Originally Posted by STRINGFLY

Yes, I did put in a ticket. They were prompt in answering me and answered all my questions the best they could. Nice guys.

Stringfly <>+++++

Hobbywarehouse the Joysway distributor here in Aus can only confirm that the boat is being built but have no firm eta in Aus for it.

If they keep the price proportionate to the 65 and it handles as well, I can't see this boat not being a success. I'm sure there will always be a market for scale/replica AC type boats, but sooner or later there has to be a transition to an affordable modern OD like the 65 for those who want a larger boat and Joysway have the ticket, innovate or get left behind IMO.

Originally Posted by sightline

If they keep the price proportionate to the 65 and it handles as well, I can't see this boat not being a success. I'm sure there will always be a market for scale/replica AC type boats, but sooner or later there has to be a transition to an affordable modern OD like the 65 for those who want a larger boat and Joysway have the ticket, innovate or get left behind IMO.

Couldnt agree more...

I hope we can convince them its worth the investment to bring in.

Atomik/Venom are certainly happy with the Dragon Force, but their experience on the larger more expensive price point kit boats theyve carried like the ShunBo etc... has not been ..... good

In fact they are not selling anything but the Joysway sailboat products they have and the private label Binary they are carrying,

I am one of their go to guys when it comes to recommendations on sailboats, and I certainly think this boat will be a winner, but ultimately its not my money

Update

The carbon fin samples are taking longer than expected, so Joysway expect to ship sample boats mid August.

John Tushingham

Carbon foils? Is that just for the sample or production boats?

I think Atomik will be pleasantly surprised with the interest in this boat. I just finished assembling an "AC " boat for a friend. After buying a DF65 and seeing the way it was engineered and how easy it was to tune etc. -what used to be enjoyable now became a bit of a chore, plus I spent an hour fixing a "decorative" broken component on my boat to keep it class compliant, so boats like the DF65/DF95 are obviously the way of the future IMO, how soon will depend on price points and how long the old salts dig their toes in.
My perspective is from someone fairly new to RC racing BTW, so not trying to sound like an instant expert I hope.
My "request" ticket to Atomik will be in once I know the approximate price

The Carbon fin is the preferred production solution and is within the design cost budget. The DF95 is aimed at the race market but at an affordable cost. As John has said the carbon fins are still in production developement and will require testing etc. We have itchy hands just waiting to get on the water testing.

Originally Posted by BuzzColeman

The Carbon fin is the preferred production solution and is within the design cost budget. The DF95 is aimed at the race market but at an affordable cost. As John has said the carbon fins are still in production developement and will require testing etc. We have itchy hands just waiting to get on the water testing.

Maybe you could get one sent downunder to me so I can do the hot weather trials on it!!

The carbon keel shows how dedicated Joyway are to making the DF95 a top quality, superb value boat. The original spec had a hollow aluminium keel, same construction method as used on the DF65. However, the designed profile was impossible to produce as an extruded, hollow section. So, rather than take the easy route, Joysway decided that a carbon keel was the only way to go to get the desired quality.
You couldn't ask for more from any manufacturer. We know that Joysway are into radio sailing for the long term and are willing to put in the substantial investment needed to produce a quality racing boat. They will continue to do quality improvements to the DF65 whilst fully respecting the restricted class rule.
We know the team at Joysway very well now and their commitment and enthusiasm as a manufacturer to work with us, is both refreshing and inspirational. The age of low cost, top quality radio sailing has well and truly arrived!

Thank you very much for the info and your commitment John. My request ticket is in.

Stringfly <>++++

Not to mention that the people behind both these boats follow this thread and respond very quickly to questions. Impressive.

Originally Posted by John Tushingham

OK, time to end some of the speculation.

Congratulations John & Scratchy, you've just about nailed the concept of the DragonFlite95. It's a lightweight (2Kg all-up sailing weight) boat that relies on a long waterline length for it's performance. The keel bulb will weigh around 900g (depending on the final weight of the production fin), so, clearly it can't have a high aspect rig in anything but the lightest conditions. The profile of the A rig has changed from the photo shown earlier in this thread, but the area remains the same.

Joysway expect to complete the first prototypes by the end of July and they will be shipped to us for final rig development and testing. They have invested significantly in the quality of tooling used in the production of the DF95 and from what we've seen so far it looks to be paying off. We'll post photos and video of the prototypes when the development work is finished. The deck design has moved on significantly from what you might already have seen on the early prototypes, I promise you it's looking good!

We don't want to make any claims about it's performance at this stage as we only had limited time to sail the last prototype before handing it over to Joysway. All I will say is that we came away with a big smile after sailing it and can't wait to work on the rigs with the production hulls. Once you understand the concept of the design the reason for the low aspect, masthead rigs starts to make sense. It also has the huge benefit of being able to be packed away into an easily transportable package - a huge factor if you're considering attending flyaway events.

Expect the boat to be totally race orientated, no lightning flashes or dragons on the sails, just good quality Mylar sails with loads of room for large sail numbers. More information about setup and tuning will be supplied with the boat.

I could go on and on about the detail of the boat, but let's wait until we get our hands on it and we can show you what you're actually going to get. I'll gladly answer questions but some things will have to remain under wraps until production ready, don't want to make any false claims or mislead anyone. As Scratchy says... "....let the speculation (building interest) continue...."

John Tushingham

John,
Given that the boat is "race orientated" do you expect it to come without a radio and leave that choice up to the owner?

The 'full' version will come with a radio. They showed us the set they intend to use earlier in the year, a full sized 2.4Ghz Tx with manual end point adjustment. Felt very good in the hand. We'll report on it's performance when we sail the prototypes. Whether it will also come as a version without radio is still for discussion.

Originally Posted by John Tushingham

The 'full' version will come with a radio. They showed us the set they intend to use earlier in the year, a full sized 2.4Ghz Tx with manual end point adjustment. Felt very good in the hand. We'll report on it's performance when we sail the prototypes. Whether it will also come as a version without radio is still for discussion.

John, Thanks for the info. I am really looking forward to getting a "95".

Originally Posted by Radsail

John, Thanks for the info. I am really looking forward to getting a "95".

Watch this space!

This is looking really exciting
One request, can we please have a screw on deck hatch for battery access. Stick on deck patches are light but a pain.
Happy to help Radsail do some Aussie heat testing if needed