Swallow Aeroplane Company Swallow

The Swallow Aeroplane Company Swallow is a series of American ultralight aircraft that was designed by Chet Fudge and produced by the Swallow Aeroplane Company in the 1980s. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.

The Swallow Aeroplane Company should not be confused with the 1920s era Swallow Airplane Company.

Design and development
The aircraft was designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of 254 lb. When equipped with a lightweight Rotax 277 engine the aircraft has a standard empty weight of 253 lb. It features a cable-braced high-wing, a single-seat, open cockpit, tricycle landing gear and one or two engines in pusher configuration.

The aircraft is made from bolted-together aluminum tubing, with the flying surfaces covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its 34.4 ft span wing is cable-braced from an inverted "V" kingpost. The pilot is accommodated on an open seat, without a windshield. The aircraft controls are conventional three-axis. The engine or engines are mounted to the wing leading edge and drive the propeller, located at the trailing edge and in between the tail boom tubes, through an extension shaft. Some Swallows used an unusual tubular engine fairing.

Variants

 * Swallow A
 * Initial version, powered by a single Rotax 277 of 28 hp or a pair of Yamaha KT-100 engines of 15 hp each, coupled together to a common combining gearbox and powering a single propeller. The "A" model has a standard empty weight of 253 lb and if built carefully can qualify as a US FAR 103 ultralight.


 * Swallow B
 * Differs from the "A" only in engine installed, a single Cuyuna 430 of 30 hp. The "B" model has a standard empty weight of 290 lb and is thus too heavy for the US FAR 103 ultralight category, but qualifies as an Experimental Amateur-Built.