HISTORY

The Globe Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer, formed in 1941 in Fort Worth, Texas.  Originally formed as the Bennet Aircraft Corporation which had been set up before Second World War to develop aircraft using a Bakelite bonded plywood Duraloid. The company first design was the BTC-1 twin engined monoplane. The company was renamed the Globe Aircraft Corporation in 1941 and they produced a single-engined Continental A-80 powered Globe GC-1 Swift.

With the start of the war the company abandoned plans to produce the aircraft as it concentrated on sub-contract building of 600 Beech AT-10s and components for other aircraft like the Curtiss C-46.

When wartime restrictions were removed the company developed a re-designed and all-metal version of the GC-1 designated the GC-1A Swift which first flew in 1945. The production of the Swift was sub-contracted to the Texas Engineering and Manufacturing Company (TEMCO).  In July 1947 the company was declared bankrupt; the assets and design rights of the Swift were bought by TEMCO.

Produced from 1946 to 1951, the Globe Swift is a sporty general aviation design whose beauty and superior flying characteristics have made it a favorite classic. The A model was the only multi-seat, complex, nonexperimental aircraft of its time in the United States under 100 horsepower. All-metal with sleek lines and retractable landing gear, it handled like a fighter and was a major advance over wood-and-fabric sport designs-and surprisingly economical to fly.