Swift Included in Kit * Pre- cut balsa and Depron parts * Ballast weights * Diagram sheet * Sandpaper sheet * Rubber bands * Plastic wing bracing parts Additional Items You Will Need * Wood Glue * UHU Por or Foam safe glue Overview: The Swift is a simple to build slow flying glider. The design features Depron wings and tailplane giving a flight weight of just 11 grams in a glider with a 50cm wingspan. This makes the Swift a particularly slow flying glider suitable for perfectly calm days outside or indoor (sports centre etc) flying. Note that both wood glue as well as foam safe glue (UHU Expanded Polystyrene) is needed to build this model. Skill Level: This model is suitable for beginner builders with all parts being pre-cut and fitting together easily. You will however need to add in a little up elevator for flight testing.
Build Procedure Glue in place the tail shaft using wood glue. Glue in place one side of the nose cover pieces. Insert the ballast weight into the slot in the nose. Ensure it is pressed in firmly and is flush with the top surface of the main body spar. Then glue in place the other nose cover piece. Glue in place the wing mounts into the slots in the positions as shown here, and allow to completely dry before continuing. Look along the body from the front and back to check that these are completely level. The Depron wing has pre-scored crease lines which is where you will need to slightly bend the wing to give it its airfoil shape.
Lay the wing along a sharp edge like the edge of a table and slightly bend the front part of the wing down to open up the part where the wing has been scored. There are two scores in the wing and both of these need to be opened up. The wing should now make a nice airfoil shape. Do the same with the wing tips. The wing tip bracing pieces (plastic) need to be glued first onto the main wing section. Trim the smaller one which goes on the front of the wing if needed. You will need to use foam safe glue for this part. Most wood glues will melt foam, so we recommend UHU Expanded Polystyrene. Product Link Shown here from the under side of the wing. Glue the pieces on in this way. Note that when using UHU Expanded Polystyrene for this, you should allow a few minutes for the glue on both parts to become quite tacky and almost dry before bringing the two pieces together.
Next glue in place the wing tips using UHU Expanded Polystyrene glue. Mount the wing and mark on the wing where the slot on the body frame is located on the wings. This is where the wing support piece will need to be attached. Glue the wooden wing support on using UHU Expanded Polystyrene glue allowing to dry a little before bringing the two pieces together. This image shows how the wing should sit on the wing mount. The tailplane has two lines impressed in the foam which can be cut with a hobby knife or fine scissors to make two elevators. At this stage the main wing can be attached. Option 1 glue the wing to the body frame and wing mounts. Option 2 Two pegs are supplied with the kit. You can choose to drill holes in the body and glue these in place as shown below and then attach the wing with rubber bands instead. Note: If using rubber bands you will need to glue on the two protection pieces as shown here.
Glue in place the tailplane. It is glued to the bottom of the body shaft. The vertical stabiliser is glued to one side of the body shaft as shown here. You may also choose to glue it to the top of the body shaft, however gluing it to the side will give a stronger support and will not affect the flight of the glider. Bend the elevators up just slightly as shown here before test flying. The ideal balance point is 24 mm from the leading edge of the wing. 24mm You may wish to cut a piece of cardboard this shape to use as a balance to check the COG. Tape the cardboard shape to the edge of a work bench and use it to balance the glider.
Balanced! Test glide the glider by throwing it gently in a level attitude. If it stalls, lessen the amount of up elevator on the tail plane. If it drops too much then increase the amount of up elevator. You may also wish to sand down the body of the glider for aesthetics. See a test flight video on YouTube (LINK) Copyright MicronWings 2015: All rights reserved. This manual is for personal use only. No unauthorized copying or digital distributing permitted without permission from MicronWings.