Posts: 5
Score: 100 Joined: 4/14/2009 Last Login: 8/29/2009 From: Honolulu, HI, USA Status: offline
tam popo, ha ha. A lot of my Swift equipment has ended up in the trashcan too, but I retain faith in this plane. I believe that if you can fly this plane, you'll be ready for some really expensive hardware, and I would like to hear what plane can outperform the Swift when it's flying properly. It was very responsive once I got it up in the air.
tubamike, yes, I was thinking of the scene from Gene Wilder's Young Frankenstein: "Change the pluses to minuses and the minuses to pluses...grandfather, you've done it!" Anyway, thanks. I've had four successful laps of what must be an acre fieldit doesn't take long in the Swift. Once I get to 10, I'll add some maneuvers. Thanks for the recommendation of the Parkzone Corsair. It's my next plane. But I want to be darn sure I can handle the Swift before launching a $300 plane in the air.
Posts: 120
Score: 100 Joined: 7/13/2008 Last Login: 10/12/2009 From: dunedin, NEW ZEALAND Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: conbarb
tam popo, ha ha. A lot of my Swift equipment has ended up in the trashcan too, but I retain faith in this plane. I believe that if you can fly this plane, you'll be ready for some really expensive hardware, and I would like to hear what plane can outperform the Swift when it's flying properly. It was very responsive once I got it up in the air.
tubamike, yes, I was thinking of the scene from Gene Wilder's Young Frankenstein: "Change the pluses to minuses and the minuses to pluses...grandfather, you've done it!" Anyway, thanks. I've had four successful laps of what must be an acre fieldit doesn't take long in the Swift. Once I get to 10, I'll add some maneuvers. Thanks for the recommendation of the Parkzone Corsair. It's my next plane. But I want to be darn sure I can handle the Swift before launching a $300 plane in the air.
A bathtub with wings and a 400 speed brushed motor would out perform a swift I'm with Tam.... all my swift gear ended up in a GWS slow stick -F... the full fuse version, and if I hadn't done that I would have stopped flying..... I wouldn't consider the swift a performance flyer..... it can do some aerobatic's but nothing great, and I wouldn't recommend it for a first or even a second plane..... by the time you have the skills to keep this thing in the air..... you would be able to fly most things.... not really sure about the marketing for this thing?? (zone 3) The corsair would be way better..... better motor/esc, and spektrum DX5 radiogear, all things that can grow with you as your skills improve, nothing from my swift lasted longer than 3 months. Just my 2 cents worth -Reuben
Posts: 5
Score: 100 Joined: 4/14/2009 Last Login: 8/29/2009 From: Honolulu, HI, USA Status: offline
I am just no end of curious about the diverse opinions on this plane. Some people love it, some hate it. Tam popo, that's quite the conversion. I see at the beginning of the thread you were a real supporter. I haven't read up to the point where you changed your mind. Well, I must get to the bottom of this. My replacement parts for two copies of the plane are due to arrive tomorrow. This weekend, I plan to put a good 20 laps on the plane around my field which I think is actually about 3 acres.
Posts: 5
Score: 100 Joined: 4/14/2009 Last Login: 8/29/2009 From: Honolulu, HI, USA Status: offline
Who cares about flying the Swift? I actually put one together with the electronics and the empty fuselage with the aid of only two small cuts in the fuselage. I can't believe it. Flying will be easy after that ordeal. Anyway, tomorrow is the big day for glory or destruction.
Posts: 3341
Score: 100 Joined: 2/6/2007 Last Login: 3/14/2010 From: glasgow, , UNITED KINGDOM Status: offline
ConMan and guys - I even converted the Swift to 200W b/less and 1500 3S lipo and it still flew carp!!!! Not worth the effort....you want FUN - get a SlowStick and really fly....
Posts: 82
Score: 100 Joined: 3/11/2009 Last Login: 3/7/2010 From: Milford,
CT, USA Status: offline
What I tell EVERYBODY is that they should start with a four channel. When you start with a three or two channel then you get used to the right stick "turning" the plane because the rudder combines aileron and elevator. When they move up to a four channel. They move the right stick, trying to turn, and almost always go inverted. The they freak out, and you know the rest.What they don't understand is that ailerons roll the plane. Once you have that in your head, you can do whatever you want. I really recommend the Eurofighter Typhoon rather than the Aerobird Swift. http://www.nitroplanes.com/neblefeurcdu.html I think that "the accidental invert" is the #1 cause of "beginner crashed. The #1 excuse is "I tried to turn it and it failed. I think the manufacturers messed up"
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Posts: 1
Score: 100 Joined: 5/27/2009 Last Login: 5/31/2009 From: , UNITED KINGDOM Status: offline
Hi I just bought an aerobird swift and I am a total begginer, guess what? I crashed it in about 5 secs, main wing is broken and a microchip fell off the receiver. This sounds like a silly question but does anyone know how to open the fuselage?
Posts: 240
Score: 100 Joined: 9/25/2007 Last Login: 2/25/2010 From: monroeville,
OH, USA Status: offline
yes, with a knife. it sounds like you want to try to get the receiver board out, best way of doing that is to un-hook the tail control surfaces, then under the fuse is a couple screws that hold everything in place, take out those screws and you should be able to slide it forward enough to see where this chip goes in. this chip, is it a jumper?
hope this helps, and just a thought, but if i were you i would not try flying this again untill you've had some expereance with something a bit slower, like a hobbyzone supercub. the swift is a hand-full, but after some experience under your belt, you should be able to fly her.
quote:
ORIGINAL: puffant
Hi I just bought an aerobird swift and I am a total begginer, guess what? I crashed it in about 5 secs, main wing is broken and a microchip fell off the receiver. This sounds like a silly question but does anyone know how to open the fuselage?
Posts: 23
Score: 100 Joined: 7/18/2007 Last Login: 7/28/2009 From: Peoria,
IL, USA Status: offline
Hello all, Just ordered my swift this weekend (my buddy and I like a good challenge). I usually try to search the old posts for answers to my questions, but after reading 30+ pages of posts spanning back over a couple years, I feel like I'm goin cross eye'd.
Just a short question.. would a 10.8V 1400mAh NiMH Battery be to heavy/big for the swift? it's only .7 ounce heavier than the 9.6v (7oz. vs 6.3oz.). The 8.4v they come with is around 4oz. Staying nmh for now, only $15 for two of these so it wont be as painfull when i do a full speed nose dive of death from the top shelf obliterating everything on the plane.
Size: 3.3" (Long); 1.3" (Height); 1.5" (Width)
<EDIT> Nevermind, decided to dive back into the sea of posts and kinda found what i was lookin for. But any more input on this topic will be welcome/appreciated.
Posts: 120
Score: 100 Joined: 7/13/2008 Last Login: 10/12/2009 From: dunedin, NEW ZEALAND Status: offline
Hey CD80,
I used 1000mah 9.6v batteries and I never managed to keep the thing in the air long enough to flatten one....lol
Apart from the last time when I reprogrammed the esc to use lipo's that ended in a $50NZD lipo flattened and useless :-(
Keep the forum alive with your views on the plane when it arrives, I'd like to hear atleast one person enjoying their swift, most people end up fustrated with it.
Posts: 23
Score: 100 Joined: 7/18/2007 Last Login: 7/28/2009 From: Peoria,
IL, USA Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: reuben199
Keep the forum alive with your views on the plane when it arrives, I'd like to hear atleast one person enjoying their swift, most people end up fustrated with it.
Cheers Reuben
Hello Reuben, Will do, I have a heli comming tomorow that comes with a flight simulator, already found a swift download for it so i can start practicing, while i wait for my swift to arrive. I have a friend that ordered one the same time i did, so i thnk the competition will push us to get this bird working. I went ahead and ordered the 10.8v batteries, he's going with 9.6 (both 1400mah) so we can compare.
Would you be able to tell me the diameter of the shaft the prop mounts on so I could order a prop adapter? I've searched the web up and down and could never find a measurement. Some one was talking about a motor that was like the swifts with a 3.2mm shaft, but I'm not sure if that also goes for the swift's motor shaft.
Posts: 120
Score: 100 Joined: 7/13/2008 Last Login: 10/12/2009 From: dunedin, NEW ZEALAND Status: offline
Hey CD, I downloaded the swift for fms, I don't think its a good representation of the way the model actually flies..... it doesn't have the bad tendancies that the real one has. I'll see if I can measure my motor shaft, why do you need a prop adaptor? If you want a list of spare parts that you might need..... I would say spare -wings, - tail repair (boom) section, and maybe a couple of props... -Reuben
Posts: 23
Score: 100 Joined: 7/18/2007 Last Login: 7/28/2009 From: Peoria,
IL, USA Status: offline
It's probably hard to program the random onreyness these planes sound like they have, but at least it'll get me use to using a stick again instead of the wheel that RC trucks use. Might have to order a Commander 2 some time just so I can program it into one of my truck transmitters for fun. Bet I'd get some funny looks from any other pilots around.
Was just looking into a prop adapter because in some past postings they said it's a good idea with the higher powered batteries, and the adapters are cheap. I guess with the higher voltage batteries the motor gets warmer, then add in the more power going to the prop, it has a chance of slipping. If you can't get to the shaft to measure it, don't worry about it, doubt I'll need one right away. Just gettin eager to get to flying, hope the place I ordered it from doesn't take too long to ship it out (bad thing about ordering things on the start of the weekend, adds two days to your waiting time, lol)
My Swift is comming with a free spare set of wings and tail fins (should get me to flight #2 right? ) I'll probably glue/tape a small CF rod under the boom to reinforce it like they do in some of the Firebid Phantom videos on youtube. And run some strapping tape under the wings for a little more added support (don't know if thats as effective on split wing setups as it is solid, but cant hurt).
Posts: 120
Score: 100 Joined: 7/13/2008 Last Login: 10/12/2009 From: dunedin, NEW ZEALAND Status: offline
Hey,
The spare wings won't go to waste, I taped the leading edge of mine just to make them stronger against dents etc...... they don't seem to flex much from memory. The main problem I had with the wings was the saddle area where the wing locates against the fuselarge, I cut a balsa rib in the profile of the wing and epoxied it to the wing, this in turn sits against the fuselarge.... this stops the foam going soft and causing problems locating the wings. Mine got a bit out of shape after a few bad landings.
Posts: 23
Score: 100 Joined: 7/18/2007 Last Login: 7/28/2009 From: Peoria,
IL, USA Status: offline
So far so good on the simulator, FMS runs like crap on Vista, so i dusted off my desktop which still has XP, and FMS ran great, the planes even handle different on it (seems to stall easier and just feels more real over all). The first few minutes were pretty sad, I was all mixed up with my stick directions as the plane faced different ways. Now I'm doing pretty well, even toss in a few loops and rolls now and then. Turning up the wind now to make it a little less stable and more unpredictable. The swift even seems to dip and curve to the left on the hand toss option like i see in the YouTube videos, cept a little more exagerated, if you dont get on the controls instantly to even it out, you smack into the ground. (they need to give the plane a little more wind speed off the hand toss option, right now it seems like it has the speed fo a 4 year old giving it a toss.)
It seems to lose a lot of altitude quickly on turns, from what I've read, they do the same or worse in real life under low throttle.
Posts: 23
Score: 100 Joined: 7/18/2007 Last Login: 7/28/2009 From: Peoria,
IL, USA Status: offline
Well, my swift came yesterday. Was having trouble charging the battery at first, it was completely dead when i got it, so I called and they are sending me a new one. I've been cycling this one though, I've actually got it up to 6-7 minutes of operation time. so hopefully I can keep cycling it and get normal times off it. Looks like I'll be making some cuts to make my bigger batteries fit, didn't know the battery area was such a tight fit. If all goes well I'll try my first flight tomorow, I'll cycle this battery one more time tonight to see if i can get closer to a 10 minute operation time.
On a side note, does anyone know if the aerobird 3 takes the same esc/rx as the ABS? I just won a ab3 off of ebay for $24, but it needs a new esc/rx unit (ch1) dont really wanna buy the whole fuse/rx combo, just want the electronics. If anyone has a AB3 would you be able to post a pic of the inside of the battery area facing back to the RX?.. i can tell from the cables and back of the board if they are the same. (already know the frequencies are the same, might just get a Swift esc for it and make it work.)
<edit> Never mind the AB3 question. I finally found a perfect picture of it's esc/rx out of the plane, it is the same as the Swift. Hurray for getting a $109 plane for $60($34 for the plane+shipping and $26 for the esc), now to talk one of my friends into buying it so I can have more people to fly with
Posts: 23
Score: 100 Joined: 7/18/2007 Last Login: 7/28/2009 From: Peoria,
IL, USA Status: offline
Whelp, The maiden flight was..... FUN!
The wind was calm, but random gusts form nowhere seemd to show up , i almost didn't go through with it, the nerves were twitching bad when my buddy brought his arm back and I throttled up. nice lil rush.. lol
My first flight went rather well, i cept my Swift in the air for about 5 minutes before attempting a landing. Attempt was a lil ugly, not too painful though. took her back up, got gutsy and did some loops and a accidental barrel roll.. lol
Went well till i came in to land, right when i was around 10ft off the ground the very calm wind had a big cross gust and flipped her on her side and she went nose first into the grass. lil body damage on that, not too big of a deal, pop the plastic back in place, made sure the wings were tight, then had to flatten out the motor mounts (man that area of the plane is flimsy, they should think of a aftermarket part to toughen that area up.
Crash damage repaired.. battery recharged, up we go again... couple barrel rolls (all on low setting BTW) brought her around for a landing, touchdown, but then a wing caught some grass and it did a small cart wheel.. no damage, foam nose just popped off.. pushed it back on and tossed her back into the air... few more circles and loops then brought her in again, PERFECT landing.
I should have stopped there, but i was having fun, tossed her again.. she got about 20 feet away and the battery died, slight crash, no new damage. YAY.
So over all, i had a Great time, minor body damage, ordering a new fuse for $13, but gonna save it till the current (slightly damaged one) is unusable.
And of course, while we were packing our planes away, and talkin about all the replacement parts to get..... all the wind just vanished, we were there about a half hour talking and it never came back (figures)
My overview of the Aerobird Swift: Fun plane, totally flyable by a new flyer IF: they take some time to practice on a R/C flight sim, more than a couple hours to get your brain programmed, and just fly her gentle, she doesn't get mean on ya till you get hard banks in. (I just have the cheapo FMS, but it helped me a TON! Can't download it then just play it with a keyboard, you need need a RC controller to get the feel of it).
The plastic around the motor area needs to be much thicker, at least where the thin metal mounts stab through the plastic, and where the mount plate is. And consider strong plastic for the motor mounts so they will flex a lil on crashes but not bend and poke through the body like the super thin metal inner mount brace does.
The thin plastic is nice everywhere else, doesn't break, just bends. (too many holes in the motor area, that's why it breaks)
Don't need to cut the foam the battery sits on to make room for a bigger one, the first crash with the stock battery does this for you, breaks off the back stop and the front. lol (needs a more secure way to lock the battery in so it wont eject)
Wind gusts make the Swift wiggle(but what plane wont) but the wind is actually good, point her into the wind, kill the motor, and glide (She floated quite awhile for me, and I coulda been a lot higher, doubt I was over the 150ft recommended height)
Landing is the tricky part, needs a long clear path into the wind so you can focus on keeping the wings level and getting ready to do little flares to slow her down. NEVER bank under a glide in to land (reason for my 2nd crash). And make sure you are flying into the wind as in line as your radios streamer as you can (reason for my first crash, wasn't quite lined up and the wind gusted and tipped her on her side.
one of the holes on the motor for the mount screws strips, happened on both our planes. if it was the screw it'd be no big deal, but it's the threaded hole on the motor, i still flew her after that, had my best landing, but still, dont like having that one weak screw, it doesn't pull out, and i unscrewed it to remove it the first time i took it off. (gonna try to replace it with a slightly thicker one and see if it'll hold tight.)
That V tail is nice, neither one of us broke ours, (he bent his on his last flight fromm the "NOSE DIVE OF DOOM", but it's holding its origionla form. (i actually accidently stepped on the end of one of my wings, but luckily it bounced back, )
Over all feelings from my friend and myself: We had loads of fun with our brand new swifts (first planes for both of us) over all, the plane can take some pretty bad landings and live to fly again, but that darn motor area needs thicker plastic walls to support the motor mounts or less holes so it just bends like the rest of the body instead of breaking. (whole new fuselage is only $13 though with no esc/rx)
Aerobird swift Flying Tip from Happy Gilmore: "Just give it a little tappy, tap, tap, tap'aroo" Basically all i did to my flight stick during my first few laps through the are, just feathered it through the turns and to keep it level. Mine really likes to climb at full throttle, but thats ok, I'd rather fight to keep it closer to earth than to fight to keep it in the air. (wich I didn;t really have to fight, just back off on throttle, or if i wanted a fast flyby, just give it a lil down ele.) My friend was flying his like he drives his poor truck, too rough on the controls and constant input. Just tap the stick and see what it does, if you want it to do more, tap it again. If it is too much, tap it the opposite way.
Flying the Aerobird Swift needs a light and gentle touch until you get a good feel for her, then slowly ease into the rougher stuff once you get her broke in.. .
MODS I'm considering: Making a mold of my new fuselage in the motor area so i can make some form of cap to place over the damaged/crappy plastic after a couple nose dives, or to cut off the old broken area and attach it to the remaining fuse some how(I'm thinking shoegoop type glue, that stuff is awesome, super strong, yet semi flexible like tough rubber, bends then bounces back, i have some locktite glue like this atm, i ran out of the real stuff)
Replacing that whimpy outer motor mount with maybe some strong plastic (so it'll flex on crashes, but then bounce back instead of staying bent in) I Figure if plastic parts can survive a 18 foot jump on my 13lb LST2, they can handle the power of a little electric 400 motor, just need to find the right type of material.
Posts: 120
Score: 100 Joined: 7/13/2008 Last Login: 10/12/2009 From: dunedin, NEW ZEALAND Status: offline
Hey Cd, I just used a cable tie around the main body of the motor, this tightened up the empty space between the motor and the plastic...... mine survived all my crashes without the motor pulling forward. I can't remember who first came up with this fix, but I can say it works
-Reuben
< Message edited by reuben199 -- 6/6/2009 8:46 AM >
Sadly you cant see the Swift, but we sound pretty funny. I was using a Micro Cam, kind of like the "Grayson Hobbycam" but better (640x480 res, 30fps{grayson is only 20} and 8 gig of storage {grayson is only 2} and the 2nd option is taking pictures instead of recording just audio, and only cost me $31 compared to $70)
These mini cams are fun for placing on your rc to record, but are no good for recording small things that are at a distance. Wish i had my good video recorder, but it wouldnt fit in my pocket and i didnt want to carry anything else. (already had a car seat +baby, 2 nitro rc trucks + my RC toolbox, jug of fuel, and my plane.)
Posts: 120
Score: 100 Joined: 7/13/2008 Last Login: 10/12/2009 From: dunedin, NEW ZEALAND Status: offline
Hey, No you can't pull it too tight.... the tighter the better from memory, I used a soldering iron to melt the holes in the plastic fuse (don't drill as you will weaken the surrounding plastic). -Reuben
quote:
ORIGINAL: CD80
... a simple cable tie.... so easy it just might work.. hahaha thanks for the tip.. I'll tell my friend to put 3 on his for safe measure. lol
do you have to worry about pulling the tie too tight? or just really give it a tug to lock in that motor?
Posts: 23
Score: 100 Joined: 7/18/2007 Last Login: 7/28/2009 From: Peoria,
IL, USA Status: offline
Took the Swift out for a late evening semi windy flight today (was way too windy during the day). The ribbon on my Tx was hanging at a greater than 20 deg. angle from the antennae (maybe 25deg. lol), good enough for me, pointed to the wind and gave her a toss.
I actually enjoyed flying in the stronger wind, I had some real nice glide times. Only down side was on my 2nd flight it got dark real fast to where it was hard to see my plane. I was making a final loop to point it into the wind to land and just as i was mid turn she was hit by a pretty stiff gust of wind, causing the Swift to tilt just enough to bring it too close to a tree for comfort, i gave it full throttle and tried to pull up to clear it, but it was so hard to see it that i think i stalled right above it and clipped the very top branch dropping my poor swift straight down through the rest of the tree (which was taller than a two story house). I was expecting to see a ugly sight when i got to my plane, but guess what, minimal new damage, motor slipped in a little(guess i didn't get my zip tie tight enough) and a dent in the leading edge of one wing either from hitting the first branch, of one of the 20 others it bounced off of on the way down.
Got home, pushed motor back into place, straightened mount plate, tossed some tape over the dent just to be on the safe side, then logged onto Ebay and found a x-port Night Flying module for $5 ($9.50 after shipping) so if i decide to fly late again and the sun doesn't wait for me to finish flying before it goes down I'll be able to turn that on and land with out the help of a tree . Ready to fly again tomorrow if the rain stays away
Down side to these x-port addons... you have to put your landing gear on so you don't land onto them... that means hard grass landings (no tree free paved landable areas near where i have flown so far, still looking for good spots)
Think i might replace my zip tie with a new one, but coat the new one with a rubbery heat resistant glue first so the motor wont slip, but then again, that was a three story fall, hehe.
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RE: Official Aerobird Swift Thread - 
(should get me to flight #2 right? 
) I'll probably glue/tape a small CF rod under the boom to reinforce it like they do in some of the Firebid Phantom videos on youtube. And run some strapping tape under the wings for a little more added support (don't know if thats as effective on split wing setups as it is solid, but cant hurt). 
Hurray for getting a $109 plane for $60($34 for the plane+shipping and $26 for the esc), now to talk one of my friends into buying it so I can have more people to fly with 
Fun plane, totally flyable by a new flyer IF: they take some time to practice on a R/C flight sim, more than a couple hours to get your brain programmed, and just fly her gentle, she doesn't get mean on ya till you get hard banks in. (I just have the cheapo FMS, but it helped me a TON! Can't download it then just play it with a keyboard, you need need a RC controller to get the feel of it). 
The plastic around the motor area needs to be much thicker, at least where the thin metal mounts stab through the plastic, and where the mount plate is. And consider strong plastic for the motor mounts so they will flex a lil on crashes but not bend and poke through the body like the super thin metal inner mount brace does. 
Don't need to cut the foam the battery sits on to make room for a bigger one, the first crash with the stock battery does this for you, breaks off the back stop and the front. lol (needs a more secure way to lock the battery in so it wont eject) 
) 
We had loads of fun with our brand new swifts (first planes for both of us) over all, the plane can take some pretty bad landings and live to fly again, but that darn motor area needs thicker plastic walls to support the motor mounts or less holes so it just bends like the rest of the body instead of breaking. (whole new fuselage is only $13 though with no esc/rx) 
(no tree free paved landable areas near where i have flown so far, still looking for good spots)