Swift 46 (oz10688)

About this Plan

Swift-46. Radio control aerobatic slope soarer.

Quote: "Dear Customer, Thank you for purchasing the Swift 46. You will find that it is one of the best flying planes on the market today. The Swift is very stable and will perform in winds from 10 to 40 mph. It is very aerobatic and quite fast. The Swift is neutrally stable and must be flown into and out of turns. The Swift 46 is not for beginners. If you have flown aileron-equipped gliders, you should have no trouble with the Swift. If you are going from a polyhedral floater, you should enlist the help of an experienced pilot for your first flights. If you have not flown fast planes, you will need to spend some time flying out and away from the hill. The Swift comes into its own at faster speeds.

Building Instructions: The fuselage is assembled in two half-shells and then joined along the vertical centerline. The fuselage bottom is installed as a continuous strip. A section is removed to accommodate the wing, after the two shells are glued together. This method of building has been developed to give you a straight and true fuselage of light weight and exceptional strength. The fuselage tops and bottoms are so similar in shape, I have marked the outside edges with blue lines.

1. Put the two long fuselage bottoms together and mark them inside left and inside right. At the tail, measure in from the center 1/32 and make a mark on both pieces. This will be the inside reference mark, where the inside of the fuselage will align to provide the 1/16 clearance for the tail post.

2. Mark the fuselage sides 'Right' and 'Left'.

3. Put the two fuselage top pieces together with the vertical fin slot in the center; mark them top left and top right.

4. Cut two sets of triangular stock as shown on the plans. Hot stuff the tri-stock flush with the edges on the inside faces of the fuselage sides, as shown on the plans. Refer to sections BB through DD.

5. Sand any tri-stock overwood away to match the outline of the fuselage. Be sure the tri-stock and the fuselage sides form a 90-degree angle (Refer to sections BB, etc).

6. Bevel the canopy sides to fit the fuselage and hot stuff in place, using the template shown at the upper left corner of the plan. Shape the two 1/8 x 1/4 anchor blocks and glue in place. If you have servo reversing on your radio, skip on to #7.

6b. Assemble your radio flight pack, turn on the system, and center the trim controls for elevator and aileron. Check the direction of rotation on the servos so you will know which block to notch for the stab control cable. Turn off the Rx and then the Tx. Keep in mind that the cable pulls for up-elevator. Cut a notch for the drive tube in one block and a notch for the antenna tube in the other block.

7. Refer to section BB through DD. You will notice the right side shows the fuselage the way it is glued together, the left side shows the finished shape. Starting at the nose, hot stuff the right-hand fuselage side on top of the right-hand fuselage bottom, blue lines to the outside, being sure to keep the outside edges flush. Be sure to align the tail on the 1/32" reference mark.

8. Starting from the tail, hot stuff the right fuselage top in place, blue lines to the outside, with the 1/32" fin slot aligned with the inside of the fuselage. MAKE SURE TO KEEP THE OUTSIDE EDGES FLUSH! Repeat for the left fuselage side.

9. Sand the tri-stock flush with the center line, at the tail of the fuselage, so the shells will come together. Cut the antenna tube to size, and install as shown on the plans.

10. Hot stuff the 1/64 plywood doublers in place on one side of a bottom piece as per the plans. These provide a shelf to help keep the shells aligned while gluing. Hot stuff the carbon fiber reinforcing strips in place. Use a piece of plastic to protect your fingers while holding the carbon fiber strips in place.

11. Starting at the nose, hot stuff the two shells together. Pull the tail boom together, gluing it as you go along. Use the top view of the plans as a guide.

12. Hot stuff the 1/4 balsa top block in place. You may wish to lightly kerf (approx. 1/16 deep) the underside so it will bend easily. If you wish to install a hatch in the 1/4 block for easy access to the radio compartment, do not glue the hatch area to the fuselage. Keep in mind, the Swift will look much cleaner without the hatch. After the block is glued in place, cut the 1/4 balsa block flush with the nose...

13. Preshape the leftover piece of 1/4 balsa for the front of the canopy. Trim away the fuselage top flush with the front of the canopy. Hot stuff the front canopy block in place. Hot stuff the nose block on and sand the fuselage to shape. If you opted for a hatch, now is the time to cut it out.
DO NOT CUT AWAY THE FUSELAGE BOTTOM AT THIS TIME; IT WILL BE DONE LATER.

The wing cores have been cut oversize and must be trimmed at the trailing edges to accommodate the 3/32 x 1/4 balsa sub-trailing edge. Use the foam saddles as a form when sheeting the wing cores. Do not use hot stuff or any solvent type of glue on the foam cores, as this will melt the foam cores. If you want to use a spray-type adhesive, spray it on the balsa skins only. Be sure the adhesive is set before applying the skins to the foam cores. The best way to sheet the wing cores is with 'Filament Transfer Tape' or 3M spray adhesive.

1. Trim the foam cores at their trailing edges so they are 5-3/8 at the root and 3-3/8" at the tip, measured from the leading edge. Be sure to use a good straight edge and a sharp X-acto knife; trim off approx. 1/4.

2. Take the two 3/32" x 1/4" balsa strips, and make two trailing edge pieces by cutting off a 3/32" x 5" strip on one end of each piece. This is where the aileron torque rod assembly fits.

3. Lay the bottom wing saddles on a flat surface and cover with plastic. Glue the 3/32 x 1/4 balsa trailing edge pieces to the wing cores (use white glue or epoxy) with the notch inboard facing to the rear. Use the plans as..."

Quote: "Hi, This is the Jack Caldwell designed Swift 46 swept wing slope glider. Flies on a 2CH radio, elevator and aileron and is constructed with a balsa fuselage and foam core wings (46 in). Flies very neutral and needs about 12 to 15 mph depending on the shape of the slope. Gary"

Note photo of completed Swift 46 model is from RCGroups build log by Blaise at https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2471026-Bringing-a-Swift-46-back-to-life

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Kit instructions, 6 pages, complete.

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