Swift

Firstly, I want to thank Andrew of Falcon Gliders for being so helpful with giving me ball-park setup specs to be able to maiden. Your service is second to none.

I have flown my Swift quite a few times now, and after making some minor adjustments (still not quite there yet), here are some suggestions for setup:

COG= 66 to 67 mm
Ailerons=10mm up & 10mm down
Elevator=6mm up & 5mm down
Flaperons=10mm down
AUW=900 grams

Differential in the ailerons may clean up the rolls some more but Im yet to refine this. Be careful that you dont over extend the ailerons and cause the wipers to pop and lock the movement.

The decalage has some issues, and I know that some other guys have sorted it out similiar to the Destiny by shimming the LE of the V-Tail.

In my case, there was way too much up elevator (I think thats negative incidence in the V-Tail compared to the wing) but the attitude of the fuse was quite nose down. I had to dial in a lot of down elevator to keep it from rising in a dive, which was lifting the tail. I concluded that in my case at least, the Angle of Attack of the wing was too high and as such, I have since shimmed the TE of the wing with 3 layers of mylar (about 3mm) that I double-sided taped to the rear of the wing saddle.

The tail has now sat down in flight and reduced the amount of down elevator required to keep the plane from rising in a dive.  The plane is now much quieter also, suggesting it has much less drag.

One thing that you need to be aware of......the V-Tail bolt DOES NOT have a nut in the fuse. It is simply tapped into fiberglass/ply. FLY IT AT YOUR OWN RISK IF YOU DONT SECURE THE TAIL BETTER FIRST. I used a dab of goop to secure mine with the bolt (before I was aware of there being no nut) and I popped the tail off on my third landing, which was quite gentle. I have now completely gooped the tail on, after CAing the hole and re-tapping it with the bolt as a backup.

Also, the join of the V-Tail TE between the elevators is quite weak and requires reinforcing if you intend to DS it or it may fail. I inserted a small piece of basswood and CA'd it in. The V-Tail may also require re-alignment so check that it is straight. I've attached a photo showing how I did mine, as well as one on my radio installation.

The V-Tail control horns shown in the photo are the ones supplied, but if I could have got them, I would have used metal rods with ball linkages to give you more clearance with the linkage movement. Either that or use the standard control horns and ball links like the ones supplied for the ailerons (which I couldnt find either).  I used a 5mm carbon tube and spring steel wire to make the pushrod.

The only other thing I did to mine was reinforce the fuse with 195gsm kevlar from the nose to the rear of the wing saddle, as the fuse is quite thin, but I intend to DS mine and wanted some extra strength for landing in crappy landing zones. It will probably just break behind the wing now!

All in all, the Swift is excellent value for money, considering it is an all molded 60" class glider that is also an excellent DS plane. The finish is not quite as nice as your more expensive planes, but it is only AUD$300, and with a little extra work, it is a great buy. The issues that are appearing are very simliar to the Destiny's (which the Swift is VERY simliar to), which when sorted, is an awesome DS machine.

Even the flight characteristics of the Swift are simliar to the Destiny's, including the very severe tipstall (aka flick) at low airspeed. Otherwise, it is a dream to fly. The wing is suprisingly stiff, and I would bet that it will do well over 150mph DSing before needing further mods, maybe faster if the Destiny is anything to go by.
 

DS Report

And it DSed great!! I DSed it pretty hard (considering this was its first DS) in 18 to 22 knots which it flew comfortably in, except that it was very bumpy . The speeds were around the 110's (mph). Being so light in the wings, it was difficult to prevent the wings waving all over the shop until it got on step, and then it become much more stable, although it was still hard to maintain a smooth circuit. The conditions would have been better for my Adrenalin having heavier wings.

The Swift pops a turn really well when you break through the boundary layer and give it a yank, and I even managed to pull some hard bottom turns with some confidence without it tipstalling. In fact, the tendency for it to tipstall is very acceptable now, as it gives a bit a warning as opposed to just going into a spin.

I pulled a few really fast laps when I managed to hold a better line and there was no noticeable wing flex, no flutter, and no squeel, at least not yet. It was surprisingly quiet. Maybe when it goes faster. Its definitely capable of much higher speeds in its stock form.

Landing was very pleasant (other than the knife edge moments in the turbulance) as in the heavier wind , it actually flew backwards until I stopped using the flaperons, and it landed at walking pace without.

Waz

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