IN THE DAYS WHEN British Midland Airways were known as Air Schools Ltd. of Burnaston, Derby, it was the company's habit to run a quite massive air display every year. These were professional undertakings partly because E.W. Phillips, the firm's managing director, had been involved with the pre war Hendon shows, but also through the support of nearby Rolls-Royce who were experimenting with all manner of weird and wonderful things. Like their RB50 Trent, the world's first turboprop engines, two of which were fitted in a Gloster Meteor in 1945.
These air displays attracted so many visiting aircraft that during the 1947 show we had to park many of them in adjoining fields since Bumaston was full. As a staff pilot with Air Schools the opportunity to fly a great variety of light and not so light aircraft was a wonderful experience for me because my six years of wartime service had confined me to a handful of types.
During the 1947 display at Burnaston, in fact on 21 June, I was offered a pole in the left-hand seat of a chunky little sparrow of tiny dimensions but advanced concept in so far as it had electro-hydraulically operated flaps and a retractable undercarriage. Although I spent only 30 minutes in that aircraft it has remained in my memory for almost 45 years. It was being demonstrated by a lady pilot who informed me that her sparrow was, in fact, a Globe Swift. It was therefore with some delight that I came in contact with Alex Craig who had bought a Swift and was having it re-built.
The forerunner of the Swift was originally designed by one 'Pop' Johnson of Fort Worth, Texas. He built the first one himself and its registration is believed to have been N17640. Then he cast around for someone to help finance production and came upon Mr. John Kennedy who was founder and President of the Globe Medicine Co. Thus was born the Globe Aircraft Co.
However, it was not long before the partnership was under strain. ]ohnson was disenchanted with some of the changes being made to his original design which gradually transformed it into the Swift. In fact, aircraft No.2 (which was registered N17690) actually bore the name. The test programme continued during 1942 until certification in 1943. The original examples had wooden wings and a steel tube fuselage but the first of the so-called 'All Metal Swifts' did not appear until 1945. This very much revised development was largely the work of 'Bud' Knox who was on the design staff of Globe at the time.