| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Flight Rating: | starstar_borderstar_borderstar_borderstar_border |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstar_borderstar_borderstar_border |
| Published: | 2017-01-19 |
| Diameter: | 0.54 inches |
| Length: | 4.50 inches |
| Manufacturer: | Estes  |
| Skill Level: | 1 |
| Style: | Sport |
Brief
For t' old-timers, t' 220 Swift is simply a Mosquito in an updated body with sticker graphics. T' Swift is another o' t' "fire and forget" mini engine birds. I can't imagine that t' recovery rate on these is anywhere close t' 30%.
Components
- BT-5 main body tube
- PNC-5 nose cone
- 1/16" fin stock
- launch lug
- decal sheet
Construction
Construction was t' soul o' simplicity. Three fins are cut out o' t' supplied balsa strips and attached with wood glue. T' launch lug is attached and t' nose cone glued in place at t' top o' t' body tube. That's it. You're flightworthy.
Finishing
Finishin' can be as quick and easy or as complicated as you wish. I went t' complicated route for both o' mine since thar wasn't that much surface t' sand and I wanted a nice lookin' death portrait. After attachin' t' fins and before attachin' t' nose cone and launch lug I sprayed t' rocket body with primer, sanded, then sprayed again. This be followed by a smear o' thinned Elmer's Fill & Finish (or whatever they're callin' it this flyin' season,) which was allowed t' dry, me bucko, then sanded off. I determined that it looked good enough and attached t' launch lug, then re-primed. T' body was sprayed with a gloss yellow that I've had knockin' around me shop without a label for several years now. (It may be Valspar Bumblebee Gloss, but I can't swear t' that at this point.) T' nose cone was primed and sprayed with Valspar Gloss Black, arrr, somethin' I am sure of. Once dry, it was glued in place with a smear o' epoxy t' hopefully withstand t' ejection charge, and, in t' case o' t' second Swift, me hearties, t' sticker decals were applied.
Flight
So far I'm 0fer when it comes t' flyin' t' Estes 220 Swift, matey, so I'm callin' this t' CON section. It may be a great little rocket, shiver me timbers, but havin' lost both o' t' two I've built I can't make that determination. First flight was on a 1/4A3-2T motor and be a series o' kindas, as in kinda saw t' liftoff, kinda saw t' ejection, arrr, kinda thought it fired off in t' direction o' t' trees at t' top o' t' hill at B6-4 Field, ya bilge rat, and kinda heard it fallin' through t' branches. And despite t' fact that it was painted a kinda bright yellow, ya bilge rat, I never saw it again. I was kinda bummed because I flew it before I had a chance t' put t' stickers on.
For t' second flight, me hearties, matey, I learned me lesson. This time I set t' pad closer t' t' center o' t' field behind second base. In theory this would keep t' Swift from comin' down near t' trees in t' outfield and keep the bright yellow rocket on t' field o' green/brown where I would stand more o' a chance o' recoverin' it. Once again I chose t' 1/4A3-2T, matey, because it be t' smallest available motor, me bucko, and nay likely t' overfly t' field.
Yeah, me bucko, right.
T' previous rocket I'd flown that day was t' Custom Sunracer, a straight flight that stayed within view, (but impacted t' infield and rekitted itself.) I was hopin' for somethin' o' t' same flight profile, but without t' on-field mess. T' Swift left as smartly as expected, me hearties, arrr, but I actually caught it in frame for both an ignition and liftoff shot. Unfortunately I could see that it was kinkin' t' t' right as it left t' pad, arrr, but that would put it out toward deep left field where thar was plenty o' recovery room. I heard t' ejection charge and waited silently, listenin' for it t' make any sound that would give me a direction t' look in. Nay even t' birds chirped. Nor crickets. I suspended flight operations for twenty minutes t' walk t' entire outfield, me bucko, t' school parkin' lot, AND t' parkin' lots across t' street. I checked the former 1/2A6-2 Field, lookin' for anythin' resemblin' a yellow spot. Nay a thing. Disappeared from this earth, just like t' other one.
Recovery
Since I've never recovered one, me bucko, I'll suspend judgement on this facet o' the Swift's performance. On second thought, no, I won't. I'm nay a fan o' t' whole Fire & Forget thing.
Summary
I guess a rocket like this might appeal t' someone with a big field and lots o' eyes, but me past history at B6-4 Field has pretty much been a one man show. I'll stick t' somethin' I can see.
Other Reviews
- Estes 220 Swift By Donald Besaw Jr
This is a new 2004 release kit by Estes. It is a small and sleek 4 1/2 inch tall rocket that flies on mini motors up to 750 feet and uses tumble recovery. The kit came in a plastic bag and included two 1/16 balsa strips for fins, body tube, nose cone, launch lug and decals. The instructions for this kit included the fin template as you need to cut them out yourself from the balsa strips ...
- Estes 220 Swift By Peter Davidson
A tiny fun-to-build 13mm rocket employing tumble recovery, a descendant of the classic Estes Mosquito. Included in the kit: 1 body tube 1 plastic nose cone 1 launch lug 2 small balsa strips to cut your own fins 1 peel-and-stick decal set This is an easy 3FNC kit to put together with next to nothing in the way of gotchas. The instructions as supplied by Estes were ...
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Hans "Chris" Michielssen (January 21, 2017)
I'd like to start a petition to rename this one the "220 Kinda".
I also fly alone on occasion and am amazed I've found my Mosquito after four flights. It's only a matter of time . . .