Draganfly SAVS Assembly instructions

1
DraganflyerSAVSManual
DraganflyInnovationsInc.
2108St.GeorgeAvenue
Saskatoon,SK S7M0K7Canada
18009799794/3069559907
www.rctoys.com[email protected]

2
WARNINGS
TheDraganflyerhelicopterisnotatoy.Thisisaprecisionmachinethatisvulnerabletomisuseandcan
provetobedangerousifnotproperlymaintainedorusedinaninappropriatemanor.
Throughoutthismanual,lookforthissymbol,whichwillbeusedtoremindyouaboutsafe
operatingprocedures.
Helicoptersbytheirnaturearenotpositivelystable.EvenifassembledandadjustedproperlytheDra
ganflyerwillnotholdaparticularpositionwithoutconstantcorrectionsfromtheoperatorandwillnot
automaticallyrecoverfromanunwantedattitudewithoutintervention.Pleasecompletelyreadandun
derstandallinstructionalinformationbeforeattemptingtoflytheDraganflyer.
Toprovideoptimumperformance,yourDraganflyerispoweredbyaLithiumPolymerbattery.The
samepropertiesthatmakethesebatteriesextremelypowerfulandlightweightalsomakethemdangerous
ifhandledincorrectly.Pleasereadandunderstandallinformationpertainingtothebatterybeforeat
temptingtouseorchargeit.
IFMISUSEDTHISAIRCRAFTISCAPABLEOFCAUSINGSERIOUSBODILYHARMTOTHE OP
ERATORANDSPECTATORSASWELLASPROPERTYDAMAGE.ANYDAMAGE ORINJURY
OCCURRINGDUETOMISUSEOFTHISPRODUCTISSOLELYTHEOPERATOR’SRESPONSI
BILITY.
WARNING!THISPRODUCTCONTAINSCHEMICALS WHICHAREKNOWNBY THESTATEOF
CALIFORNIATOCAUSECANCER,BIRTHDEFECTSAND/OROTHERREPRODUCTIVEHARM.
Manycommonmaterialssuchasmetals,plastics,glues,lubricantsandothercoatingscontainchemicals
invaryingamountandconcentrationswhichwillcauseharmifintroducedintothehumanbody.Forfur
therinformationontoxicordangerouschemicalspleaserefertoCalifornia’shealthandsafetycodes
sections25249.513
8/16/07

3
TheDraganflyerSAVS
CongratulationsonyourpurchaseoftheDraganflyerStabilizedAerialVideo
System(SAVS).Followingtheseinstructionscanhelpyourapidlyaddaerial
videotoyourlistofvaluedproductionservices.
CONTENTS
TheEssentials
SafetyFirst  Page3
TheSimulator  Page3
PreflightTheHelicopter Page4
PreflightFlyingConditionsPage4
FirstFlightsPage6
TheDetails
SafetyPrecautionsPage8
BatterySystemCarePage9
TheCameraSystemPage10
TechnicalSpecificationsPage12
VideographyTipsPage14
FlightControlsPage15
FlightTraining Page15
PreflightChecksPage19
ThermalIntelligencePage20
MaintenancePage21
TroubleshootingPage22
OrderingParts
&AccessoriesPage27
TheEssentials
SafetyFirstAlwaysAPriority
Usedcorrectly,theDraganflyerSAVSwillprovideexcellentaerial
videoproduction.Usedincorrectly,however,itcanresultinbodily
harmtoyouorothersandcanalsocausesignificantpropertydam
age.
•Don’tflyoverorclosetocrowdsorclosetoyourself.
•Usingincorrectstartup orshutdownprocedurescan
causesuddenuncontrolledstartupandincreasestheriskof
injury.
•MaintaintheDraganflyerasrecommendedinthismanual.
•Flyonlyunderacceptableweatherandfieldconditions.
•CarefullyfollowinstructionsforuseandcareoftheLithium
Polymerbatteries.
•Readthecompletesafetysectionin“TheDetails.”
TheSimulatorFlyMore,CrashLess
Ifyouareanexperiencedradiocontrolhelicopterpilot,youcanlift
theDraganflyerSAVSout oftheboxandbeginflying.Ifnot,you
willneedtolearnpilotingskills.DraganflyInnovationshascre
atedagreattooltohelp.IncludedwiththispackageistheDragan
flyerSimulatorprogramforyourPC.Yourlearningtimetomove
frombeginnertoexpertwillbemuchshorterandalotlessfrustrat
ingifyouspendacoupleofhourswiththisprogram.Thesimula
tormanualcontainssetupinstructionsplusfourvaluablelessonsto
getyoustarted.

4
PreflightTheHelicopter
CheckthepackinglistenclosedwithyourDraganflyertoensurethatyouhave
receivedallofthenecessarycomponentsandthatnonearebrokenordamaged.
Ifanythingisamiss,immediatelycontactDraganflyInnovations.
YourDraganflyerwasfullyassembledandtestflownbeforebeingpackedand
shippedtoyou.Forthisreason,itispossibletotakeitrightoutoftheboxand
beginflying.Thisisnotrecommendedunlessyouareanexperiencedradio
controlhelicopterpilot.
Instead,werecommendalittledisassemblybeforeyoubeginflying.Because
aninadvertentcrashcoulddamageordestroyyourcamerasystem,we
recommendtakingitoffthehelicopteruntilyouhaveenoughexperiencetobe
confidentinyourflyingability.
Howtoremovethecamerasystem:
· Disconnectthecablebetweenthevideoboardandthecamera.Then
disconnectthepowercablebetweenthemaincircuitboardandthe
videoboard.
· Removethefournuts,theclearLexanplate,the4nylonverticalriser
extensions,andtheprintedcircuitboardbaseplate.
· Loosenthecameramountingscrewsandremovethecamera.
· Replacethecameramountingscrewsensuringtheyaresnugbutnot
overtightened.
· Installthecarbonfiberbaseplate(withVelcrofacingup)inplaceof
thevideoboard andfasteninplacewiththe4acornnuts.
*Seepage11forinstructionsonreinstallingthecamera.
Thetransmitterforthehelicopterhasadetachableantennaanditneedstobeinstalledbeforeflying.The
silveradapterontheantennatwistsontotheadapter onthetransmitter.Wheninplaceyouwillbeable
tofeelandseeitlockinplace.
Aswithmostequipmentofthistype,youwillneedtochargethebatteriesforthehelicopterandthe
transmitter.Pleaserefertothe“Battery”sectioninDetailsforinstructions.Initialchargingtime16
hoursforthetransmitterand1.5hoursforthehelicopter,sothisisagoodtimetocarefullyreadthrough
thismanualaswellasinstallandusethesimulatorprogramtobeginthelearningprocess.
PreflightFlyingConditions
AsyoulearntoflytheDraganflyerSAVSandcaptureaerialvideo,youshouldpaycloseattentionto
flyingconditions.Perhapsthemostideallocationforyourinitialflightsisalargeflatopenfieldwithno
nearbyobstructions.Itwouldbegreatifatleastaportionofthefieldiscoveredintallgrass.Thistype
oflocationismoreforgivingofthoseinevitablebumpsyoumayexperienceduringyourfirstflights.Be
foreyourfirstflight,walkaround theareatomakesuretherearenohiddenobstacles,potholesordebris
thatmightruinyourexperience.
Payingattentiontoweatherconditionsisimportant.Becauseofitssize,theDraganflyerSAVScanbe
significantlyaffectedbywind.Youcanlearnbestby flyinginlittleornowind.Also,becausetheelec
tronicsonthehelicopterareextremelysensitivetomoisture,itshouldneverbeflownoutdoorsinrainy
weather.

5
TransmitterControls
ArmingButtonOn/OffSwitch
OnBoardControls
ThermalIntelligenceSwitch
Up:Activecontrol (Maximumresponse)
Down:Training/Video(Dampenedcontrol)
On/OffSwitch
Elevator
(pitch:forward/backward)
Aileron
(roll:right/left)
Throttle
Yaw
(rotate)
TrimControls

6
FirstFlights
Ifyoucanansweryestothefollowingchecklistquestions,thenyouarereadyforyourfirstflight:
 Haveyoucheckedthatyouhaveall of thecomponentsofyoursystem?
 Haveyoucompletedsimulatortraining,includingthefourpracticelessons?
 Haveyouchargedboththetransmitterandhelicopterbatteries?
 Haveyouchosenanappropriateflyinglocationbasedonourrecommendations?
 Haveyouremovedandcarefullystoredthevideosystem?
OnTheField
Caution:Thefollowingstartupsequenceismandatory.Failuretofollowthesestepscanresult in
theDraganflyerpoweringupsuddenlyanduncontrollably.Thiscaninjureyouanddamagethe
Draganflyer.
1. Makesurethedetachableantennaisinstalledandlockedontopofthetransmitter.Failure todo so canresult
inproblemswhenflying.Makesurethethrottlecontrolisatitslowestlevel.
2. Turnthetransmitter“On.”Open thefoldedrotorbladesandalignthem.(Donotskipthisstep!)
3. Setthetransmitterflightmodeswitchtothe“Training/VideoPosition.”ReadtheDetailssectiontounder
standwhatthisswitchdoes.
4. YouhavetwoothermodesofflightfortheDraganflyer:withThermalIntelligence“On”orwithit“Off.”For
yourfirsttrainingflightswerecommendthattheThermalIntelligenceswitchbeturned“Off.”Thisinvolves
bothturningtheThermalIntelligencetransmitterswitch“Off”andusingthearmingsequenceshownbelow.
5. InstallandconnecttheDraganflyer’sbattery.TurntheDraganflyerpowerswitch“On.”
6. AdvancethethrottleonthetransmitterandobservetheredlightontopoftheDraganflyer.Itshouldconfirm
thatthetransmitterandDraganflyerarecommunicatingproperlybyblinkingmorerapidlyasthethrottleis
advancedandmoreslowlyasthethrottleisreduced.Return thethrottletoitslowestsetting.
7. Thenextstepis“arming”thehelicopterwithoneofthesequencesbelow:
8.YourDraganflyerisreadytofly
ThermalIntelligenceOff
i. SettheThermalIntelligence
switchonthetransmitterto
“Off.”
ii. Holdingthehelicopteron
theground,reachintothe
canopywithafingerand
pressthe“armingbutton.”
iii. Theredlightontopofthe
‘copterwillnowblinkmore
slowly.
ThermalIntelligenceOn
i. SettheThermalIntelligenceswitchonthetransmitterto
“On”
ii. Holdthehelicopteratarmslength,baseplatefacingyou,
LED’sfacingup,whilestandinginagrassyarearatherthan
onconcreteorasphalt.
iii. ChecktoseethateitheroneortwoofthegreenLED’sare
lighted.
iv. Reachintothecanopywithafingerandpressthe“arming
button.”
v. Theredlightontopofthe‘copterwillblinkmoreslowly.
vi. TeachtheDraganflyerwhatlevelis.Placethehelicopter
onalevelsurface.Standinfrontofit1015feetaway and
holdtheleftcontrolstickfulldownandrightforacouple
ofseconds.ThetwogreenLEDswillblinktoconfirmthat
thelevelpositionhasbeensaved.

7
Duringthearmingsequence,alwaysbepreparedforthemotorstoturn on!Iftheydocomeon,the
factthatyouarecarefullyholdingthehelicopterwillpreventinjuryordamage.Ifyoucan’tthrottle
themotorsback,turnthehelicopterpowerswitch“Off”anddisconnectthebattery.Ifreviewofthe
TroubleshootingSectionofthismanualdoesnotidentifytheproblem,contactDraganflyInnovations.
•Throttleupandmakeyourtrimadjustments.It’sbettertomovetoahardsurfacetodothissoyoucanobserve
thehelicoptersmovementswithoutliftingoff.Themoretimeandcareyoutakeinsettingthetrimthemorelikely
thatthehelicopterwillliftoffintoastablehover.Keepinmindthatthetrimadjustmentsmayinteract.Thatis,
whenyoutrimoutyawmovement,itmaycauseapreviousadjustmenttoworsen.Thesearevery subtle effects
anditiseasytoovercorrect.Withexperienceandflighthours,thisprocesswillgeteasier.Thegoalofthisstepis
fortheDraganflyertoliftstraightupandnotdriftsignificantlyinanydirection.
•Useyourexperiencewiththe simulatortoguideyourfirstflights.Ontheinitialflightsgetafeelforthecontrols.
Developanunderstandingofwhatthehelicopterisdoingandhowyoushouldreact.BynotusingThermalIntel
ligence,thehelicopterwillbereactingonlytoyourmanipulationofthecontrols.However,useofTraining/Video
modewillmakethehelicopterreactmoregentlytoyourmovementofthecontrols.Aftertheexperienceofsev
eralflights,youcanmovetotheActivemodepositionandgetafeelformoreinstantreactionstoyouruseofthe
controls.
•Onafullychargedbattery,theDraganflyerwillstayairborneforabout12 to15minutes.Asthebatterynears
discharge,theDraganflyerwillautomaticallybegintoreduceitspowerconsumption.Youwillnoticethatitwill
takeincreasesinthrottletokeeptheaircraftatagivenaltitude.Whenyounoticethis,prepareforlandingimme
diatelywhileyoustillhavesufficientcontrol.
•Attheendofyourflight,thisshutdownprocedureMUSTbefollowedexactly.
Caution:Thefollowingendofflightsequenceismandatory.Failuretofollowthesestepscanresultthethe
Draganflyerpoweringupsuddenlyanduncontrollably.Thiscaninjureyouorothersanddamage
theDraganflyer.
•TurntheDraganflyerpowerswitch“Off.”
•DisconnecttheDraganflyer’sbattery.
•TurntheTransmitterpowerswitch“Off.”

8
Details
Wegaveyoutheessentialsfirstbecauseweknow
thelastthingyouwanttodoisspendtimereading
throughalongboringmanual.Butasyoubecome
familiarwiththeDraganflyer,weknowyouwillwant
toknowmoredetailsaboutitsoperationandcare.
CONTENTS
TheEssentials
SafetyFirst  Page3
TheSimulator  Page3
PreflightTheHelicopter Page4
PreflightFlyingConditionsPage4
FirstFlightsPage6
TheDetails
SafetyPrecautionsPage8
BatterySystemCarePage9
TheCameraSystemPage10
TechnicalSpecificationsPage12
VideographyTipsPage14
FlightControlsPage15
FlightTraining Page15
PreflightChecksPage19
ThermalIntelligencePage20
MaintenancePage21
TroubleshootingPage22
OrderingParts
&AccessoriesPage27
SafetyPrecautions
• AlwaysturntheDraganflyeroffbeforeturningoffthetransmit
ter.FailuretodosocouldcausetheDraganflyertobecomeair
borneandoutofcontrolresultingininjuryordamage.Wecan
notstressthisenough!
• DonotflymultipleDraganflyerssimultaneouslyonthesame
frequencyastheywillinterferewitheachotherandcausea
crash.
• Donotflyoutsideonrainyorwindydaysoratnight.
• Donotflynearpeopleonthegroundorobjectsintheair.
• Donotflynearhightensionlines,electricalsubstations,high
structuresorcommunicationfacilities.
• Ifyouplacethetransmitteronthegroundduringflightprepara
tions,besurethatthewindcannotknockitoverasthismay
causeseriousdamage.
• Neverflythisaircraftwheredamagetopropertyorinjurytoper
sonsmayresultiflossofcontroloccurs.
• NeverleavetheDraganflyerunattendedwiththebatterycon
nectedtoit.Alwaysdisconnectthebatterywhennotflying.
• AlwaysbesuretoeitherenableordisabletheThermalIntelli
gencebeforeeachflight.
• ThermalIntelligenceshouldonlybeenabledforoutdooruse.

9
BatterySystemCare
YourDraganflyerhelicoptercomeswithalithiumpolymerbat
terybalance chargerandaseparatetransmitterbatterycharger.
The balance chargerispoweredby apowersupply,whichoper
atesfromastandard110Vwalloutlet,orinternationaloutletsup
to240Vwhenusedwiththeappropriateplugadapter.The power
supplyoutputplugconnectstothe sideof the balance charger.
The balance chargerconnectstotheDraganflyerflightbattery
withashort chargingcable. TofullychargetheLithiumPolymer
batteryfortheDraganflyeritwilltakebetween1.5 and2hours,
oncecompletedthechargerwillturnoff.Thetransmitterwall
chargeralsooperatesfromastandard110Vwalloutlet,anditsoutputplugsintothechargejackonyourtransmitter.The
NiCadbatterypackintheradiotransmitterwilltakebetween14and16hoursforafullcharge,thechargerwillnotturnoff
oncethebatteryischarged andmustbeunplugged afterthe recommendedchargetimehaselapsed.TheNiCadbatterypack
inthetransmittercanexhibit“memory.”Forthisreasonitisimportanttousethebatteryuntilit dropsto about9.6voltsbe
forerecharging.
BEFORECHARGINGPLEASEUNDERSTANDALLBATTERYSAFETYINFORMATION
ChargingProcedure:
· Alwayschargeyourbatteriesonanonflammablesurfaceandensure that therearenoflammableobjectsintheneararea.
· Connectthepoweradaptertothe inputontheside of the balance chargerand thenplugitintoanACwalloutlet.The
powerlightonthe balance chargerwillcomeontoindicateitisreceiving power.
· TochargetheLithiumPolymermainflightbattery,first plugthechargecableintothefourpinreceptacleonthefrontof
thebalancechargerandthenconnectthe smallfourpinplugonyourflightbattery totheotherendofthechargecable.
Whenconnected, thechargelightwill beginflashingtoindicatecharging istakingplace. Ensurethatthemainbattery
plugisnotconnectedtoanythingwhenchargingistakingplace.Oncecompletelycharged,the chargelightwillstayon.
· TochargeasecondLithiumPolymerbattery,justdisconnectthechargedbatteryandconnectthebatteryyouwishto
charge.
· Whenthechargerisnotinuse,besuretodisconnectthepoweradaptorfromthewalloutlet.
· Tochargethetransmitterbattery,connect theroundleadfromthetransmitterchargerto
thechargingjackonthesideofthetransmitter,andplugthetransmitterchargerintoan
ACwalloutlet. Takecaretoensure that youdonotconnectthepowersupplyforthe
balancechargerbymistake,asthiswillcausedamagetoyourtransmitter.Whenprop
erlyconnected,theredlightlabeled“TX”willturnon.Chargingtakes14to 16hours
forafullcharge.Note thestarttimebecausetheredlightdoesnotgooffwhencharging
iscomplete.Note:theflatsquareplugonthetransmitterchargerisunused.
· Donotleavethetransmitteronchargeforextendedperiods(morethan2days)asthe
batterymaybecomeoverchargedanddamaged.Inextremecasesthismaycauseafire.
Youmaynoticethatthechargerandbatterybecomewarmduringcharging,thisisnormal.However,if eitherthebatteryor
chargerbecometohottocomfortablyhold, discontinuechargingimmediately.Tohelppreventthebatteryfromoverheating
duringchargingorinflight,allowthebatterytocooldownbeforeusingorcharging.Thiswillnotonlygetyoubetterflight
performancebutalsolongerbatterylife.
Neverleavechargingbatteriesunattended.

10
TheSAVSCameraSystem
YourDraganflyerSAVScomeswiththecomponentslistedbelow.Pleasecheckthepackagecontentsagainstthe
listandifyoufeelthatanyitemsaremissingpleasecontactDraganflyInnovationsbeforeuse.
1–1/3inchCCDcamerawithwhitebalance
1–Antivibrationcameramount
1–Baseplate2.4GHztransmittercircuit
1– Clearprotectorplate
1–3pinpowerlead
4–Nylonverticalriserextensions
BaseStationincluding:
1–Diversity2.4GHzreceiver
2– Circularpatchantennas
1–3cell1320mAhbatteryforreceiverpower
1–Videocable
1–Voltagecutoff(9volt)
• TheSAVSvideosystem transmitsvideoonly.
• The SAVSvideosystem hasbeenpreinstalledandtestflown.However,unlessyouareanexperiencedhelicop
terpilot,youshouldfirstflythehelicopterwithoutthecamerauntilyouareconfidentofyourskill.
• Bestvideoresultsareachievedwhenthereisaclear“lineofsight”betweenthe SAVSvideo transmitterandthe
receiver.
• Don’tflyclosetoobstaclessuchastrees,walls,cars,orbuildings.
• Interferencefromcertainelectronicequipmentand 2.4GHzdevicescanlimittherangeandqualityofthevideo.
• Forbestreception,positiontheantennasofthereceiver1.5to2metersabovetheground,pointedinthedirec
tionoftheDraganflyer.
• Donottouchtheantennaswheninuseasthiswillcauseinterference.
• The SAVSvideosystem doesnotcomewithaviewingorrecordingdevice.Acamcorder,digitalvideore
corder,oranydevicecapableofacceptingstandardanalogvideoisrequiredinordertodisplayorrecordvideo.
Precautions
• Toavoidtheriskofdamagetothe SAVSvideosystem,useonlythesuppliedpowerconnectors.
• Donotplaceanycomponentsnearasourceofheatasthismaycausetheequipmenttooverheat.
• Avoidhumidconditionsascondensationmayforminsidethecameraandcausedamage.Ifthecamerasystem
appearstobewetorcondensationoccurs,discontinueuseuntilthecamerasystemhascompletelydried.
• Neverpaintorattachmetallicstickersofanykindtoanyofthecomponentsinthecamerasystem.
• Donotoperatethe SAVSvideosystem intemperaturesexceeding 104degreesF(40degreesC)orbelow14
degreesF(10degreesC)