A Launcher That Keeps Your Fingers Attached

Let's be honest, hand-launching a flying wing is a high-stakes game of 'guess how many fingers I'll have left'. The prop wants a snack, and your knuckles are on the menu. Giz FPV, presumably tired of the potential for unplanned amputations, decided to apply some proper engineering to the problem instead of just, you know, flinging it harder and hoping for the best.

The result is the Drone Slinger V2. It’s a handheld launcher that uses twelve industrial elastic bands and a motorised winch to give your wing a firm, consistent shove into the sky. This methodical approach all but eliminates the dreaded torque roll, but it does come at a price: the winch reloads with all the urgency of a sloth on a Sunday afternoon. Patience is a virtue, apparently.

The real star of the show is a fiendishly clever half-moon pulley that engages the shuttle to load it, then elegantly drops out of the way for launch. It’s a simple, mechanical solution to a complex timing problem, and frankly, it’s the sort of thing that makes you nod appreciatively. See it in action below; it’s more satisfying than you’d think.

So, what's the takeaway? You get safer, more predictable launches, and you get to keep all your digits. If you're a fan of over-engineered solutions to very specific problems (and who isn't?), you'll want to dive into all the glorious technical details in our full-length post. It’s worth the read.