Century Swift 16/550/620 Owners Thread

[RcSuperSales-Net]

Hi Guys,

I became a dealer with Century a few weeks back because after reading about the Swift 550 Helicopter in Rc Heli Mag and I was very intrigued by it and wanted to carry a unique ( in my opinion ) helicopter. Something different that you don't really hear a lot about. So as I started digging around on forums I couldn't find a whole lot of info in one specific location. Being as I frequented the Honey Bee King 2 forum and I really enjoyed all the chatter there about the King in one specific location, I thought I would start a thread where all of us Swift Owners can come together to talk about our Swift experiences, build's and whatever in between.

I have two of the 550 kits sitting here to sell and one more that I will be putting together to fly. I am looking forward to getting this heli built and flying but due to time constraints it will probably be a few months until she is fully operational. So I would love if we could have one thread where we can amass the knowledge of the experts and everyone in between in one location so it will be easy for others to come here and find the information they are looking for. I had frequented the thread that Greybird started which BTW also has a lot of great info on there. Here is the link to that thread http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=742057&highlight=swift+impressions. So I hope that others will come here to post their questions, experiences and whatever else about the Century Swift helicopters, and soon the 620. Looking forward to meeting some new people on here and furthering my RC Heli Knowledge Database.

Please send me your Swift videos so we can post them on the first page of the thread.

Swift 16 Video from JustPlaneChris.

Swift 16: Sport Flying and Tuning (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqtBBKWgZRM) (8 min 15 sec) (8 min 15 sec)

From Eeeky
http://www.myrctoys.com/embedded-videos/aeryk-swift-IRCHA-2007.html

Happy and Safe Flying to All.

Kyle Allred
President/Owner
Rc Super Sales


Oh BTW, those are not my Helicopters. Just two of the one's I am training in. Someday though, but I will have a Bell 429 :D. Eh it's only $5 million, chump change right. I wish :D LOL

[Fred Bronk]

Glad you like it too. I did some of the testing on the Swift when it first came out. Smoked a motor or 2 in the proccess, but you fly what they give you!

She will fly on 4s great and with HS as low as 750, but I would not recommend it much.

The 550 needs the CNC TR gearbox, but otherwise is great. Some like to swap the TR blade holders too.

Plus you can build it for about the same as a good 450 :D

FB

[RcSuperSales-Net]

Thanks for th info Frank. You had a lot of good info on the other thread too :D. That is the nice thing is that you can get this heli flying for roughly the same cost as a well setup 450 and you have a bigger heli! Can't beat that.

So CNC Gearbox is the way to go huh. Why not just keep the plastic one on it? Also like I had posted in the other thread. I am going to be running the T-REX 600 Paddles because they have the screws on them so they can snug them onto the Flybar. Just piece of mind for me. Also You can use the E-SMART 550 Blades and there are another set of 550mm wooden blades I sell that fit good on it. They are both $19.99 and they have the Plastic Shim mounts already mounted though you may want to take them off and epoxy them on for safety. Any other tips or info is greatly appreciated.

I wanted to post this info by Wheelhaus. This is a great breakdown of brushless motors and voltage. Many Thanks to Wheelhaus. You can find more here http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=742057&highlight=swift+impressions.

"The idea is to make the motor's job easy enough to spin the blades with little effort. Big pinions make the job harder, small pinions make it easier. Higher headspeed always needs more energy than lower headspeed. The swift will fly anywhere from 1400 rpm for a light setup doing simple sport flight to 2100rpm for 3D.

Motor Kv plays an important role, as a higher Kv motor will use a smaller pinion, a lower Kv motor will use a larger pinion. Since voltage determines motor rpm, the low Kv motors should be used on higher voltage so they can regain the benefit of smaller pinions.

So the 600+ should be used with a 9t pinion on 6s. 5s will work, but you'll need a 10 or 11t pinion to gain back the lost headspeed. 4s will also work, but you need yet another bigger pinion.

The 550+ motor should be used with a 9 or 10t pinion (can't remember) on 4s.

Battery capacity and voltage determines how many watts the system can develop. Watts are a measure of power, (amps x volts = watts). Since a small pack has fewer volts, it needs to deliver higher amps to achieve the same watts as a higher voltage setup. Low cell count packs should be larger capacity, and higher cell count packs can get away with lower capacity since they have higher voltage to fall back on.

My Raptor e620 SE flies with a 10s 3700mah pack. It hits spikes around 100 amps. That means roughly 3300 watts... If I needed that same power from a 6s pack, it would need to deliver 160+ amps to hit 3300 watts.

Higher voltage always allows for more power, but can also be used to gain flight time since the watts needed to fly are roughly the same, a higher voltage setup will use less amps to get there.

4s 4000 would be a good budget setup for a sport flier.
If someone wants a 4s setup for hard 3D, you'll need higher capacity to handle the amps.
6s 4000 would be a good setup for someone wanting 3D and more power due to the higher voltage.

Only about 800 watts are needed for some really fun aerobatics and sport flight, but once the Swift hits around 1500 watts+ it gets violently powerful.

Higher capacity will just add weight and flight time, so increase capacity as you see fit. The Swift should never need 8000mah packs unless the person is only going for very long flights for fun or for AP, but a heavy setup will not do aerobatics as well as a lighter setup.


Woohoo! Yet another one of my posts turned out to be 10x longer than I intended. lol oh well..."

Thanks again Wheelhaus. :D

Happy and Safe Flying to all.

Kyle

[Fred Bronk]

The CNC box is needed for 3D flying but fine otherwise.

Stock Hawk paddles are cheap and smooth it out.

Do you carry Logictech? (yep, just checked your site)

FB

Oh, about motor info too.

You are always looking for the sweet spot in the power system. It is a system and many forget that. 1 wrong part and you will curse blaming everything else.

[Wheelhaus]

Hehe, glad I could help. ;)

Its always good to educate someone on "WHY" instead of just "HOW", since that follows the old "teach a man to fish" proverb... But you could simplify it for your customers and set up some budgeted "packages" from low$ to high$ with specific limits and instrictions on what each system can and cannot do. If any system is pushed too far it will burn something up.

You could set up: 1: a budget 4s package for sport flight, 2: an intermediate 4s package capable of high power for sport aerobatics, and 3: an intermediate 4s package for high capacity and extremely long flights but no aerobatics.

Then jump to a budget 6s package for sport flight and an advanced 6s package for raw power and hard 3D. Dedicated packages help to make it foolproof for any customer since they know what they're buying WILL work for intended purposes.

[RcSuperSales-Net]

Thanks for the tip Wheelhaus. A very good idea. Now I myself need to figure out what works best for each configuration. :confused: With the time I have available, everything takes a while for me right now. :p But thank you very much for the tip, I am definitely going to try to do something like that. Thanks again for the input and hopefully we can get some more people participating. Happy and Safe flying.

Kyle

[Greybird]

Well, I like my 4S 10,000mah Maxamp pack so much, I bought a second one. The Swift does not seem to mind the weight. I like the long 20 minute flights. This is with a Z301100 motor. I wonder if the Z 20 would be even better? Keep in mind, I do not fly 3D.

[MicroHeli-Nut]

Hehe, glad I could help. ;)

You could set up: 1: a budget 4s package for sport flight, 2: an intermediate 4s package capable of high power for sport aerobatics, and 3: an intermediate 4s package for high capacity and extremely long flights but no aerobatics.

Then jump to a budget 6s package for sport flight and an advanced 6s package for raw power and hard 3D. Dedicated packages help to make it foolproof for any customer since they know what they're buying WILL work for intended purposes.

Can you imagine if I didn't have Internet access, or didn't come to Rcgroups? I'd most likely end up with an A30-8XL, a 6S2P 4400 DN :eek: -lipo battery :eek: from my LHS.

[MicroHeli-Nut]

Well, I like my 4S 10,000mah Maxamp pack so much, I bought a second one. The Swift does not seem to mind the weight. I like the long 20 minute flights. This is with a Z301100 motor. I wonder if the Z 20 would be even better? Keep in mind, I do not fly 3D.

Depends on what headspeed you are comfortable with no. The Z20 weighs 95 grams less, and has a higher kV. I'd say go 9T, otherwise, 8 tooth from Century's website if possible.

[Wheelhaus]

The Z20 may be too small... smaller motors may be able to operate on the same voltage as bigger motors, but won't be able to draw the same amps and are thus limited in wattage. You may overwork the Z20, it temps get too high then you simply need a bigger motor capable of more wattage. If your Z30 (core) temps are a little warm, I'd expect the Z20 to get kinda hot. It doesn't have the same power range and heat capacity as the Z30 does. A Z50 would laugh at that, but it's also huge and drawing 30 amps in hover is like water off a ducks back for the big motors.

[Fred Bronk]

Yep it is not just motor size but how many amps it can take to give you the watts needed for good flights.

Hate to say it but there are many threads on the Swift showing most setups from 4s to 8s.

Then the RTF is due too!

FB

[TomC]

I've really enjoyed my little Swift 16 for almost 2 years now. I've mainly flown it on 5s Evo20 3700 packs w/ zpower r30-1100 motor, 9-10t pinion, and stock 520mm woodies.

Great little 'throw it around' heli. Cheap to fly and repair as well. I have not seen any reason to upgrade it to a 550 CF version w/driven tail.

Cheers,
Tom C

[RcSuperSales-Net]

Thanks for the input guys. I am going to be setting mine up with an E-Sky 1200kv Motor with Either an 8 tooth or 9 tooth pinion gear and 4000mAH-6000mAH 6s and maybe a 5s setup. I will be running an 80A ESC, I like to overdo it on the ESC just to make sure :D. Also I will be running a separate BEC all with a Logictech 6100t Gyro and 6100G servo and the Spektrum DS821 Servos on the cyclic. How does that setup sound. Here is what I got on the Calc from Darkhorse Calculator setup link 1 (http://dhrc.rchomepage.com/calc.htm?kv=1200&voltage=22.2&pinion=8&gearTeeth=96&drag=.80&dia=1150&mah=4000&AUW=2200&amps=20.00&packv=22.20&time=12.00&redButton=B-Save1&LastItem=pinion&).

I will want to set it up so that it can do 3D maneuvers but also fly for a while. I am no where near being close to doing 3D but I want it setup for it. My experience so far has been with the Honey Bee King 2 and HDX 450SE, so two small helicopters. This thing is gigantic compared to those but I cannot wait to get it flying. The King 2 is my test bird and I had Paul Susbauer from Venom fly it last weekend at the Brooks OR funfly and he was quite impressed with it. I think it is setup as good as it can be and I have a lot of fun with it.

So tell me guys Nitro or Electric? I hear both sides and it really seems like both have their benefits and disadvantages, and me personally I dealt with Nitro cars and I hate tuning engines and messing with fuel and grime and all that crap. I love plugging in a battery and flying :D. Setup your ESC once and you are good to go. It is just to damn easy well sort of :rolleyes:. I don't have a lot of time on my hands so when I go fly I just want to fly. So I for one am an electric convert for life.

I am very interested in finding out if an electric workable flying helicopter/ a real one is a possibility in the near future. I am not sure if the technology exists yet for something like that. It very well may, but that is beyond my knowledge. Just imagine flying in on a EC145 Electric power helicopter where you hear nothing but the Blades and tail :D I just don't see it being a feasible option currently. You can have no recharge time or any delays in a working helicopter. If you need the heli you cannot wait for any battery or anything. So you would almost have to have multiple batteries like an RC helicopter and that too just doesn't seem like a viable option. It would defeat the whole purpose to have to carry around other batteries. Well the idea is cool anyways. Maybe it will happen one day.

One other thing is I want to eventually incorporate Aerial Photography using Electric RC Helicopters into my Future Aviation Company which still hasn't been created yet ;). But I am wondering, what are the biggest Electric Helicopters available on the market right now. Obviously the bigger the more stable it will be. I love the idea that by having a smaller RC Helicopter we could go in and photograph areas where you wouldn't want to take in a full size heli. Plus no fuel no fuss is the way to go in my opinion. It sure would be a great alternative.

OH BTW check this article out, this guy definitely does not know what he is talking about. He says you do not need to know anything about the mechanics of a helicopter to fly an electric helicopter. What the HELL! :eek: Is he serious. http://www.copter-world.com/electricremotecontrolhelicopter.html

Well thanks again for any input help and anything else you guys have to contribute to our thread. Sorry I didn't mean to go off on a tangent about stuff not relating to the Swift. :p

Kyle

[DiamondMox]

Here's one of the biggest that I know of: https://www.fxaeromodels.com//product_info.php?cPath=49_57&products_id=570

[RcSuperSales-Net]

Hi Diamond,

Man I grew up in Lewiston, 6 hours to the north of you :D. Yeah that Joker is a big Ass heli, I have heard of it before talking to a guy up here in the Seattle area and that is the heli he uses. I like the 45 degree tail boom, that is a unique design and one I have not seen in RC Heli's. Thanks for the info and I will definitely be keeping that one in mind. I may have to find out about becoming a dealer for that line of heli's though there probably isn't a huge market for it. Thanks again for the info.

Kyle

[DiamondMox]

There are several guys on here that fly the Joker and the Ion-X. I like the size of my Swift, Flying one of those would scare me, no to mention the cost of the power system...

[Greybird]

The Swift size is as big as I will go until battery prices come down. I have looked at a Trex 600, but, 5 minute flights on 300 dollar packs seems crazy.

[MicroHeli-Nut]

The Z20 may be too small... smaller motors may be able to operate on the same voltage as bigger motors, but won't be able to draw the same amps and are thus limited in wattage. You may overwork the Z20, it temps get too high then you simply need a bigger motor capable of more wattage. If your Z30 (core) temps are a little warm, I'd expect the Z20 to get kinda hot. It doesn't have the same power range and heat capacity as the Z30 does. A Z50 would laugh at that, but it's also huge and drawing 30 amps in hover is like water off a ducks back for the big motors.


I almost sold my Z30 for a Z20! LOLz.. I think the best bet for Z20 would be an extremely light setup? So finding light batteries that can put out 1000W of power would be a problem. At least Century was really kind enough to offer the best of 4S and 6S setups for each of the motor/lipo combos, not just what'll lift the heli out of G.E. :D I'm still trying to convince myself that 95grams isn't a big weight increase between the 2 motors.

[laughingstill]

The Swift size is as big as I will go until battery prices come down. I have looked at a Trex 600, but, 5 minute flights on 300 dollar packs seems crazy.
Go with A123 cells! I am using a 10s A123 and its nuts! The batteries are only $100 and I can charge my pack in 20 min! Plus they are nearly indestructible. You can't beat that....Ron

[Greybird]

Ron, I have not been impressed with what I read on those 123's. E-Moli's had a short life, 123's have not been time tested yet. Aren't they only 2300mah? What flight times do you get?

[laughingstill]

They are only 2300 mah but I am running 36 volts. The heli uses less amperage when you step up the voltage. I get about 6-9 minutes depending on what I am doing. Why are you thinking of a new heli?

[Greybird]

I am thinking of a new heli. I was really considering that Logo, until I looked at replacement parts cost.

[laughingstill]

I know the parts cost is horrendous but most of the parts are off the Logo 10 and those are reasonable.

[JustPlaneChris]

Ron, I have not been impressed with what I read on those 123's. E-Moli's had a short life, 123's have not been time tested yet. Aren't they only 2300mah? What flight times do you get?I just saw in one of the A123 threads that they've been flying / using their packs for a year now and they are still going strong. I set my timer for 7 minutes with my Swift, but have flown a pack to "dump" and got 9:23 out of it. That's running 1900 rpm on the 520 woodies with a Neu 1910/1.5Y and 9T pinion.

-Chris

[RcSuperSales-Net]

Ok guys, We need some vids on here of people flying their swifts. I know Chris has some and I would like to post them on the front if that is okay with Chris? So anyone else with some videos post them on here and I'll post them on the front page. I still haven't built mine yet but I really want to. I am going to try and get it done in the next two weeks. It is now rainy season here so I have plenty of time this winter :D. Happy and Safe flying to all! Take it easy.

Kyle

[Eeeeky]

You asked...Swift 16!!!
http://www.myrctoys.com/embedded-videos/swift-jpc.html
(at a funfly)http://www.myrctoys.com/embedded-videos/aeryk-swift-IRCHA-2007.html

[genovia]

good flying kid... :cool:

[JustPlaneChris]

Sure, Kyle... post away. :)

-Chris

[genovia]

Sure, Kyle... post away.

WOW!! Good to know that his got a swift :cool: Post away kyle...

[Mashem Marv]

GreyBird, If the Swift 620 is like the 620eRaptor, that would be the next size to get, because if you will use 123s on the 16 just buy another pack and split it and use 15s and a z50 600, you can easily get 6min on a pack and it goes and sounds awsome.
Marv

[theShark]

15S A123 is pretty decent and about the same weight of 12S 3700mAh lipo with about 1.5min less flight time.

[RcSuperSales-Net]

Hi All,

Been A while since I posted on here. Been messing with the King 2 lately but I really want to get this Swift up in the air. I am going to be putting on the Esky 1200KV motor. Anybody have any experience with this motor? I have heard it is nice and the price is awesome. It sure is a beast of a motor. Thanks for any input.

Kyle

[RcSuperSales-Net]

Anybody doing any AP stuff with the Swift 550? I am interested in maybe setting mine up for AP work. I would like to see if anyone else is using it for this or if it is better to get something a bit bigger than the Swift?

Also anyone have plans to get the 620?

Kyle

[Speed Stick 3D]

i have plans to stretch my swift 16 to run 600 mm blades...right now im running a custom flybarless head system.. i am planning on getting a 620 boom and tail system and putting it on my swift.. i will be running metal grips,metal swash, and a metal swash follower,600 tst V-Blades, an Align 600 XL motor on 6s 5000 mAh thunderpower extreme v2, with an align 75 amp esc.... i cant wait..... :D

Thanks Speedc stick 3D :D

Once i get a job... :rolleyes: :D ;)

[johnm1019]

Question and comment here :)
I have a Swift 16 that I just love. I wanted a big heli cause well, they are just cooler :cool:. Benefits that I didn't realize at the time was that with this bird, you really can fly in any weather and I live in SE Michigan. I have a lot of fun on 20-30 mph+ sustained days taking turn upwind->downwind and really watching it blaze.

Right now I am running a Neu 1907 1.5 with an 8S A123 setup. She bog's a little to much for me though and I'm working to sort that out. My Gov is targeting 1900 RPM. I want to re-tach though and double check that, as well as checking max pitch. Make sure its setup how I actually think it is before I invest in new hardware. (namely a motor and changing to 10S A123).
Any comments on this power setup and its limitations?


Anybody doing any AP stuff with the Swift 550? I am interested in maybe setting mine up for AP work. I would like to see if anyone else is using it for this or if it is better to get something a bit bigger than the Swift?
Kyle

I've used my swift for AP work using the basic Askman mount that only has tilt control. Only issue I had was that the gearing on the tilt combined with the small servo is that unless you have a really really light camera, changing the tilt can cause some nasty bounce -- that being said I was shooting _video_.

I did it using the above power setup but with a 6s csrc lipo which never bogged - it was at 1800rpm as well. Oh I also used the greeny paddles for AP, I use stock swifts for regular flight. I hooked the whole thing up via the standard gear bolt mounts, but used 4 inch bolts. Never had resonance or anything. It was actually really awesome. That being said I've decided that its simply too dangerous a side business to have. One mechanical issue when shooting something (which is pretty much guaranteed to be in a neighborhood or what have you) and its game over.

I had a real time feed to ground hooked to a little portable DVD player, it was super cool.
The other huge issue was that the camera was always facing forward, and so to play around the shot I had to fly very smoothly sideways which I can do, but the inherent jitter in the gyro maintaining the tail (its very small but noticeable from the camera) doesn't help.

[oldeflyer]

I have several 4S 5000 lipos that I use for my EP-8 and the 16. If I double them up to 8S, would that get the Swift 620se enough omph for sport flying? Planning on 600mm blades.

[litespeed]

I have several 4S 5000 lipos that I use for my EP-8 and the 16. If I double them up to 8S, would that get the Swift 620se enough omph for sport flying? Planning on 600mm blades.

Yea that would be plenty depending on the motor you choose. The Orbit 30-12 would rock big time. You could run 620s....I think they would be better.

Tom

[OICU812]

If you get the Orbit 30-12 get the new "Heli-Expert" version, it is a fair bit improvement over the ol 30-12 imho. ;)

[RcSuperSales-Net]

I have several 4S 5000 lipos that I use for my EP-8 and the 16. If I double them up to 8S, would that get the Swift 620se enough omph for sport flying? Planning on 600mm blades.

I should think the 4s Li-PO's by themselves should be plenty. I will be running a 4s 4000mAH 20c and it will work great. That is what is so wonderful about the Swift.

How Much do the batteries weigh? I am thinking 8s would be slight overkill and that would weigh a lot. a 6s 5000mAH is plenty but an 8s! Woah! I am thinking to much there. But who knows.

Kyle

[Gadget01]

If you get the Orbit 30-12 get the new "Heli-Expert" version, it is a fair bit improvement over the ol 30-12 imho. ;) Do you have more info on this motor? A link perhaps?

My 6S-powered Swift runs an Orbit 20-12 (950kv), 10t pinion and flies just fine. Motor temps after flying measure just over 100*f. The 25-10 (930kv) is probably a closer match for 3D power based on this page: http://www.icare-rc.com/plettenberg_heli.htm. Looks like there's a new 25-8 Heli-Expert version out- $279, but that's $79 more than the 25-10. I can't find the kv specs for the 25-8.

[laughingstill]

Question and comment here :)


Right now I am running a Neu 1907 1.5 with an 8S A123 setup. She bog's a little to much for me though and I'm working to sort that out. My Gov is targeting 1900 RPM. I want to re-tach though and double check that, as well as checking max pitch. Make sure its setup how I actually think it is before I invest in new hardware. (namely a motor and changing to 10S A123).
Any comments on this power setup and its limitations?

I was running a Swift 550 carbon with a Z30A-800 KV motor, 9t pinion, and a 10sA123 pack. The heli was ballistic! You will like the setup....Ron

[oldeflyer]

I should think the 4s Li-PO's by themselves should be plenty. I will be running a 4s 4000mAH 20c and it will work great. That is what is so wonderful about the Swift.

How Much do the batteries weigh? I am thinking 8s would be slight overkill and that would weigh a lot. a 6s 5000mAH is plenty but an 8s! Woah! I am thinking to much there. But who knows.

Kyle
I believe I read a post somewhere (FB?), that swinging the longer (550-620) blades with the 4S would be hard on the battery. mtr and pinion choice would have to be taken into account, too. Even though the Century ad claims 4S to 10S Lipo, most 550 or better models seem to start at 6S.

[laughingstill]

Yes, swinging tose large blades will quickly hurt a 4s setup......Ron

[Heritic]

[
Then the RTF is due too!

FB[/QUOTE]

Fred do you know what the radio is with the RTF ?
Heritic