-flight picture
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I know that I bought a remote controlled flyer that flaps its wings to fly. Really, I do. But, to see it in person was oh-so-cool. You can't help but think, "Man, it really is flying by flapping its wings." The controller has two (2) settings, "Beginner" and "Expert" which effect how sensitive the DragonFly is when turning. The tail ribbon is offered for beginners to help slow down the DragonFly - I didn't try it, if I'm going to crash, I want it to be a grand crash. And, I did - crash, crash, crash.

I took the DragonFly to the public Atrium of my workplace's building as WowWee suggests and indoor area of 16' x 16'. And, I figured a cubicle farm wasn't the best idea. Of course, in the Atrium, I was on public display for my first flights. The very first flight was probably 10 seconds - at which time, I was afraid of trying to steer.

My second and subsequent flights were in varying levels of success. Probably the most fun crash was that I landed on a table for where two gentlemen were eating their lunch. The one guy found it a lot funnier than the other, but it wasn't his soup that had a flying remote control that almost landed in.

For flying tips and tricks - visit our forums.

How it Works

Up-close view of propeller and wire protector
It's obvious that it flaps wings to become airborne. But, I was really interested in how does it steer. At the end of the tail is a small propeller that spins at an amazing speed - to change the DragonFly's direction, it rotates in clockwise or counter-clockwise directions. The two (2) settings on the controller affect the rate of speed of propeller - beginner spins slower, expert spins faster. A small wire protects the propeller during crashes. I didn't fiddle with it, but the user manual says that you can "set the trim" - which spins up the propeller so that it's always flying in one direction or the other.

Checkout an extreme view of how the DragonFly works, check out the insides - gears, electronics and all!

Closing Remarks

In-flight picture
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For the price point of "less than" $50, it is fun. In my subsequent charges of the battery and additional flights, I've gotten a little better at flying it. I'm not great, but I can fly it and control it somewhat. I'd say go ahead and get one.

At last check, Google had a lot of information on the DragonFly - go see what they've got:

Google

Now is a great time to visit our forums and see what people are saying!

Or! if you have one, upload a photo or two of your DragonFly!

Other WowWee/FlyTech DragonFly Reviews

Have you reviewed the FlyTech Dragonfly? If so, e-mail me.