Globe Swift

Go for it is a fun nice flying airplane. When I was young and building hours my dad bought one. I ended up with over 100 hours in it. Allot like this one but not as nice a panel. We took it to Oshkosh one year, only nav we had was an ADF but this was back in the late 70's. Even back then people would come out to see it most places we went.


Ours did not have a steerable tailwheel so you would have to watch how fast you added power and add some right brake to keep it straight down the runway. We were based at an airport with an 14 X 2200 foot runway. Allot of grass on the sides.
 
One of the best looking planes ever designed.
 
They are great airplanes, but from talking to some Swift owners, you really want one with an upgraded engine. The ones with the O-300s are not real good performers and it can be harder to find parts for O-300. Typically the ones you see in the $30-40k range are the underpowered ones.
 
I've never flow in one but always liked the looks and design. I need to find a ride in one someday.
 
Hey, I got mentioned!

I've had a Swift since October of last year. Mine is similar to the one in that ad, mostly original except for the o-300a. At 4500 feet, 2500 RPM mine cruises at roughly 140mph true airspeed. The bigger engine would be nice to go faster, but the 145 has its benefits too - Fixed pitch prop costs less to maintain, and no complex endorsement needed if you don't have it. O-300a can run on mogas, the STC is a sticker, a tag on the engine and a logbook entry. And the straight pipe exhaust like the one in the ad has sounds awesome. Part cost and availability in my experience has been good, the Swift Museum Foundation owns the type certificate and sells all sorts of parts for the airframe. I haven't needed much, but they've had every part I've called and asked about so far. The Foundation also just got the Swift added to the Garmin G5 STC, and they're working on getting it added to an autopilot STC (I can't remember the brand of that one off the top of my head).

They do have a couple of quirks. Getting in and out is a little interesting since there are no doors. I've got sliding windows and a top hatch. The one in your ad has an aftermarket gull wing canopy. Not sure which would be better or worse! I do wheel landings all the time, 3 point landings are tough. The big wheel wells cut into the leading edge, and when you're landing and just about get to the angle you want to be at to 3 point it drops like a rock. Left crosswinds on takeoff are a bit of an experience, even with the O-300 you may not have enough right rudder and can end up dragging the right brake until you get enough airspeed. The insurance is about twice as expensive as what it was on my Cherokee. Insurance also required a minimum 5 hours of checkout flight time and a sign off from an instructor who was current in a Swift, I got lucky with a guy who only lived 100 miles away and was able to drive up to me and got it done in one day. They may require more if you don't have any time in a retract. Finding a mechanic who has any experience working on Swifts can be difficult too. I haven't had mine in for an annual yet, that's going to be my August adventure. The heater doesn't put out much for heat in winter, I suspect that's due to the short stacks/no muffler combined with only pulling heat off of three cylinders. Probably not much of an issue in Texas. Made me glad I had electric socks in February here in Wisconsin though!

Its a ton of fun to fly. So far I'm really happy with mine.
 
I know another one, with an O-360 for sale near El Paso if interested - PM me
 
I always thought they were cool looking planes, and everything I've heard is that they're a ton of fun to fly. Also, the tailwheel and retractable parts I thought were cool.

More engine is more better for me, but I also can appreciate the benefits to the O-300 (like lower purchase cost) if top speed isn't your biggest concern. I had recalled that someone had a Swift with a 470 in it, I think the 225 horse variant. I'd figure that to be a pretty nice performer.

It would actually fit the criteria I have for an aircraft for our property pretty well if it could take off in 400 ft. :)
 
I sold mine last October...after I bought an RV-4. You really need to want a Swift to buy one though. They fly very nicely with great control harmony and very responsive. Unfortunately, the smaller engines C-125, C-145/O-300s are NOT speed demons and do NOT do well with high density altitude unless they have lots of room. The price on Swifts has dropped drastically in the last ten years. Buying is the easy part as there are typically a variety with different engines/canopies/avioinics/modifications etc at any given time...typically more than there are buyers. Despite taking over a year to sell mine (wasn't in a hurry and was still flying it), I took a bit of a loss to sell it because there just weren't that many buyers.

They aren't hard airplanes to fly, but they do have a few quirks one must understand and be ready for. One is ineffective rudder on the ground. If you're the type who must push the yoke/stick forward to get the tail up immediately, the Swift will quickly tell you she doesn't play that game and will immediately head for the left side of the runway...P factor, torque and gyroscopic presession will overpower the rudder. Throw in any left crosswind component and it gets worse. Losing it on takeoff is one of the biggest accidents in the Swift. I've literally used full right rudder during takeoff and had to drag right brake to keep it straight before. The problem is, it catches most people off guard.

The Swift does NOT like to three point. It can be done, but it is best saved until you are highly proficient. I did them mostly on grass. There are a variety of reasons for this beyond the scope of this response, but suffice it to say, the Swift Association recommends ONLY wheel landings.

Unless a Swift has gross weight increase mods, the original 1710# can be quite limiting. My Swift had none and empty weight was 1237...and most all have gotten heavier over the years with additional items. That is only 473#. Stock fuel is 28 gallons for 168# leaving you with 305# for you, passenger, bags. Throw in a GW increase and you can be legal, but performance is just further degraded without big engine,Cont or Lycoming 360 series. Unfortunately, with the exception of the Cont O-300E (which is rare), there is no provision for constant speed prop. My 59" which was a slight, but not full climb prop helped me flying from a 3100' grass field small trees on one end and tall trees on the other. Any rides given were on cool day with half fuel or less.

The Swift Association/Type Club is one of the best out there. As someone mentioned, they are TC owner and support the plane well, brining more new production parts online as possible. There are still parts which are HARD to find though. Owners are typically very loyal and I know many who own more than one Swift and even more who have owned theirs for 25-50 years! Most everyone I ever met was extremely helpful.

Be sure you know what you are looking for and at with a Swift. It is one of the most highly modified airplanes ever built. Someone with a good working knowledge of the plane is a huge plus when looking at one for purchase. Over the years, many have mods which are not documented and therefore not approved. Many people have bought Swifts who later learned their A&P/IA or even several would not sign off an annual due to mods/poor logs.

Again, I loved mine and few it several hundred hours. After awhile I went the experimental fixed gear route due to ease and cost of maintenance. The Swift annual was fairly time consuming with gear swings (which require a special short jack). Also the RV-4 is significantly faster and even more fun to fly. The Swift will do passable acro in the form or loops and rolls, but intentional spins are prohibited.

So, my advice remains...buy a Swift because you badly want a Swift for what it is, which is a beautiful and unique antique airplane which draws attention wherever you go. But like most 70+ year old airplanes, it isn't a load hauling family airplane. :D

Here is a good primer to read before purchasing any Swift.

http://swiftmuseumfoundation.org/buying-a-swift-monty-the-answer-man-archives/
 
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Ted DuPuis said:
I always thought they were cool looking planes, and everything I've heard is that they're a ton of fun to fly. Also, the tailwheel and retractable parts I thought were cool.

More engine is more better for me, but I also can appreciate the benefits to the O-300 (like lower purchase cost) if top speed isn't your biggest concern. I had recalled that someone had a Swift with a 470 in it, I think the 225 horse variant. I'd figure that to be a pretty nice performer.

It would actually fit the criteria I have for an aircraft for our property pretty well if it could take off in 400 ft. :)
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Dave D'Arcy had a 250hp Franklin in a Swift in which he did hard acro...he eventually pulled the wings off it, but was able to safely parachute down. He built up another couple afterwards, but IIRC wasn't as lucky the next time around. :(
 
N3368K said:
They aren't hard airplanes to fly, but they do have a few quirks one must understand and be ready for. One is ineffective rudder on the ground. If you're the type who must push the yoke/stick forward to get the tail up immediately, the Swift will quickly tell you she doesn't play that game and will immediately head for the left side of the runway...P factor, torque and gyroscopic presession will overpower the rudder. Throw in any left crosswind component and it gets worse. Losing it on takeoff is one of the biggest accidents in the Swift. I've literally used full right rudder during takeoff and had to drag right brake to keep it straight before. The problem is, it catches most people off guard.
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That sounds ALOT like the Beech 18. Lots of takeoff accidents from that very issue (loss of control from forcing the tail up too early).
 
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