Draganfly Tango User manual

Draganfly Tango
User’s Guide
Draganfly Innovations
2108 St. George Avenue
Saskatoon, SK, S7M 0K7
Canada
Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]
[email protected]

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Warning
The Draganfly Tango aircraft 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 the manual look for this symbol, this will be used to remind you about
safe operating procedures.
Even if assembled and adjusted properly the Draganfly Tango will not hold a constant heading
or orientation without input and corrections from the operator and will not automatically
recover from an unwanted attitude without intervention. Please completely read and
understand all instructional information before attempting to fly the Tango.
To provide optimal performance and flight time, your Tango 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 and charging system before attempting to use.
If misused this aircraft is capable of causing serious bodily harm to the operator and
spectators as well as property damage. Any and all damage or injury occurring due to
the misuse of this product is solely the operators’ responsibility.
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 coating contain chemicals in varying amounts and
concentrations which will cause harm if introduced into the human body. For further
information on toxic or dangerous chemicals please refer to California’s health and safety
codes sections 25249.5-13

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Contents
1) Tango Basics ............................................................................................... 4
Tango specifications
Tango components
Required and Suggested Equipment
Tango Familiarization
2) Safety and Operational Guidelines ........................................................... 7
Safety precautions and operational guidelines
Flying site requirements
3) Assembly ………………………………………………………………….. 10
Assembling the Tango
Camera setup and installation
Battery installation
4) Battery Care and Charging ……………………………………………… 13
Battery safety precautions
Battery charging system
Lithium polymer charging procedure
Lithium polymer battery maintenance
Transmitter battery charging procedure
5) Co-Pilot …………………………………………………………………… 16
Flying with the Co-Pilot
Co-Pilot calibration
6) Bungee Launching System ………………………………………………. 18
7) Flying the Tango …………………………………………………………. 20
Flight controls
Pre-flight checks
Flight Characteristics
Battery Log ………………………………………………………………. 23
Contacting Draganfly Innovations
If you can’t find the information you need in this manual, please contact Draganfly
Innovations technical support for assistance.
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]

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1 Tango Basics
About the Tango
The Draganfly Tango is a miniature unmanned aerial vehicle capable of shooting high
resolution video and photographs over large areas. The airplane is flown by radio control
and flight is assisted by a series of thermal sensors to keep the plane level. The large
payload bay of the Tango can support many different types of cameras and sensors to
gather information from the survey area.
Tango Specifications
Length: 48 inches (120 cm)
Wingspan: 60 inches (150 cm)
Weight: 5.5 lbs (2.3 kg)
Payload: 3.5lbs (1.5 kg)
Motor: 500 Watt brushless DC electric motor
Battery: Multiple expandable high capacity lithium polymer
Flight time: 50 minutes using one battery
Altitude: 0 to 2400 feet (731 m)
Stall Speed: 15 mph (24 km/h)
Cruising speed: 25 mph (40 km/h
Maximum speed: 60 mph (100 km/h)
Control Surfaces: Rudder, Elevator, Aileron
Control Systems: 72 MHz radio control system
Tango Components:
-Fully assembled Tango airframe
o4 wing panel
oFuselage
o4 wing tips
o2 vertical tail fins
-Bungee launch cable, pedal and rails
-Pentax A10 8 mega pixel still camera with mount
-Wireless video camera
-Two flight batteries ( 3 cell 8000mah)
-Two camera receiver batteries ( 3 cell 1320mah)
-Battery charger, power supply and balancer
-Wires video receiver with antennas

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Required & Suggested Equipment
-Utility/hobby knife
-Philips screw driver ( # 1)
-Rubberized tape (3M Blenderm)
-Allen Key or Ball Driver (2 mm and 3/32)
-Crescent wrench
-Spare propellers (13 x 6.5E APC)
-Aircraft flight stand.
Tango Familiarization
Despite its unique looks and design the Tango still uses the same flight principles as a
conventional aircraft and will fly much the same. All airplanes move on three separate
axes that are indicated by the center of gravity.
The longitudinal axis runs lengthwise from the nose to tail; this is the axis that the
airplane rolls left and right around.
The lateral axis stretches between the wing tips and is the pivot that the plane pitches up
and down on.
The vertical axis runs vertically through the center of the plane, the plane yaws (spins)
left and right around this axis.
As with most conventional aircraft, the Tango has control surfaces to regulate the
movement on each of the axis.
Rudder
The rudder is located on the tail of the aircraft and controls the yaw, or spinning
movement of the airplane around the vertical axis. This is used to keep the front of the
plane pointed in the right direction. When the rudder is moved to the right the nose of the
Tango will move to the right.
Elevons

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Most airplanes with a wing configuration similar to the Tango or a delta wing use
elevons which are a combination of elevator and ailerons on the same control surface.
The function of elevons is to pitch the aircraft along the lateral axis and roll along the
longitudinal axis. These control surfaces are located on the trailing edge of the wing and
are the primary controls used for maneuvering the Tango. When these control surfaced
pitch upwards the Tango will climb and when the left surface pitches up and the right
surface pitches down the Tango will roll to the left.
Power Switch
This is simple push/pull switch, when the switch is pressed in it is on, when pulled out it
is off. All of the flight systems including the radio, co-pilot and video camera system are
powered through this switch. It is important that you do not have this switch in the on
position unless the radio transmitter is also turned on.
Calibration Button
This button is used to calibrate the co-pilot system, refer to the section of the manual
titled Flying with the co-pilot.

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2 Safety and Operational Guidelines
Read this section carefully, it contains information and safety procedures that must be
followed to prevent possible injury and damage. It also details site requirement and
conditions that are needed to fly the Tango.
Safety Precautions and Operational Guidelines
- Always wear eye protection when operating the Tango and bungee launcher
- Do not fly over or close to crowds
- Do not fly near high power lines, electrical substations, high structures or
communications facilities
-Do not fly on rainy or windy days or at night
-Never leave the Tango unattended with the battery connected. Always disconnect the
battery when not flying
-Always turn on the transmitter before connecting the battery to the Tango, failure
to do this may cause the Tango to power up causing injury and damage.
-Avoid standing in line with or crossing over the bungee cable when it is stretched
-Do not advance the throttle while the Tango is sitting on the launch rails. Do not
provide throttle until the bungee cable has released from the aircraft.
-Do not operate the Tango if there is damage to the propeller, wings or any part of the
airframe.
-Do not operate the Tango at night or late evening when lighting conditions are poor
-Follow battery charging procedures, failure to do so may result in fire.
Flying Site Requirements
Before operating the Tango be sure that your flying site fulfills the following
requirements.
Location
Avoid flying in populated areas or where other air traffic is present. Do not fly within:
- 2 km of an airport
- 5 km of a city/town
- 3 km of a radio control flying site
You should also avoid flying near sources of electrical interference such as high power
lines, and substations. For takeoff and landing it is good to have and area of 100 by 1000
to 1500 feet, this site should be relatively level. You should avoid landing in areas with
clods of soil and fields with swaths, as this can damage the aircraft.

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Light
Because the Tango can get difficult to see in poor/dim lighting you should schedule your
flights so they are at least one hour after sunrise and more than an hour before sunset.
Low light conditions such as overcast skies will also impact the quality of your video and
pictures.
Weather
Although the Tango is a stable aircraft you should not fly in wind speeds that exceed 30
km/h as it will become difficult to fly and your pictures quality will decrease. You should
avoid flying in rainy or foggy conditions as the moisture can damage the Tango’s
electrical components and your visibility will be greatly reduced.

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3Assembly
The design of the Tango not only makes is easy to transport but also easy and fast to
assemble with minimal tools. This section of the manual will describe how to assemble
the Tango airframe and setup and install the camera system and batteries
Assembling the Tango
Installation of wings
The Tango has four wing panels that mount onto the fuselage using carbon fiber tubes.
The bottom of the left wing panels will have orange tips. The rear wings are the ones with
the control surface on them.
1Slide the color coded carbon fiber rods into the mounting tube in the fuselage, the
longer of the red tubes should be placed closest to the nose of the aircraft.
2The wing panels simply slide onto the rods, when installing the rear wings be sure
to securely plug in the connectors on the wing and the side of the fuselage.
3With the wings in place apply tape to the seam between the wing and fuselage,
this should be done on both the top and bottom.
Installation of wing tips
Like the wing panels, the left wing tips will be orange and the right ones will be white.
The wing tips are held on by magnets, so if you hook a wing tip on landing it will not
cause damage. It is not necessary to use tape to secure the wing tips.
Installation of the tail
The tail of the Tango comprises of two vertical stabilizers which press into the mounting
holes in the fuselage. The vertical stabilizer with the rudder is located on the right side of
the aircraft. Once in place apply a strip of tape along the seam between the tail and
fuselage.
When assembling the Tango check for cracks and other visual damage to the
fuselage, wings and tail that may compromise the Tangos structure. Do not fly the
Tango until any damages have been properly repaired.
Camera setup and installation
The optional camera system for the Tango comes with both a digital still camera and a
wireless video camera which are mounted inside the aircraft pointing down. Before using
the digital still camera there are a few setting you will have to adjust the setting should be
as follows:

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- Timeout: Off
- Sensitivity: 200
- Drive mode: 0 sec remote control
- Focus mode: infinity
- Flash: off
- Recorded pixels: 8M
- Quality level: highest
- Sport Mode
To install the camera into the mount you will have to first turn the camera on and turn off
the display screen, this is done by pressing the “OK” button repeatedly until the screen is
blank. The purpose of this is to extend the battery life.
Installation
1To remove the top of the camera mount take out the 4 pins and pull off the top
cover. Installed the camera so that the “DC” and “AV” jacks are facing the side of
the mount without foam.
2The camera mount is housed near the back of the payload bay in the fuselage, it is
held in with four rare earth magnets. Place the mount in the fuselage, with the lens
and wireless camera facing the front of the aircraft.
3Locate the black, red and white cable labeled “camera trigger” and connect it to
connector on the camera mount. Ensure that the yellow wire on the camera mount
is in line with the white wire on the “camera trigger”
4The wireless camera needs to be connected to the video transmitter located on the
aircrafts hatch. Run the cable from the wireless camera that is labeled “camera
TX” through the battery bay and connected it to the circuit board that is labeled
“camera TX”. You will also have to connect the cable labeled “TX PWR” to the
plug on the circuit board labeled “TX PWR”; this cable is located at the nose of
the aircraft.
Your camera system is now setup and ready for flight. The wireless video camera will
begin to shoot and transmit video as soon as you turn on the aircraft. To take a picture
with the still camera activate the momentary switch “F” located on the top left of your
hand held radio transmitter. Take a few test pictures on the ground before flying and you
should hear a tone from the camera when the image is taken.
Battery Installation
The lithium polymer battery included in your Tango kit for the flight battery is held in
with Velcro and Velcro straps. Slide the battery into the battery bay with the Velcro
facing down and the battery connector closest to the front of the plane. Secure the battery
in place using the Velcro straps in the battery bay. To provide power to the Tango
connect the battery to the cable labeled “main batt.”