Swift 3

The Aeriane Swift 3 is the third generation of the Belgian flying-wing family and the result of four years of development. It replaces the Swift Light, which was built until 2022. Two versions are offered: the Swift 3 as an unpowered foot-launch aircraft, and the E-Swift 3 as a self-launcher with electric drive, nosewheel and rudder pedals working in the conventional aeroplane sense. The wings are identical on both; only the fuselage differs.

The aerodynamic step forward is the heart of the design. The layout comes from Steve Morris, was developed entirely by CFD and uses a new exclusive laminar airfoil whose geometry changes along the span. With a 14 m span over just 11.5 m² of area, the aspect ratio is 17 – worth roughly 25 percent more glide and 20 km/h more Vne than the Swift Light. Aeriane quotes 35:1 and a minimum sink of 0.47 m/s at 53 km/h for the foot-launch version; for the E-Swift 3 the flight manual estimates 34 at 75 km/h (the product page says 33:1) and 0.56 m/s at 57 km/h.

Maximum takeoff weight of the E-Swift 3 is 210 kg and the maximum permitted empty weight 124 kg; the flight manual gives a reference empty weight of 114 kg with battery, Galaxy rescue parachute and Helix HK25 propeller, or around 115 kg with the heavier E-Props propeller. Recommended pilot weight is 50 to 96 kg. Vne is staggered by altitude: 140 km/h up to 3,000 m, 133 km/h up to 4,000 m and 126 km/h up to 5,000 m. Manoeuvring and rough-air speeds are both 110 km/h, and 120 km/h is permitted with the airbrakes extended. The E-Swift 3 stalls at 52 km/h with flaps at 0° and 50 km/h in the landing configuration, while the manufacturer quotes 40 km/h for the foot-launch version. Load factors are +5.3 g and −2.65 g, tested with a 1.5 safety factor.

The E-Swift 3 is powered by a gearless pancake-style Geiger HPD12: 12 kW continuous (about 16 hp), 16 kW for short bursts (about 22 hp), nominal 2,184 rpm and controller-limited to 2,500 rpm. The 60 Ah battery with 3.1 kWh at 52 V nominal can be mounted in three fuselage positions and therefore doubles as a centre-of-gravity trim. The standard propeller is a 1.40 m two-blade Helix HK25 pusher at the rear of the fuselage that folds automatically when the motor stops; optional E-Props measure 1.44 m with ground-adjustable pitch. Level flight needs about 3.5 kW. Control is via trailing-edge elevons and flaps, upper-surface airbrakes only, and rudders in the form of small winglets at the wingtips. For launch performance the flight manual (Rev. 1.3) quotes a ground roll of 80 m, a takeoff distance over a 15 m obstacle of 180 m and a permitted crosswind component of 18 km/h; for powered endurance it states about 50 minutes of level flight after a climb to 450 m, or roughly 1,600 m of altitude gain per battery charge.

Strengths are by far the best glide performance in the family, quiet self-launching and a high aspect ratio on a small wing. The limitations are worth knowing: aerobatics and spinning are prohibited, bank is limited to 60° and pitch to 30°, stall practice is only allowed above 300 m above ground, and the ballistic rescue parachute is mandatory equipment and part of the weight-and-balance calculation. Aeriane publishes no climb rate and no charging time, the foot-launch fairing was still listed as under development in the 2025 price list, and the pilot weight window ends at 96 kg. As the series has only been running since 2022, the used market is correspondingly thin – across all Aeriane series, listings on ul-flugzeugmarkt.de range from 9,500 to 49,000 euros; the current price range and the build years of the available aircraft are shown in the statistics at the top of this page. The Swift 3 targets performance-minded pilots moving up from the Swift Light or from slope soaring who want cross-country flying in a single-seat flying wing, without a tow and with minimal storage space. Anyone looking for an affordable way in will be better served by the Swift Light or the Standard Swift.