The Swift Aircraft Swift is a single engine, conventional light aircraft, seating two in side-by-side configuration. It is being developed in the UK but has yet to fly.
The Swift is mostly built from composite materials; flying surfaces and the fuselage are formed from composite sandwiches and the wing and tailplane have carbon fibre spars. It has a low wing of trapezoidal plan with slightly upturned tips, fitted with Frise ailerons and slotted flaps. The rear surfaces are also trapezoidal. There is a trim tab in the elevator and a ground adjustable tab on the rudder.
The cockpit has a fixed windscreen and rearward-sliding canopy and is equipped with dual controls. There is a baggage space behind the side-by-side seats. The Swift has a fixed, tricycle undercarriage with the mainwheels on fuselage mounted, spring steel, cantilever legs. The mainwheels have disc brakes and the nosewheel is steerable. The Swift is designed to accept a range of Textron Lycoming horizontally opposed engines in the power range, driving a three-bladed propeller.
The Swift program was announced in May 2009. In 2015 Swift Technology Group announced a "multi million pound investment" supporting development of the aircraft and other products,[1] [2] and exhibited a static display at AeroExpo UK.[3]
In 2021, the Royal Air Force announced its intention to become carbon neutral, called Project MONET.[4] To further this project, the UK MOD awarded a contract in 2023 to develop the Swift as a zero-emission aircraft with a possible implementation date of 2027.[5] Swift Technology Group have begun experimenting with hemp and flax fibres in the composite panels, as well as alternate fuels, and even electric propulsion.[5]