EGODRIFT at IRCHA 2022

The plan was a live show from IRCHA 2022 in Muncie, Indiana. Despite heaps of gear — an array of antennas included — the venue's signal annihilated it, so what survives is better than a stream: Bill Ann's cut of the intended show-style coverage, hosted by star commentators Greg Ringle and Mike Weatherly, with Vincent and a parade of guests dropping by the EGODRIFT booth.

In this video:

• Challenge coins and the booth motor drawing
• New US team members Stephen Serrand and Logan Jones
• Ben Storey joins HeliDirect's pro team
• Distribution talk with Sam Le and JaeKang Lee
• The 200-mojito evening

Coins, drawings and a booth twice the size

The EGODRIFT crew handed challenge coins into the crowd during Power Hour; bringing one back to the booth earned a ticket for a drawing — a motor of the winner's choice. The event itself, Mike notes, was twice the size of the previous year, with pilots returning from overseas: Rasmus Jacobsen throwing down in the HeliDirect Power Hour, guests from Germany and Korea, and names like Nick Maxwell and Kyle Stacy on the Battle of the Brands bill.

The team grows

The strongest segment belongs to the two newest US team members, Stephen Serrand and Logan Jones, interviewed on the couch:

"I'm really glad to be on team EGODRIFT" — Stephen Serrand

Their next projects say more than any spec sheet: an 8S Nimbus build around a 4030HT in the 850Kv range, and a choice between a fresh V2 with a 4525HT 550Kv or re-shuffling 4530HT 510Kv motors between airframes — "I just love how that motor pulls and comes down ice cool." Also new that year: Ben Storey, after nine years flying for another brand, joining HeliDirect's pro team and picking the 4530HT 550Kv.

Distribution, in person

IRCHA 2022 was the first time Vincent and Sam Le — who distributes EGODRIFT motors to US dealers together with HeliDirect — met in person, and the first meeting with JaeKang Lee, the distributor for Korea, who sends greetings home in Korean in the video. The pitch from Sam is practical: dealers get motors domestically and fast, which saves their customers real time.

And the mojitos

Yes, the stories are true: a former-bartender guest, fresh mint hunted down from store to store, roughly 200 mojitos, party lights migrating from tent to tent, and a booth remembered as warmly for its evenings as for its motors. Watch the video for the full flavor — banana suit included.

One last teaser from the closing minutes: word around the field was a big announcement coming from IRCHA itself, hinted to mean the Jamboree might happen more than once a year — Greg's bet was a second run somewhere west of the Mississippi.