laughingstill
Key Veteran
Location: Gainesville, Fl, USA
| As you all know I purchased a couple of new helis and set off to find the likes and dislikes of both. I promised a review of the Swift 550 Carbon ($389) and the Logo 5003D ($459) so here it is.
KIT BUILDS: As you all know I am of the opinion that ALL manufacturers have problems no matter what and theses are some of the things I noticed good and bad:
Logo 5003D: The kit came nicely packaged and labeled. All of the parts were there EXCEPT the .7 mod gear and aluminum motor mount that were supposed to come with the new kits. I assumed since I bought my kit almost 3 weeks after that announcement from Mikado that all kits would include them, that it would be in there, but alas I had to BUY my .7 mod gear and the aluminum mount was sent to me for free. The build actually went together nicely no real hiccups until I asked about how the mixing arm (I think that's what it is called) was to fit on the blade Grip. The manual was printed incorrectly and I did not know until a fellow modeler pointed this out to me. (OICU812) I called Aero-Model, got a factory pilot on the phone and he verified what OICU812 said so I turned the piece around before my first flight.
All of the parts and pieces went together nicely and seemed a little tight at first but broke in nicely after the first couple of flights. Ball links are solid and beefy, I like that.
As for the frames, they are light and rigid, the placement of the servos directly under the swashplate is awesome, and the overall layout it well though out. The only thing I could really say about the kit is that it could use a beefier flybar or maybe a 3mm one that is made of stronger metal because the one in the kit it pretty soft.
The Swift 550 carbon"
I bought this kit second hand and it was partially assembled but I still had to do a lot of assembly so I feel I can give an honest opinion on it.
The parts bags were nice labeled and the kits quality seems to be much better than the Swift 16. All of the CNC Aluminum seemed to be "finished" better than the other CNC stuff I bought for my Swift 16. All of the parts were NOT there though. There are supposed to be two spacers that go between the frame and the bellcrank mixers that were not there and sice I opened the sealed bag they were supposed to be in, I do not think they were left out from the previous owner. There are others who found their kits to be missing these spacers also (There is a thread on RR about this). I happened to have a couple of bearings that worked fine for my needs so I used them and everything is good.
I must say the Carbon fiber and aluminum is top notch. the frame is light and strong and feels very rigid compared to the Swift 16 frame.
Century STILL has not fixed the CNC headblock tolerances though. When I assembled the head, with the plastic blade grips, it was still notchy which is what a lot of Swift owners gripe about. I was pretty sure that this was going to be the case so I was not blind sided and set about getting my Dremel and some sandpaper to take off .5mm off the spacer between the grip and the head block and also shaved the excess rubber off the O-ring that protruded out of the head block. One that was done it went together smooth and so I took it apart and installed my CNC grips from my previous Swift and it all was smooth after that also. The tail assembly was vintage Swift and went together smoothly along with the servos and all electronics. Another thing, the landing skids seemed to be stronger than th original ones so I decided to use them instead of the Raptor LG. ADVANTAGE: Logo 500 3D
Electronics:
I decided to use the exact same setup in both heli so that I could get an accurate comparison of the kits and this is what I used in both helis:
Z-Power Z 30A 800kv motor
Castle Creations CC85HV ESC
Kool Flight UBEC
Futaba 9252 servos on cyclic
Futaba GY 401 and 9254
10s A123 Dewalt batteries
AR7000 receiver
Futaba 9c Tx with the 2.4 Specktrum conversion
Rototech 550mm CF blades
Stock tail blades on the Logo and Rototech CF 80mm tail blades on the Swift
And I threw in a little Pixie dust for goo measure!
Flights:
I took them both out yesterday and got some good flights in. BTW I love the 20 minute recharge times with the A123 cells!
I suspected my previous assumptions based on setup hovering and just a little putzing around to be true still, and it was.
The Swift Carbon feels like a Wide receiver that can run a 4.2 40-yard dash. Very nimble and quick but still has a tendency to pitch up in FF but a very nice flier. The Logo feel like a linebacker that can also run a 4.2 40-yard dash. The only way I can describe the difference is the Logo seems like a more DELIBERATE flier. When you make a move it tracks like it is on rails without exception. The Swift feels like it tracks nicely also but it can be pushed around by th the wind more so than the Logo. The roll and piro rate on both helis is sick but the Logo is definitely faster. For some reason the Logos tail seems to be LOCKED in more than the Swift and I suspect it is because the tail blades are larger. One more thing to add to the "TO DO" list. I did put the covering on the paddles on the Swift Carbon and I have yet to remove it or try new paddles to see what changes I will see but I am sure just removing the covering will help tremendously on the pitching because it did on my old Swift 16. ADVANTAGE: Logo 5003D
I crashed the Logo once already and had to endure the parts pricing game and let me tell you it was NOT fun. I spent $35 PER FRAME HALF and $35 on a hardened main shaft! Overall I spent over $300 including a pair of Rototech 550mm blades. I realize that all crashes differ but I am STILL of the opinion that if the Logo had a stronger Canopy, the frames may have survived. I crashed my Swift 16 MANY times and never had to replace the "flimsy" frames. ADVANTAGE: Swift 550 Carbon
SO WHO WINS?
I like both helis a lot but if I had to make a decision to which is the better flier, I would have to say the Logo wins. When it comes to which heli is an overall better value, I would say the Swift wins because of the replacement parts cost and versatility.
I think that anyone will be happy with both helis, it just come down to preferences. If you have an unlimited budget for repairs and such or you are the kind of person who can afford to buy multiple kits at once then the Logo 5003D is the one for you. If you want a great flying heli that will not break the bank every time you crash, then the Swift 550 Carbon is your heli.
Pick what you like and fly the out of it!
That's all for now.....Ron
   
3DMP-E, Logo 6003D, Logo103D Carbon and Trex 450se Flyin Firefighter |
+ 
Might help on some of the part costs.
