Walkera Dragonfly 4 skids upgrade
Upgrading your Dragonfly 4 skids is a sensible thing to do, and there are several options currently available.
The landing gear and skid assembly that comes with the helicopter is OK, but is easily damaged on hard landings. While the straight-replacement skid set is an easy option, you might as well fork out a few extra bucks and treat your Dragonfly 4 to something a bit sexier.
The benefits of tougher skids are obvious - not only does it protect the helicopter from those not-so-soft landings, but a skid set with tail boom struts makes the whole helicopter stronger, and the heli will look much better for it.
Currently, obvious choices for upgrading the Dragonfly 4 skids are the Xtreme Skids available from HeliGuy.com, and the SuperSkids, usually available on eBay.
Above, my DF4 sporting its Xtreme Skids, and then below, it's newer SuperSkids
I've tried both sets and personally prefer the SuperSkids, they were easier to fit and somewhat lighter. On that note, I did opt for the '3D' version of the SuperSkids rather than the standard set. The 3D SuperSkids are marginally lighter and have no tail boom strut or fins. Though only a few grams difference in weight, it is enough to make a slight difference in flight times and performance.
I found the Xtreme Skids quite fiddly to fit and required a modification to the kit, I believe now that they have been made easier to fit.
The SuperSkids came with comprehensive fitting instructions, complete with photos to follow. My only complaint was that the screws that screw into the original helicopter landing gear mounting holes could have been a tad larger diameter - I ended up gluing them into the holes as the thread didn't really take.
Both sets of skids certainly beef-up the Dragonfly 4, and although the tail boom struts and fins do add a bit of extra weight, they really do look good. By the way, this weight issue isn't such an issue if your helicopter has had its battery and motor upgraded.
Overall, I strongly recommend making the Walkera Dragonfly 4 skids upgrade. Both the Xtreme Skids and SuperSkids are not expensive, and they really do protect the helicopter if your landings aren't yet how they should be!
Related pages
The Dragonfly 4 - what you get and what to do with it all.
Training tips - get used to your DF4 at floor level.
Getting airborne - for when you've done the floor bit.
Spares & repairs - useful tips for the Dragonfly 4.
Rotor blade balancing - a crude but effective way if you don't have a balancing tool.
Rotor blade tracking - how to get the blades tracking correctly.
Flybar balance and paddle pitch - more ways to stop vibration.
Main frame replacement - guidelines for the worst job of them all!
Battery upgrade - time to go Li-Po.
Motor upgrade - fit a better quality brushed motor.
Index - to all Walkera Dragonfly 4 related pages.
