Does anyone have experience with a Star Firebird FL?

Innova advertises it as a slightly less stable version of the Firebird. What do you think? I love the Star Firebird, but I wouldn't mind finding something that doesn't fada as hard. Give me your input?

[Mike]

Wouldn't that just be a Viking? They got rid of the old mold Beast because it was too close to the flight of an Orc, supposedly. Just seems they are trying to market another disc that is similiar to one they already have under a different name. I would say the Firebird is more popular than a Viking, thus a disc with a similiar flight but with the Firebird name will be more popular than a Viking. I know the FL supposedly has a little less turn but I really don't think it is that different, just available in Pro plastic, but not Champion or DX. Just my thoughts.

[Coolhand]

i had a star fl for awhile. it was ok. i never replaced it when i lost it though and haven't missed it. i would say my fl was quite a bit more stable than a viking though. it does have less fade than a firebird. as you can tell though, i wasn't that impressed. however, you might be. it could be the missing link in your bag. one can never tell about these things.

[Bill]

I got a used one from a buddy who claims he only threw it twice and that was in a field. I had always carried a Pro Firebird but it ended up in the lake at Winthrop this past Oct so I only recently replaced it with a Star FL 167. That's right in my preferred driver weight range and I too was looking for a Firebird with a little less fade and so far, this is it.

I use it mostly forehand when I need a hard turn, it's not broken in much at all so it stays on the line and doesn't turn level and glide. It's not an every round I need it but have recently found a few chances to use it in windy conditions and it does just as well as my old Pro Firebird, just with less distance due to (I think) less glide.

The Viking, according to Innova, is just about as dead-straight as they make a driver so I don't know that they at much comparable except for speed rating.

[Mike]

Firebird- (9, 3, 0, 4) DX, Ch, Star
FL- (9, 3, 0, 2) Pro, Star
Viking- (9, 4, -1, 2) DX, Ch, Star

I didn't say they were the same but the differance between the Viking and FL is not that noticable especially once you beat the FL in just a bit, as they are only available in Pro and Star plastic that will beat in quickly, and once they are beat in they are a straighter flying disc just as a Champ Viking would be. Turn will become a negative number, fade will decrease. That is my point.

[Jackson]

I'd put it right between an Orc and an SL, stability-wise.

[Josh Taylor]

I got an ace with my star FL last summer, about 250' into a headwind, most of the flight was very straight (didn't turn over) with a nice fade into the basket at the end. That being said, it's not even in my bag anymore, not because I retired it but because I just hardly ever threw it. Good disc for not-too-long hyzer drives or medium headwind drives, but there are a lot of other discs that can fill that niche too.

[Bill]

Mike said:

Firebird- (9, 3, 0, 4) DX, Ch, Star
FL- (9, 3, 0, 2) Pro, Star
Viking- (9, 4, -1, 2) DX, Ch, Star

I didn't say they were the same but the differance between the Viking and FL is not that noticable especially once you beat the FL in just a bit, as they are only available in Pro and Star plastic that will beat in quickly, and once they are beat in they are a straighter flying disc just as a Champ Viking would be. Turn will become a negative number, fade will decrease. That is my point.

Joe's Flight Chart has them as:

Firebird 4 .5 4 4
Firebird-L (FL) 4 0 4 4
Viking 5 -1.5 2.5 4

Pretty vast difference there as opposed to what Innova says.

[Yeddie VanHalen]

I wanted something a little less stable than my Firebird so I bought a FL. I use this disc now for medium length, hard turn situations.

[Mike]

So Innova is wrong on their ratings? Are all of their ratings wrong? Are Joe's also different for the different plastic types as they should be? Who the hell is Joe?

Bill said:

Mike said:

Firebird- (9, 3, 0, 4) DX, Ch, Star
FL- (9, 3, 0, 2) Pro, Star
Viking- (9, 4, -1, 2) DX, Ch, Star

I didn't say they were the same but the differance between the Viking and FL is not that noticable especially once you beat the FL in just a bit, as they are only available in Pro and Star plastic that will beat in quickly, and once they are beat in they are a straighter flying disc just as a Champ Viking would be. Turn will become a negative number, fade will decrease. That is my point.

Joe's Flight Chart has them as:

Firebird 4 .5 4 4
Firebird-L (FL) 4 0 4 4
Viking 5 -1.5 2.5 4

Pretty vast difference there as opposed to what Innova says.

[speshelj]

i like my fl because it has no turn and little fade - which makes it a very versatile disc. more like a fast midrange. it holds a great line, whether it be a long sweeping hyzer, a spike hyzer, straight as an arrow, spike anyzers, or sweeping anyzers. its even great for those holes that look like forehanding holes but have a very shallow turn, you can put a super shallow anhyzer on it and give it a very slow turn that will navigate those tricky holes beautifly. if i could compare it, i would do so as such: three discs come to mind when using the shots i described - the star fl, esp flx surge, and the first flight dga rogue. the fl being more subtle and finesse like. the surge demands a little more attitude as it is slightly less stable but with more fade - still a straight disk though. the rogue would be the extreme of the three, it has the most attitude as it can handle sharper hooks and sharper lines. the surge has the most glide, as it and the rogue are the fastest of the three - however, the fl i believe may be more consistent. as far as limitations are concerned, i believe the fl is more limited then the surge and the rogue. compared to the firebird, thr fl is the longer and straighter version.
hope this helps!

[speshelj]

that is very true about the fl, it will beat in slightly understable, but not much

Mike said:

Firebird- (9, 3, 0, 4) DX, Ch, Star
FL- (9, 3, 0, 2) Pro, Star
Viking- (9, 4, -1, 2) DX, Ch, Star

I didn't say they were the same but the differance between the Viking and FL is not that noticable especially once you beat the FL in just a bit, as they are only available in Pro and Star plastic that will beat in quickly, and once they are beat in they are a straighter flying disc just as a Champ Viking would be. Turn will become a negative number, fade will decrease. That is my point.

[Coolhand]

sorry mike. i wasn't trying to dispute your word there. just sharing my experience with the fl. i didn't really have mine that long so i couldn't really say what the flight is like once an fl is broken in well. it sounds like you are right on though. all i know is what i said earlier ... not that impressed.