Eastwind Designs
SWALLOW PARK FLYER Plans
$12.99 U.S. per set
(plus $3.00 shipping)
Each set includes a 30 by 45 inch plan, a separate computer printout of all airframe pieces other than stick wood that the builder can attach to balsa to easily make parts, and access to an online instruction sheet with photographs detailing construction methods.
The swallow is 39 inch span park flyer reminiscent of earlier free flight designs and is powered by a geared 280 motor on 7 NIMH cells. This is a very smooth and groovy little airplane, quite an agile little flyer, that routinely makes 12 minute full throttle flights on 720 mah cells. Hand launched with the wheels removed over our grass field, the plane is a delight in calm morning or evening air. Hand launching is a breeze, just a slight push and the Swallow is accelerating away from you. No need to run with this 11 ounce model, just hold it up and give it a shove.
It's not just a calm day flyer as we routinely fly it in 10-15 mph winds with no problems. Flying in wind seems to be more related to the actual site itself than the size and weight of the model. Flying downwind of a treeline or other objects will result in turbulent air and a more difficult time with a light model. Fly in an open area with few obstructions and things get much better. We've flown this small plane dozens of times in winds so strong it can barely make any headway and have landed it easily every time with no damage.
It's a fairly aggressive and quite fast little airplane on 7 cells. Flying on six cells results in a plane that is more like a slow flyer, laid back and relaxing.
Wheels on, the Swallow is a fun touch and go machine from pavement in any open parking lot. Flying down final with 25-30 percent power makes for effortless no bounce touch and goes and we frequently touch down on one wheel and then the other before accelerating away again. We get an easy 12 minutes of this kind of flying every flight.
The Swallow has been flown under the lights in parking lots at night and the transparent red covering on the prototype is a bit more difficult to see than the transparent yellow on our Robin design. However, it is still easily flown in supermarket parking lots for instance when there are a large number of lights. Just make sure you do it on a night when things are closed up as these little airplanes can cover a lot of distance in very short order.
Electric airplanes are an ideal winter airplane for snowbound flyers. Charge a couple battery packs and slip out for a flight or two in the local school yard. No fuel or starting problems, no cold hands, just flying fun followed by a hot cup of coffee.
The Swallow is capable of mild aerobatics. Put the nose down for a bit to build speed and it pulls nice tight loops that look pretty impressive when started from about two feet off the ground. Stall turns are also pretty slick as long as you enter them with the speed up. You can fly it right in your face and maneuvering it tightly within the confines of an average club's runway certainly gets the attention of other flyers. Because of the polyhedral tips the Swallow flies smoothly with rudder, elevator and throttle controls.
Shown naked in the above pictures, the complete airframe at this point weights 2.5-3 ounces. Finished flying weight of the prototype is 11 ounces hand launched without wheels, and 12.5 ounces when flown with the wheels in place.
Most of the flying has been done with an Expert Electronics motor/gearbox/prop combination which has proven to be excellent. A second trip to our local shop found none of these gearboxes left, but we were able to find a generic version which appears to be exactly the same thing. Our source is www.greathobbies.com on Prince Edward island, Canada. The part number at great hobbies is HLISFMS.
The three bladed prop is especially nice. It is very flexible which has resulted in no damage from dozens of belly landings on grass and quite a few groundloops on pavement. The gearbox ratio is 4:1.
Each plan set is $12.99 in US funds plus $3.00 shipping and handling (folded).
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