REVIEW MAXFORD USA GLOBE/TEMCO SWIFT - 2012/08

I count myself lucky enough to be in
a position as a product reviewer for
MA for the past several years. I’ve
covered several sport models, but the
main focus of my reviews seems to be
Scale models. Most have been Mustangs,
Extras, Wacos, Cubs, Stearmans, and
many other mainstream designs.
However, occasionally I’m offered
something that makes me take notice
and I can hear myself quoting that
famous line from Monty Python, “Now
for something completely different.”
Such is the case with this Globe/
Temco Swift ARF from Maxford. I’m
sure someone has penned plans for it
at some point, but I’m hard-pressed to
think of any manufacturer that has ever
kitted one. Because of that, there’s not
much danger of running into a swarm of
similar versions at the fi eld!
The full-scale Swift was designed in
1940 and was the fi rst low-wing, twoplace
aircraft with retractable landing
gear. It was also one of the fi rst all-metal
aircraft available for civilian pilots.
If you’d like to learn more about
the full-scale Swift, I’d suggest
visiting the Globe Swift/Temco
Swift website listed in “Sources.”
Enough about history—let’s get to
work. Opening the kit for inspection
and the initial parts layout photos, I was
pleasantly surprised to see that the Swift
is completely built-up from balsa and
light plywood.
Everything appears to be laser cut, and
popping the canopy off of the fuselage
gives you a good idea of just how much
thought went into this Swift’s design.
In the fuselage alone, there are nearly
100 separate openings cut into the
various formers and trays. This kind
of work is normally seen only in 3-D
aerobatic designs.
The wing comes in two panels and is
a plug-in design with a carbon-fi ber tube
to align everything. Built-in LE slots
mimic the full-scale Swift. Also, each
wing panel has an electric main gear
retract installed. I took a few minutes to
check out the operation of each of them
and they work quite well. With scalelike
speed, they have a securely locked feel
when extended.
Rounding out the kit are various
other pieces, hardware, stickers, and
the instruction manual. As mentioned in past reviews, I’m disappointed with
manufacturers that attach N numbers
to their models, especially when the N
numbers are made up. Maxford chose
not to adhere stickers at the factory, so
you have option to customize the Swift
as you’d like.
Construction
As is usual in my reviews, I’m not
going to go through all the steps of
construction. If you’d like to see each of
the steps, you can download the Swift’s
manual at the website address listed in
“Sources.”
When I reviewed this Swift, the
instruction manual didn’t cover several
steps, so I had to guess how several
parts were used. However, Maxford
now has an online addendum available
that covers these oversights. Please note
that since I was doing some “educated
guessing,” some of the cockpit detail in
my review might differ slightly from
Maxford’s addendum.
With this review, only the Swift,
the pilots, and the lighted instrument
panel were included. For the radio,
battery, motor, etc., I used many things I
happened to have on hand, so the brands
include several manufacturers.
Work first begins on the wing panels.
The aileron and flap servos are attached
to their under-wing covers. No strings in
the wings are provided to aid in pulling
the servo wires through, but using a
length of thin wire makes quick work of
getting the wires through the panels.
The kit uses a CA-type hinge on all
flying surfaces. The hinge slots were
likely precut before the covering was
applied, but I had a hard time finding
most of them and I reslotted them with
a hobby knife. Take your time if you
have to do the same.
After the ailerons and flaps are glued
into place, attach the included control
hardware and the wings are ready to go.
Focus on the fuselage where the
tail surfaces are attached. It’s worth
noting that the vertical fin has a tab
that fits into a slot in the middle of the
horizontal stabilizer. This helps with
alignment and makes for a stronger
assembly.
The elevator hinging and hardware
are next, then the rudder. I found that
I needed to drill the hole and make
a groove for the tail wheel’s wire to
attach the tail wheel, but that was not a
problem.
Work now shifts to the front of the
fuselage to install the motor box. Mount
the motor first and then its clever
design smoothly and firmly slides into
a matching hole in the firewall. This
gives you the opportunity to accurately
position it so the motor will extend
from the cowl as needed. When you
find the right spot, glue the box into
position.
Radio and ESC installation is easy
with all of the room in the cockpit
area. Because I was using an ESC I had on hand that didn’t include a BEC
function, I had to use a separate
receiver battery. Everything is held in
with hook-and-loop strips, but I did
have to install a few thin balsa panels
to mount the receiver and ESC. The
laser cutting didn’t leave enough
wood to stick to!
To finish the Swift, I turned my
attention to the cockpit. Let me note
that you don’t have to do anything
with the cockpit if you’d rather not,
but Maxford offers pilot figures and
a lighted instrument panel, and I
wanted to use them. This is where
the original instructions were lacking,
so I was faced with 10 or so parts and
no idea what to do with them. Now
that Maxford has the addendum, you
won’t have to guess.
The completed Swift came in at 3
pounds, 15 ounces—roughly 6 ounces
above Maxford’s recommended flying
weight. I attribute that to the extra
receiver battery pack I had to use
with my ESC and the extra cockpit
detail. Regardless, the CG was spot
on, so I wanted to see how it flew.
I noticed that the landing gear
seemed to have a slight toe-out. Normally this leads to taxiing problems,
but it didn’t look too severe, so the fi rst
fl ights would be as the aircraft came
from the factory.
Flying
A couple of days later, a break in the
weather and wind gave me a sunny
afternoon to put in the fi rst fl ights on
the Swift. Taxiing came fi rst and the toeout
I noticed at home showed its ugly
head. Keeping the Swift straight was
hard, but after a few tries and a burst of
throttle, the Swift was airborne.
It took only one pass to trim
everything—just a few clicks here and
there. Power was good and controls were
good, so after the photo passes were out
of the way, putting the Swift through its
paces was fun.
The aircraft is stable, even in
windy conditions. It fl ies like a warbird,
or maybe a streamlined T-6 Texan,
so it is capable of any maneuver
you’d associate with a warbird.
The Power 10 motor and APC 12 x 6
Slow Flyer propeller proved to be a great
match. Rarely did I need more than 60%
power for anything other than steep
climbouts. When I did venture to climb
at full throttle, it gained altitude in a
hurry.
With time running short on the fi rst
fl ight, I set up for a few missed-approach
attempts. This is an area where the
design of the Swift shows because of a combination of things. First are flaps. I
used half flaps for each of the attempts,
and because I had programmed in a
scalelike (slow) servo speed, it kept the
Swift level when deploying them.
Next was the propeller. The Slow
Flyer’s wide-blade propeller design acts
like an airbrake when turning slowly.
Because of the LE’s wing slots. I found
that once I turned on final, the Swift
“locked” into a gentle glide slope. If
you’re slightly short, just throttle up a
little. If you’re somewhat off-center, the
flying surfaces will still be effective; the
model showed no tendency to tip stall.
After touching down, the rollout was
short because of the toe-out problem, so
I went home to correct this. Removing
the gear from the fuselage, I found that
a single screw holds the gear struts in. I
removed the struts, recut the flats for a
better angle, then reinstalled the struts,
but this created another problem.
Although I filed off only enough
metal to alter the angle of the flat, it
was enough that the factory screw was
too short to hold the strut in place.
I dug through my collection of odd
screws and found a couple of matching
metric screws that were approximately
1/8 inch longer, and they did the trick. I
reassembled everything and now taxiing,
takeoffs, and landings are much better.
I’ve made quite a few flights with the
Swift and have become comfortable
with it. It handles 10 to 15 mph winds
well, although it can bounce slightly. It’s
not what I’d call a speedster, but it sure
looks good buzzing the field on a highspeed
low pass.
The electric retracts work flawlessly
and it’s nice not having to worry about
them. The gear’s wide stance helps in
crosswind landings.
In Conclusion
Maxford has done a great job with this
Globe/Temco Swift ARF. Its scalelike
appearance and lightweight construction
are top notch. It can accept a wide range
of radio and power equipment.
The Swift has a wide flight envelope
and superior low-speed characteristics
that make it a fun, highly aerobatic
design. Throw in the facts that it will
stand out at the field and you can get
close to 12 minutes of aerobatic flight
time, and I feel that Maxford’s Swift
is something to think about if you are
looking to add a new model to your
hangar.

I count myself lucky enough to be in
a position as a product reviewer for
MA for the past several years. I’ve
covered several sport models, but the
main focus of my reviews seems to be
Scale models. Most have been Mustangs,
Extras, Wacos, Cubs, Stearmans, and
many other mainstream designs.
However, occasionally I’m offered
something that makes me take notice
and I can hear myself quoting that
famous line from Monty Python, “Now
for something completely different.”
Such is the case with this Globe/
Temco Swift ARF from Maxford. I’m
sure someone has penned plans for it
at some point, but I’m hard-pressed to
think of any manufacturer that has ever
kitted one. Because of that, there’s not
much danger of running into a swarm of
similar versions at the fi eld!
The full-scale Swift was designed in
1940 and was the fi rst low-wing, twoplace
aircraft with retractable landing
gear. It was also one of the fi rst all-metal
aircraft available for civilian pilots.
If you’d like to learn more about
the full-scale Swift, I’d suggest
visiting the Globe Swift/Temco
Swift website listed in “Sources.”
Enough about history—let’s get to
work. Opening the kit for inspection
and the initial parts layout photos, I was
pleasantly surprised to see that the Swift
is completely built-up from balsa and
light plywood.
Everything appears to be laser cut, and
popping the canopy off of the fuselage
gives you a good idea of just how much
thought went into this Swift’s design.
In the fuselage alone, there are nearly
100 separate openings cut into the
various formers and trays. This kind
of work is normally seen only in 3-D
aerobatic designs.
The wing comes in two panels and is
a plug-in design with a carbon-fi ber tube
to align everything. Built-in LE slots
mimic the full-scale Swift. Also, each
wing panel has an electric main gear
retract installed. I took a few minutes to
check out the operation of each of them
and they work quite well. With scalelike
speed, they have a securely locked feel
when extended.
Rounding out the kit are various
other pieces, hardware, stickers, and
the instruction manual. As mentioned in past reviews, I’m disappointed with
manufacturers that attach N numbers
to their models, especially when the N
numbers are made up. Maxford chose
not to adhere stickers at the factory, so
you have option to customize the Swift
as you’d like.
Construction
As is usual in my reviews, I’m not
going to go through all the steps of
construction. If you’d like to see each of
the steps, you can download the Swift’s
manual at the website address listed in
“Sources.”
When I reviewed this Swift, the
instruction manual didn’t cover several
steps, so I had to guess how several
parts were used. However, Maxford
now has an online addendum available
that covers these oversights. Please note
that since I was doing some “educated
guessing,” some of the cockpit detail in
my review might differ slightly from
Maxford’s addendum.
With this review, only the Swift,
the pilots, and the lighted instrument
panel were included. For the radio,
battery, motor, etc., I used many things I
happened to have on hand, so the brands
include several manufacturers.
Work first begins on the wing panels.
The aileron and flap servos are attached
to their under-wing covers. No strings in
the wings are provided to aid in pulling
the servo wires through, but using a
length of thin wire makes quick work of
getting the wires through the panels.
The kit uses a CA-type hinge on all
flying surfaces. The hinge slots were
likely precut before the covering was
applied, but I had a hard time finding
most of them and I reslotted them with
a hobby knife. Take your time if you
have to do the same.
After the ailerons and flaps are glued
into place, attach the included control
hardware and the wings are ready to go.
Focus on the fuselage where the
tail surfaces are attached. It’s worth
noting that the vertical fin has a tab
that fits into a slot in the middle of the
horizontal stabilizer. This helps with
alignment and makes for a stronger
assembly.
The elevator hinging and hardware
are next, then the rudder. I found that
I needed to drill the hole and make
a groove for the tail wheel’s wire to
attach the tail wheel, but that was not a
problem.
Work now shifts to the front of the
fuselage to install the motor box. Mount
the motor first and then its clever
design smoothly and firmly slides into
a matching hole in the firewall. This
gives you the opportunity to accurately
position it so the motor will extend
from the cowl as needed. When you
find the right spot, glue the box into
position.
Radio and ESC installation is easy
with all of the room in the cockpit
area. Because I was using an ESC I had on hand that didn’t include a BEC
function, I had to use a separate
receiver battery. Everything is held in
with hook-and-loop strips, but I did
have to install a few thin balsa panels
to mount the receiver and ESC. The
laser cutting didn’t leave enough
wood to stick to!
To finish the Swift, I turned my
attention to the cockpit. Let me note
that you don’t have to do anything
with the cockpit if you’d rather not,
but Maxford offers pilot figures and
a lighted instrument panel, and I
wanted to use them. This is where
the original instructions were lacking,
so I was faced with 10 or so parts and
no idea what to do with them. Now
that Maxford has the addendum, you
won’t have to guess.
The completed Swift came in at 3
pounds, 15 ounces—roughly 6 ounces
above Maxford’s recommended flying
weight. I attribute that to the extra
receiver battery pack I had to use
with my ESC and the extra cockpit
detail. Regardless, the CG was spot
on, so I wanted to see how it flew.
I noticed that the landing gear
seemed to have a slight toe-out. Normally this leads to taxiing problems,
but it didn’t look too severe, so the fi rst
fl ights would be as the aircraft came
from the factory.
Flying
A couple of days later, a break in the
weather and wind gave me a sunny
afternoon to put in the fi rst fl ights on
the Swift. Taxiing came fi rst and the toeout
I noticed at home showed its ugly
head. Keeping the Swift straight was
hard, but after a few tries and a burst of
throttle, the Swift was airborne.
It took only one pass to trim
everything—just a few clicks here and
there. Power was good and controls were
good, so after the photo passes were out
of the way, putting the Swift through its
paces was fun.
The aircraft is stable, even in
windy conditions. It fl ies like a warbird,
or maybe a streamlined T-6 Texan,
so it is capable of any maneuver
you’d associate with a warbird.
The Power 10 motor and APC 12 x 6
Slow Flyer propeller proved to be a great
match. Rarely did I need more than 60%
power for anything other than steep
climbouts. When I did venture to climb
at full throttle, it gained altitude in a
hurry.
With time running short on the fi rst
fl ight, I set up for a few missed-approach
attempts. This is an area where the
design of the Swift shows because of a combination of things. First are flaps. I
used half flaps for each of the attempts,
and because I had programmed in a
scalelike (slow) servo speed, it kept the
Swift level when deploying them.
Next was the propeller. The Slow
Flyer’s wide-blade propeller design acts
like an airbrake when turning slowly.
Because of the LE’s wing slots. I found
that once I turned on final, the Swift
“locked” into a gentle glide slope. If
you’re slightly short, just throttle up a
little. If you’re somewhat off-center, the
flying surfaces will still be effective; the
model showed no tendency to tip stall.
After touching down, the rollout was
short because of the toe-out problem, so
I went home to correct this. Removing
the gear from the fuselage, I found that
a single screw holds the gear struts in. I
removed the struts, recut the flats for a
better angle, then reinstalled the struts,
but this created another problem.
Although I filed off only enough
metal to alter the angle of the flat, it
was enough that the factory screw was
too short to hold the strut in place.
I dug through my collection of odd
screws and found a couple of matching
metric screws that were approximately
1/8 inch longer, and they did the trick. I
reassembled everything and now taxiing,
takeoffs, and landings are much better.
I’ve made quite a few flights with the
Swift and have become comfortable
with it. It handles 10 to 15 mph winds
well, although it can bounce slightly. It’s
not what I’d call a speedster, but it sure
looks good buzzing the field on a highspeed
low pass.
The electric retracts work flawlessly
and it’s nice not having to worry about
them. The gear’s wide stance helps in
crosswind landings.
In Conclusion
Maxford has done a great job with this
Globe/Temco Swift ARF. Its scalelike
appearance and lightweight construction
are top notch. It can accept a wide range
of radio and power equipment.
The Swift has a wide flight envelope
and superior low-speed characteristics
that make it a fun, highly aerobatic
design. Throw in the facts that it will
stand out at the field and you can get
close to 12 minutes of aerobatic flight
time, and I feel that Maxford’s Swift
is something to think about if you are
looking to add a new model to your
hangar.