The first new family of light aircraft to be certified in the UK for 25 years, the two seater Swift II and Swift VLA, are poised to make the leap from the drawing board to prototype.

Brought into being by the Swift Technology Group, the Swift range of aircraft promise to be exceptional new designs that can deliver on their promise to be the perfect aircraft for everyone from pilots in training all the way from individuals performing aerobatics and touring to flight schools and the military

Founder of Swift Aircraft, David Stanbridge, sees this as fulfilling part of his goal of breathing new life into UK light aircraft manufacture; “Britain has some of the best aviation heritage in the world, but we haven’t looked after our industry as well as we should have. With the Swift range we are bringing world beating aircraft to the market that will fly wonderfully as a tourer, provide a fun flight experience to new pilots and have low operating costs for schools and military training”.

The aircraft will range from units powered by the economical Rotax to those powered by Lycoming aerobatic capable engines ranging from 160hp to 260hp, and with a variety of avionics fits (VFR, basic IFR and full IFR). The aircraft can be tailored to meet any pilot’s needs: “I want the Swift range to be able to give great performance in key areas of touring, training and aerobatics without having to compromise on capability in any of them”.

“There are far too many aircraft out there that state their range as one figure, but have to half that if you want to carry a useful load, which isn’t something that the Swift will suffer from. Its design will allow for full luggage capacity, even with the full complement of persons on board and full fuel.’

Notably the Swift II will be rated for aerobatics up to +6/-5G, so more adventurous pilots will really be able to make a mark in the skies, its light weight making the aircraft both manoeuvrable and economical.

Getting the Swift range into flight schools and offering it as a military trainer is one of the company’s main aims, with considerably lower maintenance costs than the current aging aircraft that make up much of the fleet at the moment.

The group already have experience in aircraft design and manufacture, having acquired Europa Aircraft at the end of 2008 and re-starting production and product development there, as well as taking on designers and engineers with extensive industry experience. Developing the Swift range has, however, taken a departure from traditional techniques: it will be the first aircraft of its type in the UK to be designed using state of the art computer technologies.

“Using advanced computer design techniques, such as CFD [computational fluid dynamics], and other software we can maximise aerodynamic efficiency, keep weight to an absolute minimum and conduct most of the ‘flight’ testing prior to construction. This kind of technology has been used for military and commercial aircraft, but it will be a real breakthrough for light aircraft design”.

“I think it’s a shame that so little manufacturing remains in the UK light aviation industry, and through introducing the swift and continuing our commitment at Europa, I think that we can make a good start in proving to the world that we have the talent, the know-how and world beating designs, right here in Britain”.