Aircraft model
GLOBE GC-1B
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Globe Swift is a two-seat, all-metal, retractable-gear taildragger from 1946 that looks like a scaled-down wartime fighter and was marketed on exactly that appeal. It cruises at 120 knots on 125 hp, has a sliding canopy and a low sleek profile, and it has a devoted following seventy-five years later.
It is bought for the looks and the handling, not for practicality: two seats, 570 lb of useful load, modest range, and no baggage space worth the name. It is also a demanding aeroplane. The gear is narrow, the aircraft sits low, and it has a genuine ground-loop reputation that requires real tailwheel skill and currency. Almost none remains standard — engine upgrades to 145, 180 or 210 hp are extremely common and transform it, and a constant-speed propeller is often part of that. One regulatory point worth noting: a standard 125 hp Swift has retractable gear and flaps but a fixed-pitch propeller, so it does not meet the definition of a complex airplane; a converted aircraft with a controllable-pitch propeller does, and then a complex endorsement is required.
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental C-125-2 |
| Horsepower | 125 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1946 |
| Production end | 1951 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 120 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 420 nm |
| Service ceiling | 16,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,100 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 48 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 570 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 408 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,710 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,140 lb |
| Usable fuel | 27 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 7 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $45,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $130,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $26,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $36,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 916 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 394 |
| Median year built | 1946.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 11 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 27.92 per 1,000 active · base 394 active |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 27.92 per 1,000 active · base 394 active |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 50 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 12.69 per 100 active · base 394 active |
| Airworthiness directives | 5 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
Peer scores
A score runs from 0 to 10 within the model's peer class: a position, not a grade, and the six are never added together.
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 4.6 of 10 · class median 25 · 181 models in class |
| Severity | 3 of 10 · class median 5 |
| Access | 1.4 of 10 · class median 987 |
| Support | 9 of 10 · class median 72 |
| Liquidity | 1.6 of 10 · class median 20.59 |