Innova Innova's straight fairway drivers

[Fistymcbuttpuncher]

I'd also be fully willing to believe that I'm just not throwing it right to 'unlock' the glide, so to speak lol

 

[Nick Carroll]

Yep I have the same Hailey Hawkeye and it's on my wall now, as I'm using a standard issue Star one right now in my cart. The Hailey one was overlapping with my Star TL, which is a touch more stable than the standard issue Hawkeye.

 

[Nick Carroll]

I'd also be fully willing to believe that I'm just not throwing it right to 'unlock' the glide, so to speak lol

I do think Innova retooled the FD/Fairway Disc to be a touch less glidey with the Hawkeye mold, so you may just be noticing what's intended.

 

[Fistymcbuttpuncher]

Cause when I throw it flat and watch it do its thing, I'm thinking 'wow! I nailed that one!' then go up and its like 320' whereas the eagles are like 340' lol

 

[jupiterboy]

My sense is that my Halo Hawkeye is more sensitive to nose angle than my first-run Stars. YMMV

 

[Morg H]

I also appreciate the Hawkeye in situations where I'm hoping to NOT skip 30'.
The profile is such that it tends to stay pretty close to where it lands.

 

[Fistymcbuttpuncher]

I still like the halo hawkeye for sure, but if I need a fairway that goes dead straight(or need a baby fade on the end) with a lot of glide, I can go to my Legacy Shatter Phenom.
That thing is probably the glidy-est fairway in my bag at the moment. My Barsby swirl star eagle is very glidey and flies the perfect eagle s-flight, but the Phenom will still go farther on the same throw. Its kind of freakish.

 

[Twmccoy]

You make the Hawkeye sound a lot like a River?

Nah. River for me was really flippy. Hawkeye isn't. River is also slower. Last River I threw had at least -3 turn. Violently flippy, and never tried to come back. Flew like a super thrashed Leopard.

 

[Twmccoy]

Dang, cause the halo hawkeye I have is fairly low glide It feels/flies more like 4 glide for me. It does fly like you say though, just not 'floaty' for me. But I still bag it cause its an amazingly straight disc for me.

My Hawkeye is regular star. Big dome. Not the least bit flat. Tons of glide. It can get pushed around by wind for that reason.

 

[Fistymcbuttpuncher]

Yeh, the one I have is fairly flat compared to the FD's I've had in the past, not FLAT flat, but nowhere near 'domey'. Which is good, because I didn't like how domey the FD was, even though it was very glidey.

 

[isamoor]

For most folks, I would expect either a Leopard3 or TL3 to be the straightest Innova fairway. The Leopard3 is still a 1.6cm disc, so it's easier for most folks to get up to speed. But a fresh, premium plastic leopard3 isn't in a hurry to turn either. Pick either of those molds in your favorite plastic and then go down in weight until it flies straight.

Hawkeyes/FDs are awesome discs as well. I'd say they require generally higher speeds to go straight (than a leopard3 for example). They do have a great shape for glide though. The rim is closer to a 7.5 speed which might explain some of that arm speed requirement.

And I still have a soft spot for rivers. They're such a a large diameter driver they really do have a unique flight shape.

 

[Twmccoy]

Honestly, I think the Hawkeye is probably the best driver (fairway or distance) that I've ever thrown in terms of powering up or powering down. By that I mean it'll fly basically the same way regardless of how hard you throw it. Obviously a softer throw won't got as far, but it'll maintain the same flight path as a long throw.

I've found the Hawkeye to be pretty reliable out to at least 430'. It'll take a good rip without flipping all over the place. It maintains a straight flight with a very minimal late fade.

 

[Jwanner]

They all work and cover their own niche and arm speed matters a lot. A pro like Calvin uses an Eagle or Vela ( flat top Eagle/ Eagle3). A beat in Teebird is the traditional straight 7 speed, and for some a TL is a good drop in off the shelf. The FD was Discmania's answer and after the Discmania separation, the Hawkeye (tweaked ? FD) was released for those who love the FD. I pair Exodus (Eagle-L) with Leopard3 for the 7 speeds and with a couple plastic and states of wear have stable to flippy covered. Both offer a little more movement to one end or the other than the more traditional TL or FD. On the course, I typically use these for 250'-280', sometimes I get them out to 300' in field practice.

For straight, I use a fresh star L3 or a beat-in I-Blend Exodus. A fresh L3 is more stable than it typically gets credit and covered the straight- stable with minimal fade. As my star L3 is breaking in to hyzerflip w/ some L-R movement my Exodus is starting to fill the straight stable slot and has increased in glide and distance. I've since dropped in a fresh S-blend Exodus for the stable shot I can put a little flex on and still trust to finish left or not burn right.

 

[Fistymcbuttpuncher]

I have 8 fairways in my bag, from super flippy champ IT to a super overstable champ teebird. I don't carry my bag though, so I usually only carry one driver with me at any time. The two courses I play can be parred with putters, so its not exactly high caliber play to begin with.

 

[Whit]

Innova has many molds in the straight-to-slightly overstable category like the:

Leopard
Leopard3
TL
TL3
Hawkeye

And if you include Innova manufactured molds, we have the:

JLS
Polaris
Vela
Exodus
Centurion

So that's 10 molds that are all pretty similar to each other. I understand that they're not the same, but Innova throwers: What makes one stand out from the other options for this similar slot in the bag?

hi

I those a quantum(champ) vela and a lunar jls.

The vela is a tad over stable and can handle some power but doesn't have much glide. I also forehand it with trust it won't burn over.

The JLS is -1, 1 and shows it, I use more finess, thrown with some hyzer it will flip and finish around 1 o clock, also great disc for tunnel down hill shots, it glides but will fade back.

both are great discs


ps also toss a champ leopard that i treat like a longer roc

 

[Whit]

Dont forget to add the add the dark (donk) rebel to the list

aka fairway driver

 

[Whit]

X-mold/concave bottom rim - JLS/PLS/Vela - Hyzer flip to straight
L-mold/mostly flat bottom rim - TL/TL3/Exodus/Eagle-L - S curve flights with more fade than turn. Not as great in wind.
'Vtech' mold - combination convex and flat bottom rim to make a driver bead - Leo/Leo3/Centurion/Hawkeye/FD - S curve flight with more turn than fade + holds the release angle for a while. Potential to hyzer flip to holding a gradual turn w/ minimal fade once beat in. Torque resistance and more predictable flights into headwinds vs. L-molds.

6-7 speed rims ~1.6cm - Leo/Leo3/JLS/PLS/Centurion - easier to get up to speed and fly true to flight numbers, easier rollers
7-8 speed rims ~1.7cm - Hawkeye/TL/TL3/Vela/Exodus - more speed required to get turn, better for headwind

Flatter tops - Vela/TL3/Leo3/Centurion - faster, line drives are more comfortable. Nose angle has more affect on the early high speed flight. Run to run variation is higher for stability and dome.
Higher Dome top- JLS/PLS/TL/Exodus/Leo/Hawkeye - needs more airspace, more forgiving on nose angle which can be utilized to make them fly different lines. Dome profile is dependent on plastic blend generally.

---

I have thrown the JLS (Q & S), Leo (Champ & Star), and TL3 (Star) the most of these. I like the versatility the JLS gives as a compliment to the other X-mold TB/TB3/Eagle I pair them with - similar feel and decent torque resistance but straighter flight. Leo can do some amazing things as a turnover or roller disc. TL3 is nice for line drive hyzer flip throws and adjusting nose angle properly seems easier versus the JLS or Leo. I generally will reach for a 6-8 speed Fairway for 320' and 380' holes. At times I've dropped down to just the JLS in Q and S paired with TB/TB3 recently.

Exodus is probably the only mold that can handle some FH torque out of these - at least for the C-blend ones I've thrown.

EDIT: Had another thought with regards to weight of the disc - I generally throw 170g+ for these fairways. The note I have above about the 7-8 speed fairways needing more speed can be countered by dropping down into the 165-170g range.

Plastic blend also factors in - its better to adapt to the actual disc instead of just looking at the flight numbers. Anchoring the disc to manufacturer's marketed flight numbers is setting up for disappointment. Some of the flight numbers for the older molds (Leo/JLS/PLS/TL) get 'off' when applied to the premium blends off the shelf and take time to beat into those kinds of flights. I'd say hand feel of both the mold profile and plastic blend are more important than flight numbers. Some runs just turn out better than others based on personal preference - grip/dome/stability/flexibility. Infinite and Millennium have identifiable runs but the stock Innova runs are more challenging to track.

this is the best response I have read on here for along time. well done

 

[Jwanner]

For someone who is looking for a little more bite than an Exodus without stepping up to a Teebird or Eagle, what would be the best option? Throwing these 300-340ish. I was thinking about pairing my star Leo3 with a fresh Champ one, but the L-wings aren't as good in the wind. I've heard the Teebird3 is a little less OS, but my biggest thing is hand feel; the Teebird just doesn't feel good in my hand.

If you like the Exodus, I would give it a try in Halo. Infinite has x-outs for 12.99 right now. My max weight Halo is more stable than a domey S blend by a fair bit.

 

[TiltedFlipCurves]

I love my Champ TL but DX Eagles are also goated for the slot -- tune them with wear & weight

 

[Fistymcbuttpuncher]

I love my Champ TL but DX Eagles are also goated for the slot -- tune them with wear & weight

Have you tried a G Star EagleX? They are like a DX Eagle but with durability between star and pro. And the gliiiiiiiiiiiiiiide is amazing.