The Globe GC-1 Swift, also known as the Globe/Temco Swift, is a light, two-seat sport

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

from the post–

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

period.

Design and development

The Swift was designed by R.S. "Pop" Johnson in 1940, despite the fanciful story which has now entered into popular mythology surrounding the Swift's origin (that a Culver Cadet was obtained as a "template" aircraft). The design was financially secured by John Kennedy, president of the Globe Medicine Company, to be built by his new Globe Aircraft Company.

interrupted their plans, however, and the GC-1A Swift advertised as the "All Metal Swift" re-designed by K.H."Bud" Knox, received its

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...

on 7 May 1946. Two prototypes were built but essentially, the design remained the same as the type which entered production. Globe built about 408 GC-1As. Later that year, the Swift received a more powerful engine of , making it the GC-1B. Globe, together with TEMCO, built 833 GC-1Bs in six months. Globe's production outpaced sales of the Swift; as a result Globe was forced into insolvency. TEMCO, the largest creditor, paid $328,000 to obtain the type certificate, tooling, aircraft, and parts allowing them to continue production in late 1947 hoping to recoup their losses. TEMCO built 260 more aircraft before ending Swift production in 1951. The type certificate for the Swift was obtained by Universal Aircraft Industries (later Univair) along with all production tooling. Spare parts continued to be built until 1979 when the Swift Museum Foundation under the leadership of President Charlie Nelson purchased the Type Certificate, parts and tooling.

Operational history

The most unusual variant of the series became a separate design, the TEMCO TE-1 Buckaroo which was built in a short-run first as a contender for a

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...

contract, and was later transferred to foreign service as a military trainer.Davisson 1983, p. 70. Several of these trainers have since returned to the civil market.

Accidents and incidents

*On June 28, 1952, a privately operated Temco Swift,

aircraft registration An aircraft registration is a code unique to a single aircraft, required by international convention to be marked on the exterior of every civil aircraft. The registration indicates the aircraft's country of registration, and functions much li ...

''N3858K'', collided with American Airlines Flight 910,

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete ...

''N90750'', over Dallas while both aircraft were on final approach to

Dallas Love Field Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport in the neighborhood of Love Field, Dallas, Love Field, northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas., effective April 17, 2025. It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas Fort Worth Internation ...

. The collision and ensuing crash killed both occupants of the Swift; the DC-6 landed safely with minor damage and no injuries to the 55 passengers and five crew. The accident was attributed to the Swift pilot's failure to follow

visual flight rules In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) is a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better tha ...

and exercise prudence during the landing approach. A contributing factor was

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

error.

Specifications (GC-1B)

Globe GC-1A Swift 3-view silhouette drawing

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * Davisson, Budd. "Swiftly, Swiftly: An Appreciation of one of General Aviation's Classic Aircraft." ''Air Progress'', Vol. 45, No. 8, August 1983. * Lert, Peter. "In The Air: Used Singles Guide." ''Air Progress'', Vol. 48, No. 7, July 1986.

External links

The Swift Museum Foundation - holder of the aircraft Type CertificateGlobe Swift photos at biplanes.de
{{Authority control 1940s United States civil utility aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIF ...