1946 GC-1A, Swift, NC80518, c/n 21

NASM Jan 2014

Information from NASM

Swift GC-1A Serial Number 21, FAA Registration N80518, was completed in early January 1946 and was licensed on February 22. The Wells Aircraft Sales Company of Hutchison, Kansas took possession of the airplane on February 27 and subsequently sold it to Fred G. Wallace of The Banfield Packing Company of Salina, Kansas on June 29, 1946. Its 1950s owner Don Kames, an early member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA #13), removed the fabric control surfaces to upgrade to metal control surfaces. The aircraft went through a total of eleven owners including Bob Padgett, a National Air and Space Museum restoration specialist, before Ludlow "Pete" King bought it from Padgett on October 18, 1975. The aircraft arrived at King's home in a pickup truck, and he painstakingly repaired and restored the wind-damaged aircraft to flying condition. As presently configured, King considers it to be 99 % original. It has most of its original skins and the early production magnesium engine cooling grills as well as the early fabric-covered ailerons (retrieved from Kames), and the early production welded-formed sheet metal upper landing gear trunions. The cockpit retains the original Art Deco style instrument panel and instruments including a GE-AS-1B low frequency radio, an early style needle ball, and an Airpath compass. The interior sports the original cream and blue color scheme as well as the original control wheel yokes and seats. It has original Beech-Roby variable-pitch wood propeller which could be adjusted from the cockpit. King donated the Globe Swift to the Museum in December 2004.