The DF Concept was initially conceived quite a few years back by John Tushingham and Mike Weston who had a desire to produce an affordable radio sailing yacht which sailed well, had all the tuning aids that a larger radio yacht had and that was available off the shelf so that fleets could grow quickly.
The concept came to fruition in 2013 with the DF65, based on the Ice RG65 by Mark Dicks. Produced by Joysway Hobby Co in China the DF65 was an instant hit and to date (early 2016) there are over 12,000 boats out there sailing and racing. Whilst the DF65 was finding its feet John Tushingham was approached again by Joysway to produce a large radio yacht.
A great deal of development work on the DF95 took place. The original lines came again from Mark Dicks with JT and Buzz Coleman spending many hours perfecting the design and layout of the new yacht. Production prototypes arrived for testing and evaluation in August 2015 and since then there has been a flurry of activity to make sure that the final production boats are absolutely correct.
The DragonFlite 95 is constructed of several cutting edge components and composite materials not found in similar priced RC yachts produced by any other manufacturer. With carbon fibre keel fin, advanced design keel bulb, shroudless keel step, one piece carbon mast and mylar sails this all new racer has the kind of light wind performance most other radio yachts can only dream of.
Its lightweight and long, narrow hull would normally mean an inability to perform in strong winds, however this has been countered by designing low aspect, lightweight rigs with careful sail plan development to ensure awesome handling and balance. Even when the boat is overpowered it still remains easily controllable to windward and always has astonishing speed downwind with almost no tendency to ‘nosedive’.
In Australia, the DF95 has experienced rapid growth with boats now sailing around the country.
Class details:
Strict One Design
LOA 950mm
Plastic moulded hulls as supplied from the manufacturer
Sail profile - strict control, single panel sails
4 rigs available