Isn't the Drift a blast to fly? It absolutely doesn't like the wind, but when calm it makes for a really nice mellow flight, giving you chances to dip your wing or nose and peak around at the world before loosing too much altitude. And it's so forgiving! I crammed a DJI Vista into to mine and just love it.

Did I read correct that you also have a Talon EVO? How do you like it? It looks like a perfect step forward from the Drift.

The Drift is super easy to hand launch but I'm always paranoid watching guys at the local field throw their wings. About half the time they are flawless, but the other half is a mix of nose dives, stalls, and any number of other scary things. So I spent last weekend building a PVC launcher for wings and planes without gear. Got the inspiration from this clip below. I took it out Monday for some testing, made a couple adjustments in the design and have it locked in (I think...hope!). Hoping to get to fully test it first on the Drift and then on maybe an EVO or similar.

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The Drift is what gave me the confidence to throw the wing at all! I was so apprehensive about being able to fly a fixed wing after a few very expensive attempts with my S800 that I had shelved the fixed wing idea and just stuck with quads...the Drift changed everything

Totally get the inconsistent launches with a wing...I have not figured out that to launch have it in a leveling mode to correct for my bad technique.

It really is a super easy to launch the Drift, I now set it to ACRO at about 50% throttle. Just a light toss up and it is going. Have only flown it with 3S and with the worn out packs I have a half hour is possible, 20 minutes easy. So far I have managed a few full rolls and even pulled an "almost" loop the other day! It works well with INAV, eventually it will start getting pushed out further, just need to upgrade the VTX antenna...which is on the way.

Built my EVO and had no luck getting it aloft so far. With a launcher, it should get airborne...have not actually flown it yet, but close.

Thank you for the launcher video! There are several designs and just need to settle on one.

If you'd like some photos and parts info on my launcher fire me a PM with your email. I'd be happy to explain the improvements I did to mine. The biggest thing between the design above and the majority of them out there is that this one is compact and self-contained so to speak. The majority of them you have to stretch the bungee out to whatever distance gives you a good launch. Then you have to stake it in the ground AND stake your launcher into the ground. With the design above, using a pulley gives you pretty much unlimited amount of tension adjustments and you don't have to stake anything into the ground since both ends of the bungee are fixed to the launcher frame.

For my version I added a cross brace on the lower frame that gives me a tie-off spot that is in direct line with the pulley. I then use a fish scale to measure the amount of stretch I'm using on the bungee and I tie it off on the cross brace. Then if I need more power I untie it, stretch it some more and retie it. Takes all of about a minute and that way my launches will stay consistent with different models. I also have the PVC section with the pulley built in such a fashion that I can slide it apart from the main frame and make it much shorter/easier to transport in my 4Runner.

One thing for sure though, if you go with a PVC type spend some time hunting through Craigslist or FB Marketplace for PVC and fittings. The cost of the fittings can really add up when you're buying them all from Home Depot. I found lots of people on Craigslist selling their leftover parts from other projects. I got all but three of the fittings I needed plus all the pipe for $25. Purchased new at Home Depot it would have been well over $100. Anyway, give a shout if I can help.

A couple of nice flights today, morning and then evening.  The winds really never relaxed today.  This morning was a strong breeze, but going in one direction...nice!



This flight got me down over our local post office which is about 625m straight out.  Beautiful view of the valley



This evening the wind seemed like it was going to calm down so I launched...but it was a false calm and the gusts started gusseting the aircraft.  Not uncontrollably, just had to pay closer attention.  Was a really fun and fast flight with a glider like "set it down" landing into the wind.  It was really neat to land the aircraft with only the wind providing any lift!

Did a few Split-S and rolls today. Was getting squirrely and it was super fun! Did end up hitting one of our apple trees, but no damage that could not be fixed with a little tape and glue. Feel like the rates could be a little faster.

Getting a little more active with it.  Even pushing it around it will give 15+ minutes of flight!  Cropped out the AUTOTUNE stuff.

Will be testing the Xilo AXII antenna today.  It looks exactly like the first generation Lumenier AXII and I have had good luck with those.



Too be honest, I was impressed with the cheezy dipole antenna performance.  It would get out to a kilometer without any breakup at 400mw.  For that, a better antenna was never in question for this build.

The antenna works, have been grounded for a few days with high winds.  Went through the Drift and routed wires better.  Was trying to get the CG balanced without having to push the battery back into the bay all the way.  If I want to fly a heavier pack, might have to add a few nickels to the tail.  Was chatting with another Drift pilot and he is running a 5" prop on stock motor with a 2S LiION for an hour's worth of aloft time...I think I might try this.  Was looking through my LiION stash(tm) and found a few matched sets that can be used.

My last flights found me at an impressive altitude and out beyond 2 kilometers.  This aircraft is basically silent once it is a hundred meters up.  On 2S with a longer prop, I would venture that will be the case at a shorter distance.  My concern is...well, less than enlightened folk believing that anything flying is spying on them.  This just means getting it outside of their attention span if I want to really push it.  No way to avoid overflying the roads to get to the mountain (my goal at 6.2km), so it has to be high enough that it is does not draw attention.  It will also require a day with steady breezes instead of the gusty stuff that this last week has offered.

My neighbor came over and I showed her some videos...her daughter was impressed and she is sure her son will want to try this whole thing out!  She realized that I actually cannot see things as clearly as she believed and now she understands that these are not some sort of spy anything.

Oh...the latest fun!

So I updated to INAV 4.0.0 and set everything (well...almost everything) from scratch, not a big deal.  Had a short break in the weather so decided to test a quick flight in the yard.  Airplane boots up, binds and is ready to go.  Quick (and errant) preflight...and it arms.  Throttle up and toss...and WTF, it rolls over to port when I am inputing for a starboard roll...and it crashes.

Forgot I have the FC 180deg out and that the servos for the ailerons need to be reversed.  Had to reconstruct the entire nose.  Also put a lovely stratch in the BRAND NEW lens!  "I are smart, last week I couldn't even spell pilet" moment.  Anyway, have it all sorted out and now everything moves like I expect it to.  Winds are not bad, so maybe another test toss this afternoon.

Hope everyone is well and the holiday buzz is still alive and well!