The dangerous flight of the S032 Fiery Dragon

There is something about helicopters that speaks of humanity's need to dabble in things we ought to avoid.  Helicopters should not have been invented.  They are unnatural.  They are undead.  When a helicopter dreams, it dreams of flipping upside down and killing everyone inside and around them.

Still, I am fascinated by helicopters.  I have ridden in a few, mostly the old UH-1's and a few UH-60's.  I once had a ride in a UH-1 that more or less confirmed to me that helicopters are really, really dangerous machines.  After that flight, I decided that watching helicopters is OK but riding in them is almost irrational.

Recently I was in Portland OR. While there I went shopping in a toy store and saw radio controlled helicopters for sale.  I said "Ah gotta git me one of 'em!"  Consequently I left the store with the mighty S032 Fiery Dragon 3.5 channel radio controlled (R/C) helicopter under one arm.  The S032 Fiery Dragon boasts:

• Special Outdoor Design
• Adjustable trim control
• Rechargable Li-poly Battery
• 3.5 Channel R/C Helicopter

 The technical specifications are:

• 40MHz
• Length: 370 mm
• Width: 65 mm
• Height: 150 mm
• Main rotor: 300 mm
• Tail rotor: 65 mm
• Motor: N50X2
• Impetus Batteries: 50 mAH 3.7V Li-poly
• Gyroscope stabilized flight

The R/C controller handset contains a link light, a joystick to throttle rpms for up/down, another joystick for forward, backward, left, and right, and a trim control.  The handset runs on 4 AA batteries.

At Buck Fusion Labs, the flight testers lined up for a little flight practice.  Like all helicopters, the S032 Fiery Dragon wants to crash.   The flight testers discovered the controls are a little tricky to master, but once enough flights are made the operator can make flying look easy.  Just like a real helicopter pilot.

The S032 Fiery Dragon has red and blue flashing LED lights in its nose.  I suppose this is the "fiery" part of the "dragon." The blinking LEDs give the helicopter a little bit of flair.  The rotors do not produce too much noise but with all those whirling blades there is some noise.  I think the closest sound is to imagine a muffled coffee grinder.

The energy source of the S032 Fiery Dragon is a Lithium-polymer (Li-poly) battery. When the Li-poly battery is fully charged the S032 Fiery Dragon has plenty of power to fly 6-10 minutes.  Testers found that the engine has enough power to make the S032 Fiery Dragon hit the ceiling.  After a couple of pilots at Buck Fusion Labs hit the ceiling a few times, the testers decided to take the S032 Fiery Dragon outside for a little free flight.

That decision lead to a near disaster.  Outside the weather was calm and dry, and apparently no wind.  The testers at Buck Fusion Labs were really excited to see what the little helicopter could do!  Well, we found out.  At maximum power with a fully charged battery, the S032 Fiery Dragon flew straight up over 34 meters and passed over the tops of several Douglas Fir trees.  Somewhere during the vertical ascent the testers lost control of the S032 Fiery Dragon and the helicopter became trapped in a gentle breeze.  Bye, bye, S032 Fiery Dragon!  The testers watched the helicopter drift away to the North. Thank goodness when operating the helicopter sounds like a coffee grinder.  The testers were able to visualize the general direction of flight from the sound of the helicopter.  Until it hit a branch and became ominously silent, that is.

After much searching the testers found the S032 Fiery Dragon on the ground about 66 meters from the launch pad.  The little red and blue LEDs were still blinking and the helicopter remained flyable.  The Fiery Dragon was ready to go again! Wow.  That's one cool toy!