Riding shotgun 10,500 feet above sea level with Cookeville attorney and aviation enthusiast, William Roberson, I stare down at seemingly endless patches of green farmland, country roads and the occasional pond that resembles a water droplet on a map. Our destination is the Swift Museum Foundation (SMF) headquarters located at the McMinn County Airport in Athens.
Known as the hotrod of airplanes among enthusiasts, the Swift is a sleek all-metal (most versions), front propeller craft that you would most likely envision as a champion of dogfights during World War II.
Designed by R.S. Johnson in 1940, the Swift was put into production by the Globe Aircraft Company (GAC). The first two prototypes were made of either all-wood or wood-metal construction. The final prototype was capable of being produced with an all-metal design as the nation’s demand for metal decreased through the latter days of the war,.
The demand for Swifts came crashing in the mid ‘40s. In order to pay off the company’s growing debt and looming collapse, GAC founder John Kennedy signed over production rights to GAC sub-contractor, Texas Engineering and Manufacturing Company (TEMCO). TEMCO managed to keep manufacturing new Swifts for a few years more until finally deciding to end production of the aircraft in 1951.
While Swifts were no longer rolling off the production line, a cult following for the craft soon gained altitude. And by the early ‘60s, Swift enthusiasts, including Charles Nelson, eventually found themselves at air shows across the nation primarily mingling with fellow Swift owners.
“Swift owners are a unique bunch of people,“ Nelson said, “We seem to always find each other and before we know it, we have talked the day away.”
Type clubs were not very popular during the ‘60s compared to general aviation enthusiast organizations. To create a better network for Swift enthusiasts, Charles stepped up in ’68 by advertising his interest in developing a club in various aviation magazines. In a matter of weeks, he had received 126 replies of interest.
“I was quite taken back by the response,” Nelson said.
Founded over 40 years ago as the International Swift Association (ISA), Nelson and its members have kept the history and spirit of the Swift flying high. After holding the rights to the Swift for several years, TEMCO finally decided to part with the aircraft. However, Nelson soon heard word that the Swift was going to be purchased by a foreign country and put into production as a training model for military aircraft manufacturers abroad. Nelson immediately knew that he had to intervene to preserve this particular piece of American aviation history.
After rallying fellow Swift lovers, the organization came up with enough money to purchase the FAA Type Certificate and the Type Certificate for the original factory tooling, making it possible to manufacture new parts to keep the aircraft flying high.
Becoming one of the only type clubs to own the FAA rights to its aircraft, the ISA began growing by the hundreds. Backed by the diehard enthusiasm of its members, Nelson and the ISA opened the doors of the Swift Museum in 1980, and also renamed the ISA to Swift Museum Foundation.
The museum is located in a hangar at the small Athens airport and has six different Swift crafts, including the second aircraft produced in 1945 and two T-35 Buckaroo United States Air Force trainers. Probably the most interesting of the Swifts on display is the armed version of the T-35 Buckaroo that was used by the Saudi Arabian Air Force (SAAF).
Nelson managed to make contact with Saudi officials and purchased one of the T-35s that had been used for military training. Along with other members of the SMF, Nelson traveled to Saudi Arabia where they located the worn out remnants of a Swift aircraft.
“It took nine years and thousands of volunteer man-hours to restore this beautiful piece of aviation history,” Nelson noted while admiring the aircraft with the Arabic markings.
The walls of the museum tell the story of one of many American manufacturing feats put to the test during a fragile moment in time for the nation and how its ingenuity stood the test of time. The SMF boasts an extensive collection of Swift memorabilia that includes historical documents, photographs, propellers, pilot goggles, radios and newspaper clippings.
Recently, the SMF’s collection grew even larger after the acquisition of several boxes loaded with rare documents and photos that once belonged to the now-defunct GAC. Another interesting addition to the SMF collection is the flagpole that was located on the grounds of the original Globe factory.
If you are willing to let your interests leave the ground, you’ll find a landing area at the Swift Museum.
For more information, visit the Swift Museum website at www.swiftmuseumfoundation.org