Swift Mini-Engine Model Rocket Kit

This rocket is an easy build and a blast to launch. We have had as much fun launching it as we have had trying to find it.

Somehow in 37 years of rocketry I'd avoided building a fire and forget rocket like the 220 Swift. I'd bought one, as well as a Quark, a dozen or more Mosquitos, a Custom Sunracer, and a Semroc Triton, but I never had the urge to build any of them. That all changed this spring when I built the Swift, a Mosquito, the Sunracer and Triton during a weekend building binge. I'd taken them to the field with me on a couple of launches over the spring and summer, and even invested in 1/4A and 1/2A motors, but still I resisted the urge to fly any of them until my last time out. The Swift had turned out nicely and was painted in the catalog colors, and I planned to put the decals on after the flight. I had a 1/4A motor loaded, steadied the camera with the burst mode on, and tried to catch a launch pic. I got nothing. Well, not exactly true, I got a smoke trail. I looked up just as the ejection charge sounded and saw nothing. Well, not exactly true. I saw the motor casing coming down, but no sign of the Swift anywhere. Well, not exactly true. I heard the faint sound of something falling down through the branches of the trees on top of the hill. I hiked up the hill and checked the area thoroughly, but found no sign of the Swift. I gather that this happens a lot with these little birds. It counts as a flight, but sure doesn't feel like much of one. Rockets like this might be okay for baseball fields if you're flying from the exact center of the complex and have other eyes to help with tracking, but losing one on a windless day just because the shotgun ejection charge pounds it into the ether is a bit of a let-down.

The Estes 220 Swift is one of the quickest rockets to construct that Estes has, as compared to the Estes Mosquito, Astron Scout, or Astron Birdie. At launch, don't blink, or you'll miss it. For construction, I recommend C/A adhesive, or epoxy. Use bright colors, for the paint, aluminum duct tape, or gold reflective tape on the fins helps and you should have a better chance of spotting the sun reflecting 'dot' at altitude. Best launched in low wind.