[wdeighton]

Well Don't believe me, Look at the slope racer blog

http://www.sloperacer.blogspot.co.uk/

Will

[slopeflyer]

Well Don't believe me, Look at the slope racer blog

http://www.sloperacer.blogspot.co.uk/

Will

So whats the damage? Thats the financial damage..

[Spoons]

four fiddy !

[peter_burgess]

I have just completed a prototype Schwing, maiden awaits.
For some pics please see here
http://www.barcs.co.uk/forums/topic/3088-schwing/page__gopid__87566#entry87566

[slopeflyer]

Is that a skinny rudder on a huge great fin?
So its aimed more at F3F than aerobatics im guessing.

[peter_burgess]

The rudder is not that skinny but I will report back on its effectiveness once it's flown but it's not an F3F model (the nose is too pointed for one thing)

[slopeflyer]

The rudder is not that skinny but I will report back on its effectiveness once it's flown but it's not an F3F model (the nose is too pointed for one thing)

Ok thanks Pete, look forward to the report. Whens the maiden?

[James Hammond]

Is that a skinny rudder on a huge great fin?
So its aimed more at F3F than aerobatics im guessing.

Neither - its a high performance allrounder.
J

[peter_burgess]

Whens the maiden?

As soon as the weather co-operates (as I write this it is dead calm out there  )

[Allen the soarer]

As soon as the weather co-operates (as I write this it is dead calm out there  )

Should have come up the longman with me and the sword last night was NICE!!
tomorrow should be good down here pete
I'll even come and watch

[peter_burgess]

Met Office forecast for this afternoon is SW at 7mph! Thanks Allen, for the invite but I think that I will wait for a bit more blow 
(I have seen much more damage to gliders with too little wind than with too much!)

[Zim]

Is that a skinny rudder on a huge great fin?
So its aimed more at F3F than aerobatics im guessing.

Have a read about the guerney flap mate - will help illustrate just how effective skinny things can be on the back of flying surfaces!

Z

[peter_burgess]

Well I maidened my Schwing today.
 Location: Firle, East Sussex (on the north face of the South Downs near Eastbourne) a good slope. Wind was variable from 5- to 12+ mph. When I left home the wind was blowing OK but when I got to the slope ‘someone’ had turned the wind off! However after a short wait it came back. The first flight was very smooth, all I could have expected.  Now for the first flight of any glider with crow brakes I always have the elevator compensation menu open and a good thing too for when I tested the brakes over the slope, up shot the glider’s nose so more compensation was needed, it ended up at 6.5mm down with flap 38mm down at the root and aileron 4mm up at the tip. I had 4 flights, all flown without ballast, the Schwing weighs 2070g/4lb 9oz (production Schwings will probably weigh a bit less) C of G started at 95mm from LE measured at the root.
 
Flight characteristics:
 It handles just like you would expect a glider of its specification and size to. A 45 degree dive test showed that the C of G could come back a bit so I removed a small bit of lead. Next time out I plan to have the C of G at 100mm. I did notice how well it accelerates. Now my F3F friends will agree that I am not generally noted as a fast pilot but this glider is truly fast!  It feels secure at speed. (Note to James:  a Schwing big brother specifically for F3F would be very interesting.) One thing that I was a bit surprised about was that inverted needed quite a bit of down elevator, more than say, my HN Extreme or Pike WR. Multiple axial rolls really needed a lot of elevator to avoid losing height. Next time I plan to set up different aileron differential rates and snap flap on different ‘Conditions’ (Futaba T10C tx) so that I can do A – B flight testing at the flick of a switch.
 
So, all in all, a successful day, well done James and Tony, the Schwing is a really good glider.  

[peter_burgess]

I had another session with the Schwing today, totally different site and conditions from yesterday. The wind had gone from north to south blowing 12-20 mph all in front of some rainy weather that had been promised. This meant that my local club slope was working, it is not a large slope, it’s on the North Downs near Clacket Lane service station on the M25 motorway.  The service station and a nearby farm generate some good thermals.
 
After yesterday’s session I checked the Snap Flap settings and sure enough there were things that should be changed.  I also made some changes to the Crow settings.
 
I had four flights totalling about 90 minutes stick time. The changes to the Snap flap certainly improved the inverted performance and rolls felt a lot better. I started off without ballast but halfway through I added 300g of wing ballast. It certainly did not make the plane feel any less agile but did help the Schwing through some of the thermal turbulence.Whether it made the Schwing any faster is difficult to say, it was darn fast all day

So far I am very impressed with the Schwing, when compared with an F3F model the Schwing is more agile and gives the impression of greater speed, I can’t wait to fly it again. 

PS. Sorry that there are no flying pics but on both occasions I was ‘Billy no mates’ and I am not very good at taking pictures and flying !! 

[Zim]

Peter one thing I have noticed with all the Hammond models that I have flown is that they feel quick even when they are very conservative on the CG, and exhibit very little zoom in the dive test despite being quite forward on the CG. However, when you get the CG right, the inverted performance is almost entirely neutral. Sounds to me like classic Hammond behaviour - I'd push the CG back based more on the inverted performance than the behaviour in the dive test - I think you'll unlock a load more performance. To have the space to do a truly representative dive test needs quite a lot more altitude than most can get on an average day!

Z

[James Hammond]

Peter one thing I have noticed with all the Hammond models that I have flown is that they feel quick even when they are very conservative on the CG, and exhibit very little zoom in the dive test despite being quite forward on the CG. However, when you get the CG right, the inverted performance is almost entirely neutral. Sounds to me like classic Hammond behaviour - I'd push the CG back based more on the inverted performance than the behaviour in the dive test - I think you'll unlock a load more performance. To have the space to do a truly representative dive test needs quite a lot more altitude than most can get on an average day!

Z

He's right as usual.

The Schwing has a very unusual aerofoil that behaves possibly a little different from others.

It should fly virtually hands noff inverted as the angle of attack is zero.

Thanks Zim

JH

[James Hammond]

He's right as usual.

The Schwing has a very unusual aerofoil that behaves possibly a little different from others.

It should fly virtually hands off inverted as the angle of attack is zero.

Ease the CG back bit by bit Pete.

Thanks Zim

JH

[peter_burgess]

The CG is already back at 100mm but in the search for knowledge I will take it further back. I will report back after my hols (going scuba diving in the Red Sea)

[peter_burgess]

I am informed that folks out there have been flying production Schwing models, what do you guys think about it?