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From the new Kickstarter listing:

Ritewing Drak - The Next Generation RC Aircraft / Drone

by Chris Klick

The Drak is the first forward swept RC aircraft that combines extreme durability with unmatched stability & energy efficient flight.  

About The Drak Project

The Ritewing Drak is a visually stunning and durable remote control (RC) airplane design that is capable of extremely stable and energy efficient flight. This aircraft was designed as a high performance platform for any use: the typical RC enthusiast, first-person-view (FPV), or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). When designing the Drak, we had one mission in mind: to give the average person the ability to capture quality video and photographs or scientific data over an extended geographical area from an unmanned aircraft. The Ritewing Drak has sufficient cargo space and weight bearing capacity to accommodate all of the electronics and sensors that would be needed for any application.

Introducing the Drak

Quad-copters are hot items that boast the ability to capture aerial images, but the Ritewing Drak goes where quad-copters simply can’t. The Drak can cruise expansive areas over an extended period of time to capture video, still photography, or other data with ease. A quad copter simply cannot match the distance and duration parameters of the Drak’s fixed wing platform. The reason is simple: the fixed wing platform actually flies through the air through the principles of lift from the shape of the wing. This allows the Drak to stay in the air with minimal power consumption. A quad copter can only support its weight as long as it has power to its motors.

Go Beyond the Reach of Quad Copters

Ritewing’s goal is to get a Drak into the hands of every RC & FPV Hobbyist or anyone with need for the capabilities that this aircraft possesses. The Drak can enable anyone to capture amazing video and photos from the sky. It's never been easier to capture spectacular aerial images over vast expanses that provide a new perspective that had previously been unseen.

Reach Uncharted Territory

The Key Features of the Ritewing Drak

1.  Innovative forward swept wing design to avoid low speed stalling

2.  Rock solid stability in flight for optimum video and picture quality

3.  Lightweight and durable air frame manufactured from EPP (expanded polypropylene)

4.  Proprietary bay system offers maximum payload capacity and adjustability for balancing

5.  Extended flight times possible depending on configuration and flight habits

6.  Easy to assemble kits, Almost Ready to Fly (ARF), or Ready to Fly (RTF) available

7.  High quality materials and components

8.  Upgradable and expandable

9.  Designed to break down for easy transport and storage

10.All parts are easily repairable or replaceable

11.Able to go where quad copters cannot go

12. Easy to launch by hand

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Drak Project Background

Chris Klick is the creator of and the driving force behind Ritewing. Chris has very humble beginnings as an RC flight enthusiast, but even at that time, he was focused on finding the best RC aircraft possible to feed his appetite for the hobby. Chris was obsessed with finding the best high performance aircraft that combined durability, speed, and exceptional flight characteristics. After a couple of years of searching for the best the hobby industry had to offer, Chris started his own research and development efforts to create the type of aircraft that no one else seemed to be developing. Through Chris’ R&D efforts, Ritewing established a presence in the RC aircraft market, and developed a following of dedicated customers who knew that buying a Ritewing meant getting a product that would perform far better than anything else on the market. 

Chris Klick of Ritewing

After his early successes cutting models like the Ritewing Demon and Ritewing Zephyr on CNC hot wire foam cutting machines, Chris knew the key to bringing his work to more people was to take advantage of mass scale manufacturing technology. After Chris created the concept of the Ritewing Zephyr II, he set out to find a manufacturing partner.In his own back yard, Chris found an established foam molding company that was eager to help him bring the Zephyr II to life as a molded foam product. After its release, the foam molding manufacturing process helped make the Zephyr II the best selling Ritewing of all time.

The Zephyr II flying wing was an incredible product that found its way very quickly crossing over from the typical line-of-sight RC hobby world into the more advanced First Person View (FPV) hobby and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) markets. Next, Chris developed the Spade line of aircraft: the 70”, the 47”, and the yet to be released 52” version.  Ritewing went back to the same manufacturing partner to have the 70” and 47” Spades brought to life.  Now, Ritewing wants to share Chris’ next innovative aircraft design, the Ritewing Drak, with the world through this Kickstarter campaign.

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The Problem:

Currently, each Ritewing Drak is a hot wire cut prototype taking 60 hours of labor to create and make flight ready. This amount of labor makes the cost to produce very high. To make the Drak available to the general public at an affordable price, molding the airframe in EPP is critical. The EPP molds take up to 3 months to produce and are very expensive. As expensive as the creation of the mold is, we must also pay for the first production run of a minimum order quantity from the molding facility. Since the mold does not stay in the machine permanently, the facility requires that a minimum number of parts be produced to make it worthwhile for them. The mold must be installed and configured to run every time a production run is scheduled. 

The obvious benefit of the mold process is the ability to produce a large number of precision molded air frames in just a couple of days, instead of hot wire cutting just a handful in the same time frame. The successful funding of this Kickstarter campaign will enable us to mold the aircraft and offer them for an affordable price.  

Drak Technology Details

1. Innovative Design

• Dissembles into three main pieces for easy transport and storage
• Forward swept wing style to avoid tip stalling at low speeds
• Rear mounted electric motor and propeller
• No landing gear required
• Built-in camera and gear mounts
• Travel and storage case available

The Drak is Portable

2. Easy to fly and simple to maintain

• No messy fuel
• Uses high capacity LiPo battery packs
• Pilot from your existing radio controller
• Can be flown with any flight controller or auto pilot
• Control from any computer, tablet or game controller in conjunction with the flight controller you choose
• Simple, quick, and inexpensive to maintain and repair
• The cargo bays make balancing the aircraft a breeze

The Drak is Lightweight

3. Lightweight with maximum payload 

• Flight and control is stable and accurate for optimal photographic results
• Manufactured from durable EPP
• Our bay system provides the payload capacity for all gear and multiple cameras
• Weighs in at around 6 pounds when ready to fly
• Carries an action camera like the GoPro or Mobius with separate mounts

Multiple Camera Configurations Possible

4. Advanced capabilities possible using a flight controller of your choice

• Auto take-off and landing
• Integrated onboard autopilot flight planning
• Set and fly waypoints using GPS satellite technology
• Fly in aided mode
• Return to home (RTH) capabilities
• Load/Save and repeat/replay flight missions
• Real-time flight data

Typical Ground Station Control Software

5. Extended Flight Times

• Wings designed to make extended flight times possible
• Up to 1 hour flights (fully loaded with camera)
• Exclusive propellers engineered and optimized especially for rear motor aircraft
• High output LiPo battery technology
• Energy efficient electric motor

6. High quality materials and components

• ·Professional grade build quality and workmanship
• ·Extra durable and robust airframe
• ·Carbon fiber and fiberglass sparring system
• ·Highest quality components
• ·Custom CNC aluminum motor mount system
• ·Designed in the USA

Custom Motor Mount System