The Aerobird Swift is a sharp looking, Ready-To-Fly (RTF) Park Flyer airplane that looks fast on the ground despite its very big wing (46.5 in. span). The fuselage is very streamlined, compact and has very little drag. The thin rear “fuselage” leads to just two rear flying surfaces instead of the usual three. The big wing has a double sweep for higher airspeed, better wind handling and a faster roll rate. These factors all combine to give the Aerobird Swift a high-performance look without sacrificing its gentle flying characteristics and Park Flyer performance.

Having ailerons for roll control, instead of a rudder, truly adds to the Swift’s performance. Rudder control is OK, but for real aerobatic performance, ailerons are far superior. However, sometimes ailerons can be over-controlled by the newer RC pilot. The Swift overcomes this potential difficulty by mounting its ailerons 8.75 in. inboard from the wing tips.

The further in from the wingtips, the less “tricky” and sensitive are the ailerons. The Swift incorporates another very clever design trick. The second, sharper sweep section of the wing’s leading edge starts just outboard of the aileron’s end point. The greater sweep in this area not only adds to the airplanes stability, wing sweep can be equated to dihedral effects, but also increases the ailerons’ effectiveness. The result is a less tricky, honest airplane that handles well at very slow airspeeds while remaining highly aerobatic.

The Aerobird Swift meets all the aircraft requirements of the Academy of Model Aeronautics’ (AMA) Park Pilot Program. The aircraft weighs less than 2 pounds (the Program’s upper weight limit) and has a level top speed under 60 mph (the Program’s upper speed limit). For complete Park Pilot aircraft details, follow this link.

The AMA Park Pilot Program offers non-AMA members the opportunity to become AMA members at a much reduced cost. Park Pilot membership includes a great magazine “Park Pilot”, $500,000 personal liability insurance, $2.5 million liability insurance for the flying field owner (see insurance details) and membership in the world’s largest sport aviation association – the AMA. For complete information and details about Park Pilot membership, just click here.

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The Aerobird Swift is a true Ready-To-Fly system. The airplane is completely built; only the wings and tail wheel need to be installed. All the motor and radio equipment are installed and connected at the factory.

Everything needed for a great day at the flying field is included in the Swift package. Even the transmitter batteries are there; not the usual case in this class airplane.

(Photos 4-8 courtesy Horizon Hobby.)

The Aerobird Swift arrives with a 1000 mAh, 7-cell (8.4 volt), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) battery for motor and airborne radio system power. The supplied battery provides plenty of power to the larger-than-normal 480 brushed motor for more than 10 minutes per flight. The HobbyZone DC Peak Charger 1.2 is a variable rate unit that senses when the battery reaches full charge and automatically switches to trickle charge. It uses a 12-volt source only and is designed to fit into a car’s socket. If you want to work off a different 12-volt source, you will have to purchase an adaptor cord that has the socket on one side and two spring clips on the other. Radio Shack sells such an item.

Remember that higher voltages drain the battery’s capacity more quickly. While the airplane will perform a little better with the optional battery, flights will be drastically shorter. The optional battery also requires a different charger; the ParkZone DC Peak 1.8 charger (PKZ1519). This is the charger usually supplied with the ParkZone warbirds like the P-51 Mustang.

The receiver (HBZ7254) is a 5-channel unit that includes the Electronic Speed Control (ESC). The ESC features a circuit, called the Battery Eliminator Circuit (BEC), which powers the airborne radio system eliminating the need for a separate battery for this task. This makes the Swift weigh a few ounces less and lighter always flies better. The transmitter and receiver are on one of the six available 27 MHz channels.

The 3-channel, 27 MHz FM transmitter features a high and low rate switch (right top of the transmitter in photo 9). High rates mean that the control surfaces move the full amount. This allows slower landing and takeoff speeds and snap-like maneuvers, tight loops and inverted flight. On low rate, the control surfaces move only about 60% as far as when on high rate. At speed, low rate smoothes maneuvers and simplifies the pilot’s aerobatic tasks.

The push button on the top left is probably for activating the X-Port accessories such as the laser gun and the parachute drop. The Swift is equipped for these optional X-Port accessories. The ZX-10 transmitter also has servo reversing should the airborne system be used in a different airplane. Of course, the transmitter also has the usual trim tabs for fine attitude adjustments once airborne.

There are 3 micro servos in the Swift. Each weighs just 9 grams. Two of the servos are the “flat” style so they can be completely hidden inside the wing. Only the servo arms protrude from the top of the wing to operate the ailerons; one servo for each aileron.

Since the receiver, ESC, servos and other parts are buried inside the sealed fuselage and we didn’t have the optional battery and charger or the X-Port accessories to photograph, we liberated (read stole) photos of these items from the Horizon website. Please keep our little secret because they don’t know about it. But as best we could see, their photos matched the parts in our Aerobird Swift.