Century CNC Swashplate

 

 

Overview

This is a short review of the CNC swashplate available to replace the plastic and CNC equivalent supplied with the stock Swift. As can be seen from the pictures above the CNC swashplate is an exact copy of the stock swashplate supplied in the Swift kit. The only difference being that the outer swashplate is now constructed from aluminium rather than plastic. The inner swashplate Is the exact same inner swashplate as comes with the standard swashplate. It comes pre assembled and I checked every single screw to make sure that it was properly secured, none of the screws would move without considerable effort. If all of the swashplate's are like this one then there certainly won't be any issues with balls coming loose which I have seen on various other manufacturers offerings. The quality of the machining on the swashplate is extremely good and the whole thing feels very robust and functional. The inner swashplate being identical to the stock version moves with the same ease and the bearings all feel slop free and locked into place. From a build perspective I have absolutely no issues with the CNC swashplate, it is a quality piece of equipment.

 

OK, so having fitted the swashplate what's the point / difference?

Aside from the aesthetics there is no performance element to the CNC upgrade and no difference would be noticeable in-flight. Obviously the swashplate would be more resilient in the event of a crash but apart from this it is bling for your helicopter ;)

Conclusion

The replacement part is well made and nicely finished. Realistically it won't make any difference in-flight but should be more robust in a crash. It isn't a performance upgrade nor is it meant to be. This is just one of several parts that can be replaced to get towards a full CNC rotor head.