New Swift S-1 Jet Sailplanes in FS One
5.5m and Full Scale Versions
I am pleased to announce an update to FS One - soon to be released. The Swift S-1 family of aerobatic sailplanes has been expanded with the addition of two new jet variants: 44% scale and full scale versions. The new update will install FS One 2022e along with the bundled FS One Power Tools 2022e app. It will be a few more days before the update is ready for download.
The first variant features the JetCat P120 engine, which has been added to the 44%-scale 18-ft span (5.5 m) Swift glider. The graphics model has been updated to include a vertical fin heat shield, providing a sleeker appearance than a split jet exhaust diverter. With a maximum static thrust of 27 lbs (120N), the P120 offers a thrust-to-weight ratio of approximately 0.85 - a hot setup that flies like many popular jet sailplanes. The maximum level flight speed is nearly 160 mph (260 km/hr) - below the AMA mandated safety limit of 200 mph (320 km/hr) for jets (AMA document 510-A). Still, 160 mph (260 km/hr) rocks for a sailplane! Want to test at higher speeds? Edit the sailplane and increase the factor multiplying the power or directly input a new maximum thrust.
The second variant is a full-scale Swift S-1 with 250 lbs (1112N) of static thrust, simulating the use of a jet engine similar to the PBS TJ-100 found on aerobatic jet-powered sailplanes such as Bob Carlton's Super Salto Jet Sailplane. With a thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.26, this variant requires more energy management, just like full scale jet powered sailplanes seen in airshows. After a 2 min straight and level cruise at full jet power, the maximum speed creeps up on 220 mph (355 km/hr). In maneuvering flight, however, the maximum speed is “more docile” at around 150 mph (240 km/hr).
These new sailplanes and the rest of the entire Swift S-1 family include many improvements for more realism: a new wing airfoil data, more gear damping, increased wheel braking with down elevator, less wing tip friction (dragging friction), better energy dissipation on crash landings, crash/contact sounds, revamped wing downwash data, and many other tweaks! The radio setups were also changed. The landing gear retract was on key 4, but it was moved to the gear switch. The aileron-to-rudder mix was previously assigned to that switch, but now it is toggled using key 7 (mix is OFF by default). Also, for the regular glider configurations, the spoilers are on the left stick (Mode 2), but for the jet configurations, the left stick controls the jet throttle and the spoiler control is moved to the knob. For radios with a slider control, using a slider is easier (than a knob) for spoiler control, but still it is a user radio setup step/decision - spoilers on knob or slider. For the electric variants, the throttle remains on the knob and spoilers on the stick. With 10 gliders in the entire family, there was quite a bit of data to propagate across all of them and test for this 2022e version update.
Tip: To see the Swift S-1 radio setup changes when you are running FS One, click on the "Flight Manual" on-screen button and it will launch the flight manual page in your browser, taking you directly to the setup for the current Swift variant you’ve selected in the sim.
About the FS One Newsletter
Subscribers to this "RC Flight Simulation with FS One" newsletter will be among the first to know when new airplanes and new features are planned and released for FS One. I will also discuss some of the finer details that go into RC flight simulation, share tips and techniques for flying, and touch on aerodynamics and flight dynamics now and then. In addition to the usual coverage, keep an eye out for occasional thoughts and ideas on other related topics in RC modeling.