Swift Light

The Aeriane Swift Light – written with an apostrophe by the manufacturer – is the second generation of the Swift line. Production started in 2002 and continued until 2022, when the Swift 3 took over. Compared with the Standard Swift, the Swift Light introduced a new manufacturing technology that made the wings around 20 percent lighter. It is built in Gembloux, Belgium, where Aeriane supports the family as its sole manufacturer.

Three basic versions share a common fuselage frame: the pure foot-launch sailplane, the Swift Light E with the Geiger Engineering electric drive – advertised variously as Swift Elektro, Swift Light DEE or Swift-Light E – and the piston-powered Swift Light PAS. Engine fits on the PAS changed over time: Aeriane lists the Solo 210 single-cylinder two-stroke, whose flight manual quotes 12 hp at 6,200 rpm with a silencer and 18 hp at 6,400 rpm with a tuned exhaust (the product page simply says 16 hp), as well as four-stroke engines from Bailey Aviation fitted to later examples. Because the glider and powered versions differ only in fairing and specific equipment, Aeriane offers a conversion kit in both directions. The masses differ clearly: 48 kg empty and 158 kg MTOW as a glider, around 103 kg and 205 kg as the electric version, 74 to 95 kg (74 kg bare airframe, 95 kg reference empty weight, 100 kg maximum) and 191 kg as the PAS. Recommended pilot weight is 55 to 100 kg.

The wings are all composite: shells in aramid and carbon epoxy sandwich over PVC foam, with a spar mostly of carbon epoxy. The cockpit frame is TIG-welded aircraft-grade 4130 steel combined with Zicral aluminium tubing. With a span of 12.80 m, 12.5 m² of wing area and an aspect ratio of nearly 13, the Swift Light reaches a best glide of 27:1 at 70 km/h (glider and electric; 26:1 as PAS) and a minimum sink of 0.6 m/s at 43 km/h, or 0.65 m/s at 47 km/h for the electric version. Vne is 120 km/h, rough-air speed 100 km/h and manoeuvring speed 85 km/h, with load factors of +5.3 g and −2.65 g. Stall speeds are 37 km/h for the glider, 43 km/h electric and 39 km/h for the PAS.

The electric drive is a gearless Geiger E-Drive HPD12 rated at up to 12 kW (about 16 hp) and weighing only 3.75 kg, fed by a 51.8 V, 50 Ah lithium-ion pack (14.5 kg with integrated BMS) and managed by a Geiger Pi 300 controller. The two-blade folding Helix propeller measures 1.40 m. Measured noise is 47 dB(A), the ground roll on firm ground is under 70 m, the takeoff distance over a 15 m obstacle under 190 m, and best climb about 2.5 m/s at 55 km/h. Strengths are self-launch without a tow, extremely low noise, light weight and a glide ratio good enough for slope and thermal cross-country flying. Weaknesses: the motor is a launch aid rather than a cruising powerplant. The flight manual gives neither range nor charging time but explicitly points out the low endurance – the drive is designed to run for only a few minutes per flight, at most around ten.

When buying used, read the numbers carefully: listed figures for MTOW, glide ratio and battery capacity routinely deviate from the manual values – the flight manual and weighing report of the individual aircraft are what count. The DEE suffix seen in adverts does not appear in Aeriane's public documents (product pages, flight manuals), so ask the seller which configuration is actually meant. 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 Light suits pilots who want a quiet, easily transported flying-wing sailplane with self-launch capability and who treat the motor as a launch aid – anyone chasing more glide performance should look at the Swift 3.