Product Description

With an ultra-light, dual design and a "high-flex," crash-resistant structure, this easy-to-fly aeronautical insect will provide hours of entertainment. Use the Dragonfly indoors or outdoors, controlling its speed, direction and height with the digital proportional remote.

Features:

• Unique indoor flyer - capable of maneuvering in tight spaces, FlyTech Dragonfly brings radio-controlled flight into your home.
• Innovative flying action - Based on an ornithopter design, Dragonfly flaps its wings and takes off from any smooth surface. It can soar, dive-bomb, hover and glide for soft landings.

  Strong and flexible - Built from a durable carbon-fiber structure, its flexible body and wings can take a lot of punishment.

• Ultra-light design - Lightweight design protects home interiors.
• Light-up LED eyes - Its eyes alert you of the Dragonfly's status by blinking, pulsing, or shining bright.
• Two-channel digital proportional remote - Use the remote to control wing speed and tail rotor speed. Remote also doubles as charging base.
• Two skill levels - Fly beginner or advanced. Includes a tail stabilizer for additional control and an extra set of wings.

Two frequencies available. Wingspan is 16" wide. Up to 10 minutes of flight time on a single charge. Includes rechargeable lithium-polymer battery. Also requires 6 "AA" batteries, not included.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57385 in Toys & Games
• Color: Blue
• Brand: Sourcing Network Sales
• Model: 4031
• Released on: 2007-11-01
• Dimensions: 12.30" h x 3.40" w x 16.50" l, 1.95 pounds

Features

• Innovative Flying Action
• Stron Ultra-light Design
• Light Up LED Eyes
• Easy Recharge from the Remote
• Choose between beginner and expert mode

Amazon.com Product Description

The Dragonfly includes a 2-channel remote that responds to changes in speed, direction, and height.

The world's first radio-controlled flying insect, the WowWee Dragonfly will provide hours of entertainment while enthralling the budding entomologist in your family. The Dragonfly is equipped with an ultra-light, dual-wing design and a highly flexible, crash-resistant structure, helping the insect stand up to bumps against the wall or hard landings on the ground. More significantly, the unit's unique ornithopter design flaps its wings just like a real insect, with accompanying rustling noises as it flies past. Make it fly out the window and into the open air, buzz up to a tall tree branch, and then gently come down and rest on a picnic table or lawn. The Dragonfly is a breeze to control, with a two-channel digital remote for manipulating the speed, direction, and height of the aeronautical marvel. You can even maneuver the Dragonfly into tight spaces or dive-bomb a neighbor--whatever your imagination suggests.

The Dragonfly is built using a durable carbon-fiber frame, with an impact-absorbing flexible body and 16-inch wings that take a ton of punishment. At the same time, the structure's lightweight housing protects your home interiors should you accidentally fly into a wall or two. Completing the insect-orific design is a pair of light-up LED eyes, which alerts you of the Dragonfly's status by blinking, pulsing, or shining clear and bright. It may look slightly lifeless and demonic, but the Dragonfly is none of the above. It's sociable, fun, and creative.

The remote doubles as a charging base for the lithium-polymer battery.

The Dragonfly is so inventive that it's already taken home a ton of honors, including a four-star rating from PC Magazine, an editor's choice award from Popular Mechanics for products displayed at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Association (CES) trade show, and the National Parenting Center's seal of approval. The Dragonfly, which includes a single rechargeable lithium polymer battery with a flight time of up to 10 minutes per charge, offers beginning and advanced skill levels and comes with a tail stabilizer for additional control. The remote control, meanwhile, requires six AA batteries (not included). All items are backed by a 30-day warranty.

What's in the Box
Dragonfly, remote control/charging base, detachable antenna, pair of spare wings, spare propeller, tail ribbon, user's manual.

From the Manufacturer
The DragonFly is a fun RC flyer that is easy or challenging depending upon the skill level setting you choose - beginner or expert. An ultra-light, dual-wing design and "high-flex", crash-resistant structure make the dragonfly safe to fly anywhere even in small indoor spaces.

Customer Reviews

Addictive--with a little practice and the right amount of space
I bought this because it's the first RC flying toy I've seen with actual flapping wings. I'm an adult and I bought it for myself because I work in a room that's a converted warehouse and we have really high ceilings and not many walls. It's really enjoyable to fly because you've never seen anything like it. It really does resemble a giant flying bug and it's movements are kind of creepy and it makes a soft buzzing sound.



The key is to make sure a) the controller antenna is fully extended, and b) the rotor is still and while you start the wings flapping you hold it and release it into the air. With more practice, you'll get better. Don't be frustrated if it crashes--the fun is seeing how long you can keep it going. Even if you can only get it to fly around the room once, it's worth it.



It comes with extra wings (different pattern and color printed on them), and an extra rotor. Be sure to unpack it all from the box carefully because some of the small parts are tucked away inside. It takes 6 AA batteries that go in the controller, which charges the bug via a small cable. The battery life seems pretty good so far. (I've had it for a couple weeks and have yet to change the batteries...but then, I only fly it here for fun and not more than about 10 minutes a day.) I've had it run into walls and poles from the height of 10' or so and it seems pretty durable (because it's so light). Fun. Somewhat educational too because it demonstrates a unique method of flight.

Take your time with this
This is a very good product but it's very hard to learn to make it fly well, and it has waaay too much packaging - make sure you have some scissors. It was weak when I first tried it, but got stronger after a few charges. It crashes in spectacular fashion every time you fly it, but it is very durable and hasn't broken yet. So far I've crashed it at least 100 times, mowed down all the origami from my shelf, decimated the chess board and dive-bombed the laptop. The dog is thoroughly freaked out by this thing, and it's very funny the way it buzzes around and crashes like a real dragon fly against a window screen. I would recommend putting away anything breakable before flying this thing inside.



The toy itself is very durable, but it will knock things around. Pay attention to the condition of it after each flight though - I had to fix the nose of mine with some clear packing tape. I had the opportunity to test this with an 8-year old boy (I'm 36 and my boys are teens), and he was actually better at flying it than I was. He dropped the controller in our warehouse and the antenna bent... then I broke it trying to bend it back. It still flies fine though, and it is a standard sized radio antennas and replacements can be bought at Radio Shack. It does not fly outside in any breeze at all! The one time I've taken it outside to fly and we had no wind, it did very well, but if there is a slight breeze it will dip and dive and sail and turn all over the place. The wind picks it up very nicely, so be aware of that.



Tips: Turning of any kind causes it to go into a dive, so make sure you turn gently. The tail feather slows it down a lot and makes it hard to turn, so you need even more space. The tail feather is very difficult to attach, and I hurt my thumb a bit trying to get it on. The best way to launch the dragon fly is by starting the motor and holding it about 4 or 5 feet in the air, giving it a slight forward push as you release it. Let it fly a bit to stabilize before you try to turn it. It does not launch from surfaces very well, but if you have a long, smooth runway, it will take off from the ground. To do this, you need to start out slow and accelerate to full speed, otherwise it flops over on it's nose. It taxis around on my no-wax floor in a fairly silly way and in this respect, makes a very funny pet toy. In the house, I set the trim dial to one side so the Dragon Fly will go in circles, then use small controller inputs to periodically straighten it out, which makes it gain altitude. You need to vary the power level carefully as you fly, or it will stall out and dive. Only if you are outside or you have a ton of space, should you set it to fly in a straight line... it just doesn't have enough control to keep it within the allotted space. A basketball court would be a good sized space to try this in, but once you get some experience, you will be able to fly it in more normal-sized spaces.



NOTE: when I bought this, I was told that it simply would not work at high altitude above about 7000 ft. I am at about 5500 feet, and it clearly doesn't have the ooomph it might have at lower altitudes. Please, if you write a review, please indicate the thickness of your air - it matters a lot. Again, WILL NOT WORK above 7000 ft or so.

Marvelous flying toy. Worth every cent!
What a great toy: It is quite simply LOADS of fun! Loads I tell ya! I gave this toy as xmas gifts to 3 kids of varying ages (14, 17, 19... and a 4th one I bought for myself, a kid of 40). The kids loved their Dragonflies. And everyone else loved them too. Everyone wanted a turn to fly the remote control insect. Definitely the smash hit of all the xmas gifts given that day. They were so enjoyable I went and bought one for myself. I'm nearly 40 years old, still play video games, and will always be a kid at heart. I've been having a BLAST flying this thing around my neighborhood. Everyone who sees it is keenly intrigued and impressed at how this thing flies by flapping it's wings. It's just so cool.

Only caveat I have noticed is that it can take a bit of practice before one gets the hang of flying this thing. It's not so easy that just anyone can fly it on their first try. Most people are able to fly it pretty well after 2 - 6 training flights. Some may take longer. It took me two days before I could get it to stay in the air. But I'm glad I didn't give up because it's just so much darn fun once you get the hang of it! In my opinion it should be for ages 12 and up. I think 8 is kinda young for this toy and 7 or under I seriously doubt they possess the needed skills to master this machine.

If you have any doubt about this item I would encourage you to seek out any of the remote control hobbyists discussion forums on the net and see what they have been saying about this toy. (Look for subjects about "ornithopters" which are flying machines powered by flapping wings). These are people that live for flying RC airplanes, helicopters, ornithopters, and other machines. They know their stuff and overall they seem to be thoroughly impressed with this inexpensive little "toy". (IMO this thing is much more than just a "toy".)

Without a doubt this thing is the best bang for the buck I've encountered in many years. If you can get it for less than 40 - 50 dollars, then by all means GET IT! Especially you adult kids out there, like me, don't make the mistake of thinking this thing is only a toy for children. Quite the contrary, I'd have to say the older you are the more likely you will be able to appreciate the impressive physics of this machine and therefore derive that much more enjoyment from it.

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