1 Year of Draco - Far Easier to Fly Than You Thought 

Jon, haters gonna hate. I'm learning really quick to ignore those folks. Lol. We'll keep flying and enjoying Draco, and hopefully some will join us and give it a try after watching vids like this. For those that don't, fair enough. Their loss. Nice flying man. You do way more with yours than I do, but I love the challenge of bush flying with it!

Thank you for doing videos like these. I can finally see what this plane is actually capable of doing instead of people telling me I need to buy landing gear reinforcement and that it can't do STOL

I’ve had my Draco for over a year on the shelf. I haven’t flown it yet. I didn’t wanna mess it up before I was ready to really fly it, but then I kinda forgot about it. This video made me get it ready for the next flying day. I like flying STOL, and now I know it can handle more than I thought.

Another great video Jon! I’ve never seen anyone flying the Draco as you do 🙌🏻

I still love my Draco, I fly it regularly. It still gets looks wherever I fly it. This was also my 3rd RC plane I ever flew. The only thing I've done is upgrade the landing gear from @JustPlaneCrazy and a few props. Great video.

Isn't this what makes the hobby so fun, is finding the airplanes limits, pushing it, and mastering it!

Awesome video Jon. Now I want a Draco!

i actually like draco for its full scale details , even tho its heavy it is a cool plane and looks great, especially with the updated gear, and dont let it sit in the sun so the dash doesnt popcorn, draco has a good presence in the sky and its the plane that made reverse thrust a common thing

intro was beautiful.

Thank you so much for this video.

I've bought 3 planes after your reviews. draco, fms tiger cat and the blue and white 🌮 wing 😉. They perform exactly as you said in your reviews of them. I appreciate you call BS when it's due it's saved me and is the reason I use your links or codes.

As I was saying to model av8tr it is the most fun I've had flying a brick! She's capable, you can get stupid with her and she'll make you re-learn your love for model aviation!

I have the draco myself its one tough plane. Your skills of mainly the hovering after takeoff is insane, looks awesome. I have to give you a pass on the landings because im still in the bounce on runway fase 😅😅 but i enjoy the plane!

Looks like a very good airplane!

I would still love one myself! Still waiting to find one used but not worn out LOL

Awesome video Jon as always. Will try to be brief cause I love all of these RC channels. Diversity of opinion is fantastic; it lets the consumer/viewer decide based on the reviewers opinions and flight displays. Thus I’m grateful for everyone’s time and efforts in these vids; and yes, for their opinions! I bought Draco, getting a bit better, then excited to build, fly, and yes most likely crash it, and then enjoy repair it (part of the fun). Thanks 🙏 so much for this opinion you shared on this unique aircraft….next up! A brief discussion on stalling (here comes some airplane dork talk 🤓).

Five 👍's Up. Just got me new Draco built up. Kant wait f/ Spring in WY; only 3 months away 🥶 Added 5" Kavan's and FalconRCShop shock upgrade kit 🤠. Keep em up!

Awesome video you and Adam fly the planes great really enjoyed good job😊✈🛩🛫🛬🪂🛩👍👍👍

The weight of the airframe makes it fly like it’s on rails… sure I can land a timber with a very light wing loading in a shorter distance but the approaches are much more stable with Draco with its higher wing loading. The key is to use a 4000 mah or less battery and move the cg towards the rear some and fly approaches behind the curve with power dragging it in like you displayed in your video. It’s a fantastic airplane. Way more exciting than the carbon z or flex 170.

Hopefully one day, maybe.

you got inspired just a year ago from tail heavy rc when you met them and started flying bush with your older turbo timber and even tried flying your ultimate 3d in their backyard

completely unrelated to Draco but just wanted an answer, is the 1.3m PA-18 super cub a good 3rd plane? I’ve had a mini aeroscout as my first, a higher priced toy cub from Amazon as my second, working on landing with a tail dragged and not tipping (starting to be able to land well almost every flight now) and looking at the RTF version. I like low and slow and the flaps seem to help. Would like insight from a longer pilot than me, only been flying for a year at most. Is this a good plane for me, or should I wait and look for a different, maybe more beginner plane?

Did you have some kind of fall out with Tail Heavy Productions? The videos flying with them can't be found anymore and it seems like the complete opposite of their latest video. I enjoy both and Draco is an awesome looker, it's probably going to end up in my hangar but it's just not a bush plane, but an awesome looking brick.

When it comes to Highwing Hobby planes, i prefer the Ultrix 600mm. 😊

I put the pa18 1.3m wheels on my Maule and fly it around the park behind my house, pretending its Draco. The actual Draco is on my Mt. Rushmore of Powerball planes. Heavy or not, Its friggin gorgeous. And i will have it some day. Until then, ill just practice beating the crap out of the Maule til i dont beat the crap out of it anymore. Thanks for the info, Jon 👍

I've always thought the Draco was cool, was going to buy one but I already have the Legacy Aircraft Turbo Bushmaster which is the gold standard for lightweight 3D capable bush planes. Its balsa and covering though and you guys don't really do that sort of aircraft but it really is levels above the beer coolers. Its expensive though, a well set up 84 inch bushy is well over a grand but that's how it is in this hobby. We wont even talk about helicopters. Say, will you guys ever get into helicopters? It does require a masochistic level of self hatred but they are pretty rad once the crashing subsides.

Yes i May have over judged this airplane and I hope to tray and not

I kind of want to put a gas engine on mine. But idk what will fit in it haha

Okay, now I know you misspoke slightly Jon (“stay above stall speed and critical angle of attack and you won’t stall”) I know you meant above stall speed and BELOW critical AOA, as I’ve heard you discuss stalls before and are accurate in your discussions. But for the viewers, an aircraft can stall at ANY speed and ANY attitude if it exceeds its critical angle of attack (AOA). Period. In real flying we have “stall speeds” published but that speed ONLY applies in LEVEL FLIGHT, max gross weight (full load of stuff and fuel), and the most forward center of gravity. Why is RC flying tough?? Because we don’t have an indicated airspeed gauge based on ram air into a little tube called a pitot tube like we do in real flying. So many times, folks get slow without knowing it, the flyer lifts the nose and the critical AOA is reached and boom! Stall. So “stall speed” increases as weight of the craft increases since the wing Needs to fly at a higher AOA to generate enough lift at a given speed to carry that extra weight. THATS why Draco “stalls easily” with wings level compared to the Fun Cub so revered by the Tail Heavy Guys (another great channel). So what concept puts weight and wing dynamics and stall characteristics together?? The concept of Wing Loading. That is, the weight of the plane (or flying animal) divided by the area of its wing. This is discussed a great deal on lots of RC channels. Wing loading is a useful measure of the stalling speed of an aircraft, lower wing loading, then lower stall speed, lower landing speed and lower take off speed. (Attributes most love in STOL/Bush planes). Draco has a higher wing load than many other “Bush RC planes” thus the opinion that it’s “not a great bush plane”. The tail heavy guys love LOW wing loading. They like light planes with more wing area which makes an aircraft “easier” to fly (and more forgiving to the novice) in some respects but more susceptible to wind (think a butterfly 🦋 with the lowest wing loading of most flying animals). See, again, in real flying, your airspeed indicator is “life” which is why RC flying heavier planes is a bit more tough because you have to keep your speed up so as not to reach the critical AOA and stall. Okay class, what increases the “weight” of any aircraft relative to its wing area besides the load (stuff) you put in it?? G loading!! How do you increase the G (gravity load) of an airplane? You bank the wing steeply and “pull back on the elevator” to maintain the same altitude. Straight and level fight makes 1 G, so if Draco is 10 pounds, it’s 10 pounds in straight and level flight. Well, A 60 degree bank angle of the wings (while maintaining the same power setting and same altitude, by pulling back on the elevator) makes 2 G’s. Thus the plane “feels” twice as heavy, (Draco becomes 20 pounds with the same wing area!) and the wing needs to raise its AOA to make more lift to carry that “increased” weight. Thus the aircraft is more likely to stall (cause it’s reaching its critical AOA!) As load factor (G’s) increase, stall speed increases at an exponential rate!! (Won’t get into the math here) just know this, that at a 60 degree bank, your stall speed increases by 40% !! Most RC flyers and real pilots stall while “turning from base to final approach”. Why? Because of bank angle!! So because Draco is much heavier than a fun cub, its stall speed is already faster than a fun cub and its speed must stay “much” higher during high bank angle maneuvers. That’s sorta why the Tail Heavy channel guys love planes with low wing loading in a sense, cause they love flying in very tight areas ( which you can do much easier with a low wing loaded aircraft). Like flying in the confines of a forested area with a small clearing! Tail heavy guys love that shit. If you understand all of this, you can easily fly Draco within its flight envelope (which you stated). This is the same reasons most RC jets are tough on a novice, because of Higher Wing loading to begin with. Especially scale ones like an F16. So there you are!! Crystal clear right!! 😂😂 I tried without math and formulas to describe it the best I could. Hope it helps if people can hold their attention long enough to read this. Thanks again Jon for your time and videos. Love em’.

I'd rather spend $600. On a jet!

Lighter than who haha

Most overhyped bit of flying junk around 😂, I’ve got better depron birds for £15 than this 😂 , For the price of this you can buy a 3d printer the Draco plans build two and still have change for a hotdog 🌭 Advice kids, new flyers , dont buy this over priced crap build your own planes , better value , you learn more , and you don’t spend your spare time on Rc groups or support hotline. 👍