Thank you for sharing! I haven't come across a "perfect" RC airplane yet, DRACO included, but I think it's pretty good overall :) Do have a few thoughts of my own based on your video: The stock motor/power system delivers more than a 1:1 thrust to weight ratio when using a good 6S battery...I can hover it then punch the power and climb out vertically, plus it has pretty much unlimited vertical (not fast, but it keeps "clawing" vertically...which is about the same power to weight ratio the CZ Cub and Cessna have). That's way more power than the full-scale aircraft has! You may personally want more power than that, but it doesn't really need more power. Also, CG is personal preference more than anything else...all manuals give a starting point, and everyone should adjust from there based on their flying style, preferred capabilities/performance, etc. The only time CG is "wrong" is if it's so far back the airplane can't fly :)
100% agree. There is no perfect craft. Everyone has different wants and a different thought on what a perfect craft is. I think they did a great job for first production. A variable pitch prop would have made a huge difference or a slightly higher kv motor. The gear could use a cross brace. Kills the scale to the original but would solve the landing gear problem. I figure they will come out with upgrades or a version 2. I am going to put a oil filled shock on mine.
Totally agree with you about the landing gear issues and bounce landings . Will try adjusting the cog rearward. Draco bind and fly is currently $1700 New Zealand with the current exchange rate.
Good on you Jeff, your review is very balanced and unbiased. There has been so much hype about this model I think a lot got caught up in the fanfare that went with it. For me it shows the difficulties in following such a scale brief when in reality models can be so different. Credit where due though, it is a break though model and will be staying in my fleet for a very long time( I bought heaps of spares!) Things I would improve in addition to those already mentioned; 1.Horizontal stab connection strength to fuselage 2. Beefier carbon legs or different composite metal mix on the legs (see Brendan McCormacks mods) with stronger pivot points 3.Reinforced access cowl liner like HH are doing on other models 4. Greater strength in the wing deck area forward window pillar You are spot on with the engine output and I went back and re calibrated mine as it feels doughy on go arounds. Keep up the great open and constructive reviews.
Those are some great additions to this discussion! I forgot to mention the wobbly horizontal stab and the weak hinges, everyone should reinforce the stab hinges and shim it to stop the side play!
I think this is a pretty fair and honest assessment to this plane. I've yet to maiden mine, but we have an excellent RC pilot in our club (he's a scale pilot too) who struggled a bit with this Draco. He ended up programming zero AS3X and ditching the HH model download in his transmitter in order to get better flight characteristics out of it. He did not like the aileron/rudder mixing they had. And he's offered up his Draco for sale...hmm! I'm currently flying the new TT EVO (or the Poor Man's Draco as I call it) and love how easy it is to fly. I will maiden my Draco soon, but I'm planning on it being a bit more of a handful. Thanks for this review.
I don''t own Draco but from what I have seen in the many videos I have watched (and when youve been flying a while they do give you a fair idea) I would say the TT Evo is actually the better flyer however..... I do realise the Timber range were not subject to the same design constraints that producing a scale aircraft brings.
@@jjs3287 Well, I've flown my Draco 30-40 times now. It has presence in that air for sure. I've not found the sweet spot for flying it yet, even after trying some of Jeff's CG ideas. It's not really a fun flier for me...yet. I've made some improvements with the landing after changing to the Kavan 5" air tires AND changing to softer springs in 2 of the 4 shocks (1 on each side). More give, less bounce.
I could test the Drago in original setup from a friend. I had from about 20 Landings some realy good Tuch-and-Goes with rolling 2 sec on the ground before the plane got airborne again. I recomend, there are 2 different kind of Landing aproaches: 1) bring in the plane with full Flaps and a generous Alpha (angle of attack) and you will create a kind of tree-point-landing; just engage the right amount of not to much thrust. - find out. 2) come in like a Jet, keep the Elevator fixed with a smal pos input. Level the sinkrate just alone by controlling the power. Exact at the moment of tuching the ground give a neg Elevator input. This will prevent from nicking the Wings to a higher angle of attack and going unexpected up to the air and becomes dancing (like the sabre?). - it works fine
I agree with your assessment. A lot of it is because the plane was designed from the detail digital measuerments from Mikes plane and it is not Mike's plane of course and there should have been more attention this being a RC plane. I would hope that Horizon takes all of these suggestions and provide solutions to all of those that have spend big bucks for this plane. I also still wish they would make a smaller version of this plane that would be cheaper and not so big as this plane is huge! Great video!
Nice review my friend ! Happy to find this video ! I look so much videos about this plane, after that I said to my self, um not sure ? Look very Nice but ????? So thank's to share this honest review ! 💙👍
Nice review... I am on the cusp of buying but will hold off a little. I also see that zig zag tape on the outer wing portions, beyond the slats, will help prevent that nasty wing drop. But yep that bounce on landing is very evident on all the reviews I have seen and a STOL aircraft should not have this gotcha.
Just this weekend I started playing with adding weight to the rear of the airplane and adding different tires… The airplane itself is amazingly well behaved and flies so much better… Video to come soon
Thanks Jeff, another of many videos I watched to find out some of the special problems, even before I fly my beautiful Draco. Like, the C.G. and also reinforcing the landing gear, and using rubbery type wheels to keep it from digging in at landing with these really cheap foam tires. Also, I attached some small strings and shrink tube to the nasty wing-attachement plastic "bolts", they do not fit well and are difficult to remove. That's where some HH engineers really made a bad design. Here, a correction about the KV on motors: 99 % of R/C pilots think that the higher the "KV" is, the more power it has. That is not correct, small ones have a higher KV, and bigger ones, much lower. Has to do with the electrical wire coils. Check for example a Eflite 32 motor, and look at a smaller one ! Anyways, I have plenty different models, and the Night Timber is always in the car, was designed by the same engineer like he did the Draco, so much fun to fly. One note... fly it like Mike Patey's fantastic DRACO bush plane, please, no 3 D stuff, absolutely silly. Now waiting for our heat wave to end, not going flying when it's 34° in Switzerland. Happy landings to all 🙂
I got one when they first came out. The first day I flew it landings were great. The next time I went out it was really windy and 90 degrees cross wind. On one landing I got blown off the left edge of our paved runway, caught the left wheel in a hole and flipped the plane over resulting in minor damage. After that I had an absolutely horrible time keeping the thing straight on landing - it almost always went off left or right. I have been flying RC for 55 years and fly pretty much nothing but tail draggers so I kinda know how to land them. To make a long story short, I discovered that the carbon fiber on the left landing gear knee had cracked and compressed on that bad landing and the the trailing leg of the left gear could move latterly resulting in these unwanted excursions off into the weeds. You couldn't see the damage unless you disassembled the gear. When I found that problem I used CA to reinforce the carbon fiber and replaced the stock washers at the knee with larger ones to distribute the load over a larger area - IMHO the washers were too small in the first place. I did this on both sides and that solved my tracking issue. I would not be a bit surprised that there are many Dracos with that same problem as you don't really notice the effect so much when flying off grass. Wilga walk (the tendency to bounce from side to side if one wheel touches down first) IS a real thing. The stock spring loaded "shock absorbers" accentuate that characteristic. I replaced the stock "shocks" with oil filled shocks made for an RC car. I had to fabricate some different brackets, but now I have real shock absorbers instead of silly springs. If you recall, Mike had issues with his original landing gear design on the real Draco and had to go with that twin shock layout. So, it's not a surprise that the model has some similar issues. I consider the landing gear tweaks to be just another scale feature of the Efllite Draco. 😃
@@7demo7review Sorry to hear that. I had a lockout that crashed my B-17 years ago. That was using one of the early Spektrum systems. I have not had any issues with the newer receivers.
Thank you for the unbiased review.It's obvious you aren't selling anything. I'm just a year back into flying after a long hiatus.I started with a Aero sport, then an Eflight Trojan which I was doing very well with until last weekend when the wing came off mid flight. There was no glue present on either mounting points. So I'm shopping for my next plane. Almost bought a Valiant.....thought it might be too easy and not progressing myself. My wife was with and liked the Draco and talked me into it{ I have a hard time spending that much knowing how fast it can become a pile of sticks} SO let me ask your opinion, Where would I go next? I'm looking for an easy flyer for when I just want to go burn thru a few batteries at a spot near my house. I now think after watching enough videos that a STOL may get boring quickly. I'm really more of a War Bird fan. I'm probably going to return the Draco. FMS just came out with a 1400mm T-28. Or the Eflight Focke Wolf. Any input would be appreciated.
The larger Trojan will fly even better- the FW190 will be a good next plane. I’ve been playing with the cg on the Draco and it’s flying better and batter each session- video to come, however it’s not a beginning/intermediate plane. Thing like snap stalls can happen - then you would have a pile of disappoint. Maybe put it on a shelf as a goal plane. Thanks for watching, and stay tuned for the next Draco tuning video, the tweaks I’ve made have changed what I think of it. It’s truly a joy to fly now
Great video, Jeff. Nothing more refreshing than non biased content. I'm a firm believer that if you're paying these prices, the plane should fly and land 100 times without any problems whatsoever provided you don't bash it into the ground. Some of the best planes released are simple by design and don't push the envelope too much. When you add springs, retracts and all sorts of extra bits and bobs that have the potential to break, they will. After flying the few planes I've bought, probably the best one has been the fms SuperEz. Takes off from thick grass, flies well slowly, can mount a gopro, can fly on 3s or 4s and maneuvers bloody well. Can even take EDFs on the wing. Ha.
wilgas of any scale are not beginner airframes, needs a lot of rudder in turns and on landing . you must land straight or you will get the dreaded wilga wobble. true with large scale versions even with gas shocks and the full scale. it has relatively tall narrow gear which makes it a little tricky in cross winds. Horizon enlarged the tail surfaces significantly to aid in stable flight, so not true to scale as you intimated.
While I agree that modifying a model to make it fly/taxi better can be a fun challenge. That’s expected when buying a cheap plane. With the price and hype surrounding the Draco, people would hope they buying getting a product that doesn’t have problems.
There is a "fix" for the twisting in the landing gear. You can find it on "Just Plane Crazy" channel. It looks like he spent some time engineering it and it's unnoticeable.
Hello I will have soon one Draco BNF and I need some help. 1) I fly with Futaba transmitter. Can I remove Spectrum receiver and put Futaba? 2) What functions will I lose by using Futaba transmission? I like reverse thrust. 3) Spectrum DX7 is oK for this pkane?
Nice collection of models in the background. I personally have over 500 R/C planes in my collection. The latest addition to the Squadron is the DRACO. The first thing that i did after assembly , was to Cut that Odd looking pilot out . I know he designed it, but just could not handle it. Sorry Mike. Looking forward to it's Maiden flight. Weather dependent.
Great review Jeff, I totally agree. Currently it is THE guest(and wife😎) favorite, now permanently hanging in our Living Room Ceiling collection of retired planes. Love Mike Patey❤️ He cad designs/fabricates big 1:1 scale planes that No business model supports😎.
Often seen the Draco praised by individuals that have minimal flying experience. Their criteria may satisfy them but overlooks the short comings. A model that is a STOL design but has issues with STOL is not that surprising. The hype associated with any model should alert a discerning flyer that their purchased product may not deliver what they want.
I have always hated paying a lot for a RC plane and then have to fix a bad design. I would like to hear Eflite address some of the items you brought up just to give them an opportunity to remark on their design. I still fly their first Carbon Z and it's a good plane...except the landing gear! Thanks for your overview.
Love your videos. Very informative and unbiased. Also if you think of a pencil on the edge of a table you can easily break it. That's the way I feel about the wing spar where it goes into the fuselage.
My tail wheel broke on the first flight. I don't know why the shaft isn't metal. I also think the tabs that the wings attach to should have been one piece CF or aluminum.
I can't see myself paying nearly 1,000 thousand dollars for a foam airplane, even if it's painted. I fly giant civilian scale and I didn't pay 1K for my 82 inch wingspan Cessna 182 and it's scale as ever.
Hi Jeff. Thank you for this review; it is actually summarizing my own opinion about this plane. Adding: 1. Model spec is based on Spectrum transmitter; I had to invest even mote to have revers function on Frsky, 2. Cabling is based on Y connections; specially if you like seperated ailerons and pair them (as in real plane) with deployed flaps you need to make some devastation. Ahhh 3.Yes there is light system, but why it is not blinking like real plane? Watch Oshkosh landings of real Draco - why it is different? You are mentioning engine; is this engine or prop problem? I'm plnnig some tests with Ramoser prop where I can change pitch - maybe this will give some hint. One more time thx for review and have a lot of fun flying.
when the designer/pilot screws up and crashes what else can one expect IF you dont fly it right,,, it aint for jet flight, stunts, it is for fun flying and STOL as it was designed,, i guess you cant please all pilots with just one type plane,, LOVE MINE
Anyone got any ideas for wing panels that won't plug in all the way? I just got mine and built it up to the point of trying to install the wings. They won't push into the fuselage enough to align the twist lock things. I've pushed as hard as I dare and it's not the because the carbon tube is too long. I can't even get one side on at first. Very frustrating.
Wow, I’m making a video where I change the front wheels to 5” Kavan’s- huge difference also I added weight to te tail to move the cg back a bit- it really makes the plane fly better
It needs a stronger elevator servo!! IF u get in a high speed dive and need to pull up, the servo isn't strong enough and will not allow it to give full travel. I've been flying for over 20 years and put one in the dirt in a bad way due to this.... Very disappointed something so cheap to simple cost me $600
This comment is very interesting to me as I also had mine go in from a dive that I couldn't pull out of. I thought it was a horn failure. I loved my Draco, I missed it so much. I have been flying for forty years and it was a plane that really appealed to me. Months after looking at the wreckage if the corner of my shop, I couldn't take it anymore and I bought a second plane from the latest batch release. Haven't even opened the box yet. I also agree with all the reviewers comments.
Landing gear,. Just a thought,. Look at some RC crawler shocks,. There seems to be some pretty good ones out there. Just a thought,. I've not one to Look at to tell for sure
@@7demo7review for sure my man. Love your content,. So willing to share the very little I know where I can,. Hello from little New Zealand my man. Just re-entered the hobby after a 30year break. Flying a VQ Monaro arf,. With my old ASP91FS that I kept back when I left. High wing aileron sport/trainer. The new tech out there,. Opentx, feedback telematry. Wow. The hobby has grown so much from the old Wip airials and 45mhz. Lol
@@7demo7review well. Yes,. But thinking back to the 90's when I last flew,. 600 for a trans,. 100 per servo,. Now days with the internet can get things here from overseas,. At a way better quality, more options, and a lot cheaper. So I agree,. Prices are rising,. But in comparison to what I'm remembering as a teenager, young adult,. The price and quality and range available is pretty Dame good now days.
well , first take off , snapped and stalled it on takeoff, broke the gear, liked your opinions did ring true ,,,,,,from my experience would like a stronger gear, like metal gear ,,,,, by the way did like your video
Well, might as well add my ³/4 of a cent worth of 2 cents. Glad to see a non schill review this plane. I knew this thing wasn't perfect. This plane reminds me of a dragster. It does one thing and does it well. Anyone hoping to do stunt flying with it will probably be disappointed. I'll never own one because of my biden induced budget, but none the less, I would own one as an icon model, and not a serious plane. I've never trusted eflite after I bought 5 of their batteries and 2 were bad from the start. Their planes always just looked 2nd rate, but that's just me. Anyway, thanks for the honest review.
Looks very nice but is way overpriced and somewhat disappointing to fly from all the reviews I've seen. Just get one of the TurboTimberplanes and do anything you want.
Wow. I’m flying 7000 smart packs. I can do pretty much all you said it can’t do. Hmmm. I’m not the best flier. As far as I’m concerned it’s a very fun airplane
I hope this airplane isn't as tricky to fly as Jeff makes it seem. So many other reviews praise it for how easy it is to fly, how much power it has, how easily it lands, etc. I guess I'll find out since my Draco arrives today. I live in Spanish Fork, UT and, if I can't figure it out, I guess I can take the five minute drive over to Mike Patey's hangar at the Woodhouse airport and ask him. I was just there and saw his Draco (model, obviously) at our local airshow weekend before last. LOL
Thank you for sharing! I haven't come across a "perfect" RC airplane yet, DRACO included, but I think it's pretty good overall :) Do have a few thoughts of my own based on your video: The stock motor/power system delivers more than a 1:1 thrust to weight ratio when using a good 6S battery...I can hover it then punch the power and climb out vertically, plus it has pretty much unlimited vertical (not fast, but it keeps "clawing" vertically...which is about the same power to weight ratio the CZ Cub and Cessna have). That's way more power than the full-scale aircraft has! You may personally want more power than that, but it doesn't really need more power. Also, CG is personal preference more than anything else...all manuals give a starting point, and everyone should adjust from there based on their flying style, preferred capabilities/performance, etc. The only time CG is "wrong" is if it's so far back the airplane can't fly :)
It does have decent power! I think my desire for more is more personal preference.
Question Jason, is the power most scale on a 5 cell battery? I want one so bad and I have a 5 cell 5000mah Onyx battery.
100% agree. There is no perfect craft. Everyone has different wants and a different thought on what a perfect craft is. I think they did a great job for first production. A variable pitch prop would have made a huge difference or a slightly higher kv motor. The gear could use a cross brace. Kills the scale to the original but would solve the landing gear problem.
I figure they will come out with upgrades or a version 2. I am going to put a oil filled shock on mine.
Totally agree with you about the landing gear issues and bounce landings . Will try adjusting the cog rearward. Draco bind and fly is currently $1700 New Zealand with the current exchange rate.
Good on you Jeff, your review is very balanced and unbiased. There has been so much hype about this model I think a lot got caught up in the fanfare that went with it. For me it shows the difficulties in following such a scale brief when in reality models can be so different. Credit where due though, it is a break though model and will be staying in my fleet for a very long time( I bought heaps of spares!) Things I would improve in addition to those already mentioned;
1.Horizontal stab connection strength to fuselage
2. Beefier carbon legs or different composite metal mix on the legs (see Brendan McCormacks mods) with stronger pivot points
3.Reinforced access cowl liner like HH are doing on other models
4. Greater strength in the wing deck area forward window pillar
You are spot on with the engine output and I went back and re calibrated mine as it feels doughy on go arounds. Keep up the great open and constructive reviews.
Those are some great additions to this discussion! I forgot to mention the wobbly horizontal stab and the weak hinges, everyone should reinforce the stab hinges and shim it to stop the side play!
I think this is a pretty fair and honest assessment to this plane. I've yet to maiden mine, but we have an excellent RC pilot in our club (he's a scale pilot too) who struggled a bit with this Draco. He ended up programming zero AS3X and ditching the HH model download in his transmitter in order to get better flight characteristics out of it. He did not like the aileron/rudder mixing they had. And he's offered up his Draco for sale...hmm!
I'm currently flying the new TT EVO (or the Poor Man's Draco as I call it) and love how easy it is to fly. I will maiden my Draco soon, but I'm planning on it being a bit more of a handful. Thanks for this review.
It is a stunning plane,,, not tooo much of a handful- until it is, tip stalls and funky landing…
I don''t own Draco but from what I have seen in the many videos I have watched (and when youve been flying a while they do give you a fair idea) I would say the TT Evo is actually the better flyer however..... I do realise the Timber range were not subject to the same design constraints that producing a scale aircraft brings.
Check out my video on tuning cg- I wakes this plane up!
@@jjs3287 Well, I've flown my Draco 30-40 times now. It has presence in that air for sure. I've not found the sweet spot for flying it yet, even after trying some of Jeff's CG ideas. It's not really a fun flier for me...yet. I've made some improvements with the landing after changing to the Kavan 5" air tires AND changing to softer springs in 2 of the 4 shocks (1 on each side). More give, less bounce.
I could test the Drago in original setup from a friend. I had from about 20 Landings some realy good Tuch-and-Goes with rolling 2 sec on the ground before the plane got airborne again.
I recomend, there are 2 different kind of Landing aproaches:
1) bring in the plane with full Flaps and a generous Alpha (angle of attack) and you will create a kind of tree-point-landing; just engage the right amount of not to much thrust. - find out.
2) come in like a Jet, keep the Elevator fixed with a smal pos input. Level the sinkrate just alone by controlling the power. Exact at the moment of tuching the ground give a neg Elevator input. This will prevent from nicking the Wings to a higher angle of attack and going unexpected up to the air and becomes dancing (like the sabre?). - it works fine
I agree with your assessment. A lot of it is because the plane was designed from the detail digital measuerments from Mikes plane and it is not Mike's plane of course and there should have been more attention this being a RC plane. I would hope that Horizon takes all of these suggestions and provide solutions to all of those that have spend big bucks for this plane. I also still wish they would make a smaller version of this plane that would be cheaper and not so big as this plane is huge! Great video!
Nice review my friend ! Happy to find this video ! I look so much videos about this plane, after that I said to my self, um not sure ? Look very Nice but ????? So thank's to share this honest review ! 💙👍
Check out my video about adjusting the CG rearward- it makes this plane a joy to fly
Nice review... I am on the cusp of buying but will hold off a little. I also see that zig zag tape on the outer wing portions, beyond the slats, will help prevent that nasty wing drop. But yep that bounce on landing is very evident on all the reviews I have seen and a STOL aircraft should not have this gotcha.
Just this weekend I started playing with adding weight to the rear of the airplane and adding different tires… The airplane itself is amazingly well behaved and flies so much better… Video to come soon
Thanks Jeff, another of many videos I watched to find out some of the special problems, even before I fly my beautiful Draco. Like, the C.G. and also reinforcing the landing gear, and using rubbery type wheels to keep it from digging in at landing with these really cheap foam tires.
Also, I attached some small strings and shrink tube to the nasty wing-attachement plastic "bolts", they do not fit well and are difficult to remove.
That's where some HH engineers really made a bad design.
Here, a correction about the KV on motors: 99 % of R/C pilots think that the higher the "KV" is, the more power it has. That is not correct, small ones have a higher KV, and bigger ones, much lower. Has to do with the electrical wire coils. Check for example a Eflite 32 motor, and look at a smaller one !
Anyways, I have plenty different models, and the Night Timber is always in the car, was designed by the same engineer like he did the Draco, so much fun to fly.
One note... fly it like Mike Patey's fantastic DRACO bush plane, please, no 3 D stuff, absolutely silly.
Now waiting for our heat wave to end, not going flying when it's 34° in Switzerland.
Happy landings to all 🙂
I added the landing gear braces from Just Plane Crazy and have not had any further issues
I got one when they first came out. The first day I flew it landings were great. The next time I went out it was really windy and 90 degrees cross wind. On one landing I got blown off the left edge of our paved runway, caught the left wheel in a hole and flipped the plane over resulting in minor damage.
After that I had an absolutely horrible time keeping the thing straight on landing - it almost always went off left or right. I have been flying RC for 55 years and fly pretty much nothing but tail draggers so I kinda know how to land them. To make a long story short, I discovered that the carbon fiber on the left landing gear knee had cracked and compressed on that bad landing and the the trailing leg of the left gear could move latterly resulting in these unwanted excursions off into the weeds. You couldn't see the damage unless you disassembled the gear.
When I found that problem I used CA to reinforce the carbon fiber and replaced the stock washers at the knee with larger ones to distribute the load over a larger area - IMHO the washers were too small in the first place. I did this on both sides and that solved my tracking issue. I would not be a bit surprised that there are many Dracos with that same problem as you don't really notice the effect so much when flying off grass.
Wilga walk (the tendency to bounce from side to side if one wheel touches down first) IS a real thing. The stock spring loaded "shock absorbers" accentuate that characteristic. I replaced the stock "shocks" with oil filled shocks made for an RC car. I had to fabricate some different brackets, but now I have real shock absorbers instead of silly springs.
If you recall, Mike had issues with his original landing gear design on the real Draco and had to go with that twin shock layout. So, it's not a surprise that the model has some similar issues. I consider the landing gear tweaks to be just another scale feature of the Efllite Draco. 😃
Thanks for the insight. Unfortunately mine had a radio lockout and it went straight in- total loss- I’ve been keeping an eye out for a used one..
@@7demo7review Sorry to hear that. I had a lockout that crashed my B-17 years ago. That was using one of the early Spektrum systems. I have not had any issues with the newer receivers.
Just plane crazy made metal braces you can mount to the carbon fiber
Thank you for the unbiased review.It's obvious you aren't selling anything. I'm just a year back into flying after a long hiatus.I started with a Aero sport, then an Eflight Trojan which I was doing very well with until last weekend when the wing came off mid flight. There was no glue present on either mounting points. So I'm shopping for my next plane. Almost bought a Valiant.....thought it might be too easy and not progressing myself. My wife was with and liked the Draco and talked me into it{ I have a hard time spending that much knowing how fast it can become a pile of sticks} SO let me ask your opinion, Where would I go next?
I'm looking for an easy flyer for when I just want to go burn thru a few batteries at a spot near my house. I now think after watching enough videos that a STOL may get boring quickly. I'm really more of a War Bird fan. I'm probably going to return the Draco. FMS just came out with a 1400mm T-28. Or the Eflight Focke Wolf. Any input would be appreciated.
The larger Trojan will fly even better- the FW190 will be a good next plane. I’ve been playing with the cg on the Draco and it’s flying better and batter each session- video to come, however it’s not a beginning/intermediate plane. Thing like snap stalls can happen - then you would have a pile of disappoint. Maybe put it on a shelf as a goal plane. Thanks for watching, and stay tuned for the next Draco tuning video, the tweaks I’ve made have changed what I think of it. It’s truly a joy to fly now
Great video, Jeff. Nothing more refreshing than non biased content. I'm a firm believer that if you're paying these prices, the plane should fly and land 100 times without any problems whatsoever provided you don't bash it into the ground.
Some of the best planes released are simple by design and don't push the envelope too much. When you add springs, retracts and all sorts of extra bits and bobs that have the potential to break, they will.
After flying the few planes I've bought, probably the best one has been the fms SuperEz. Takes off from thick grass, flies well slowly, can mount a gopro, can fly on 3s or 4s and maneuvers bloody well.
Can even take EDFs on the wing. Ha.
wilgas of any scale are not beginner airframes, needs a lot of rudder in turns and on landing . you must land straight or you will get the dreaded wilga wobble. true with large scale versions even with gas shocks and the full scale. it has relatively tall narrow gear which makes it a little tricky in cross winds. Horizon enlarged the tail surfaces significantly to aid in stable flight, so not true to scale as you intimated.
Nice review. Most people don't know what a Wilga is. Glad I bought an FMS Beaver with money still in my pocket. ;)
What is the back ground sound it ride over you
While I agree that modifying a model to make it fly/taxi better can be a fun challenge. That’s expected when buying a cheap plane. With the price and hype surrounding the Draco, people would hope they buying getting a product that doesn’t have problems.
There is a "fix" for the twisting in the landing gear. You can find it on "Just Plane Crazy" channel. It looks like he spent some time engineering it and it's unnoticeable.
I may go that route- check out my cg video about the Draco - fixes a lot wrong with this plane
Hello
I will have soon one Draco BNF and I need some help.
1) I fly with Futaba transmitter. Can I remove Spectrum receiver and put Futaba?
2) What functions will I lose by using Futaba transmission?
I like reverse thrust.
3) Spectrum DX7 is oK for this pkane?
Nice collection of models in the background. I personally have over 500 R/C planes in my collection. The latest addition to the Squadron is the DRACO. The first thing that i did after assembly , was to Cut that Odd looking pilot out . I know he designed it, but just could not handle it. Sorry Mike. Looking forward to it's Maiden flight. Weather dependent.
500! I have some catching up to do... I just added the 70 and 90mm Viper Jet
Great review Jeff, I totally agree. Currently it is THE guest(and wife😎) favorite, now permanently hanging in our Living Room Ceiling collection of retired planes.
Love Mike Patey❤️
He cad designs/fabricates big 1:1 scale planes that No business model supports😎.
Well Mike says in his videos his designs are one off.
Often seen the Draco praised by individuals that have minimal flying experience. Their criteria may satisfy them but overlooks the short comings.
A model that is a STOL design but has issues with STOL is not that surprising. The hype associated with any model should alert a discerning flyer that their purchased product may not deliver what they want.
Check out my other videos on cg which made this Draco much better
I have always hated paying a lot for a RC plane and then have to fix a bad design. I would like to hear Eflite address some of the items you brought up just to give them an opportunity to remark on their design. I still fly their first Carbon Z and it's a good plane...except the landing gear! Thanks for your overview.
Check out my new video on changing the cg for the Draco
Love your videos. Very informative and unbiased. Also if you think of a pencil on the edge of a table you can easily break it. That's the way I feel about the wing spar where it goes into the fuselage.
The wings and spar are pretty stout . The weak link is the top of the cockpit. Most crashes rip the top of the plane off
I love this plane, sooooo easy to fly. No regrets. $1200.00 in Australia.
Check out my video regarding cg
Very nice analysis....🎉
thanks for the honest review, too many reviewers getting sent free stuff which makes a bias false review. cheers
Thanks... I try to be as unbiased about my bias's...lol
My tail wheel broke on the first flight. I don't know why the shaft isn't metal. I also think the tabs that the wings attach to should have been one piece CF or aluminum.
First run problems, hopefully they modify the next batch as well as improved strength of the landing gear- mine finally broke
@@7demo7review My "carbon fiber" landing gear broke too. Twisted the very end due to a bit of a rough landing.
I can't see myself paying nearly 1,000 thousand dollars for a foam airplane, even if it's painted. I fly giant civilian scale and I didn't pay 1K for my 82 inch wingspan Cessna 182 and it's scale as ever.
1000?
Hi Jeff. Thank you for this review; it is actually summarizing my own opinion about this plane. Adding: 1. Model spec is based on Spectrum transmitter; I had to invest even mote to have revers function on Frsky, 2. Cabling is based on Y connections; specially if you like seperated ailerons and pair them (as in real plane) with deployed flaps you need to make some devastation. Ahhh 3.Yes there is light system, but why it is not blinking like real plane? Watch Oshkosh landings of real Draco - why it is different? You are mentioning engine; is this engine or prop problem? I'm plnnig some tests with Ramoser prop where I can change pitch - maybe this will give some hint. One more time thx for review and have a lot of fun flying.
I can control the lights from steady on to blinking on my dx9 channel 8 dial... but yes, thanks for the comment!
And for guys like me, see a remarkable looking top wing large craft and add it to the huge amount craft in his hanger.
Check out my video on adding weight to the tail- flies much better!!!
when the designer/pilot screws up and crashes what else can one expect IF you dont fly it right,,, it aint for jet flight, stunts, it is for fun flying and STOL as it was designed,, i guess you cant please all pilots with just one type plane,, LOVE MINE
I now love mine as well, check out my video on moving the cg aft…. It’s a tame well behaved beast now!!!
Hi, what is the chord length of the wings? If the wing span is 2m shouln't the chord be about 300mm, why does it look smaller?
I have 10 flights on mine it not my cup of tea, I have it for sale
We have a saying here,
Front heavy flies like $#1+
Tail heavy flies once.
If I hear you correctly, its a piece of expensive JUNK I have actually only seen just 1 at my RC club, and I think its been sold lol
No, once you change the cg rearward it comes alive
Anyone got any ideas for wing panels that won't plug in all the way? I just got mine and built it up to the point of trying to install the wings. They won't push into the fuselage enough to align the twist lock things. I've pushed as hard as I dare and it's not the because the carbon tube is too long. I can't even get one side on at first. Very frustrating.
Put both wings on then stand the plane sideways on its wing- then use the weight to push or seat the wings into final positions.
@@7demo7review Yeah, I really don't want to crush that bottom wingtip. I've already tried pushing pretty hard.
Do recommend to change out the tires, ?
Hi, on grass its recommended to change to the 5” Kavans. On a paved runway you’re better off using the stock tires. Softer tires will always be better
I just finally got one here in Australia at a price of $1000 aud...🤑
Wow, I’m making a video where I change the front wheels to 5” Kavan’s- huge difference also I added weight to te tail to move the cg back a bit- it really makes the plane fly better
It needs a stronger elevator servo!! IF u get in a high speed dive and need to pull up, the servo isn't strong enough and will not allow it to give full travel. I've been flying for over 20 years and put one in the dirt in a bad way due to this.... Very disappointed something so cheap to simple cost me $600
This comment is very interesting to me as I also had mine go in from a dive that I couldn't pull out of. I thought it was a horn failure. I loved my Draco, I missed it so much. I have been flying for forty years and it was a plane that really appealed to me. Months after looking at the wreckage if the corner of my shop, I couldn't take it anymore and I bought a second plane from the latest batch release. Haven't even opened the box yet.
I also agree with all the reviewers comments.
Would love to have one but....too expensive and doesnt fly light enough for a true STOL.
You are correct...it's a heavy girl. It floats...until it doesn't. 😑
Landing gear,. Just a thought,. Look at some RC crawler shocks,. There seems to be some pretty good ones out there. Just a thought,. I've not one to Look at to tell for sure
That might be a project in the future
@@7demo7review for sure my man. Love your content,. So willing to share the very little I know where I can,. Hello from little New Zealand my man. Just re-entered the hobby after a 30year break. Flying a VQ Monaro arf,. With my old ASP91FS that I kept back when I left. High wing aileron sport/trainer. The new tech out there,. Opentx, feedback telematry. Wow. The hobby has grown so much from the old Wip airials and 45mhz. Lol
It’s a fun time to be in rc except the rising prices!
@@7demo7review well. Yes,. But thinking back to the 90's when I last flew,. 600 for a trans,. 100 per servo,. Now days with the internet can get things here from overseas,. At a way better quality, more options, and a lot cheaper. So I agree,. Prices are rising,. But in comparison to what I'm remembering as a teenager, young adult,. The price and quality and range available is pretty Dame good now days.
well , first take off , snapped and stalled it on takeoff, broke the gear, liked your opinions did ring true ,,,,,,from my experience would like a stronger gear, like metal gear ,,,,,
by the way did like your video
Stay tuned, I started playing with the center of gravity moving it aft… It’s flying so much better, it will improve your landings as well
Well, might as well add my ³/4 of a cent worth of 2 cents. Glad to see a non schill review this plane. I knew this thing wasn't perfect. This plane reminds me of a dragster. It does one thing and does it well. Anyone hoping to do stunt flying with it will probably be disappointed. I'll never own one because of my biden induced budget, but none the less, I would own one as an icon model, and not a serious plane. I've never trusted eflite after I bought 5 of their batteries and 2 were bad from the start. Their planes always just looked 2nd rate, but that's just me. Anyway, thanks for the honest review.
Yes, the reason you're a failure is Biden's fault.
Looks very nice but is way overpriced and somewhat disappointing to fly from all the reviews I've seen. Just get one of the TurboTimberplanes and do anything you want.
Wow. I’m flying 7000 smart packs. I can do pretty much all you said it can’t do. Hmmm. I’m not the best flier. As far as I’m concerned it’s a very fun airplane
Having said all
Of that. Thanks for your perceptions and honest review.
Check out my video where I do some cg tuning- makes this plane a delight to fly
@@7demo7review I did. And replied back on another. Made a world of difference just like you said. I would have never dreamed it was even more fun. 😝
I hope this airplane isn't as tricky to fly as Jeff makes it seem. So many other reviews praise it for how easy it is to fly, how much power it has, how easily it lands, etc. I guess I'll find out since my Draco arrives today. I live in Spanish Fork, UT and, if I can't figure it out, I guess I can take the five minute drive over to Mike Patey's hangar at the Woodhouse airport and ask him. I was just there and saw his Draco (model, obviously) at our local airshow weekend before last. LOL
Check out my video on proper cg- it makes this model amazing!
@@7demo7review Thanks! I think I saw that one, but I'll watch it again in more detail for sure.
About time someone spoke the truth on that great looking, very overpriced plane!
Check out my cg tuning video- makes all the difference!! Flies much better now
I’m gonna have to completely disagree. This plane is an amazing STOL rc model
Check out my “proper cg” video- it really transformed this plane into a fun flyer
@@7demo7review I found it flies best with the 6s 4000 seems the perfect weight
@@grampskraka6976 then you found the magic cg!!!!
Try learning to land before worrying about landing on one wheel.
Oh no you didn’t….!!!! Lol
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