Swearingen Aircraft

Orden de batalla · fabricantes de aeronaves · Estados Unidos

Swearingen Aircraft

Swearingen Aviation Corporation · Fairchild Swearingen

Ed Swearingen began by hot-rodding other people’s Beechcrafts and ended up with the Metro, a 19-seat pencil of an airliner that ran out his money, fell to Fairchild and sold more than 700 copies.

1959Fundado
Fusionado en Fairchild en 1971Estado
4Aeronaves registradas
1Fuerzas aéreas que vuelan sus tipos
Photo: Photographer: Mosbatho / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
PaísEstados UnidosFundado1959FundadoresEd SwearingenSedeSan Antonio, TexasEstadoFusionado en Fairchild en 1971
La historia

Swearingen Aircraft: the company and the aircraft that made its name

The hot-rodder of Beechcrafts

Ed Swearingen did not start with a clean sheet of paper. His company, founded in 1959 in San Antonio, Texas, made its name modifying other manufacturers’ aircraft, and its first own type, the SA26 Merlin, was built on Beechcraft foundations: a pressurised cabin grafted onto existing parts. The prototype Merlin IIA flew on 13 April 1965 with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprops, about fifteen months after Beech’s competing King Air, and the Garrett-powered Merlin IIB followed.

The Metro and the money

The big bet was the Metro, a stretched 19-seat commuter airliner that first flew on 26 August 1969. Developing it drained Swearingen of cash, and late in 1971 Fairchild bought 90 per cent of the company, renaming it Swearingen Aviation Corporation in 1972 with Ed Swearingen as chairman and 10 per cent shareholder. With Fairchild money the Metro went into service in 1972 and became a rival to the Beechcraft 1900 in the 19-seat market; Australia alone came to fly about a fifth of the world fleet.

The name that would not die

Metro production ran until 2001, with 703 long-fuselage Metros, Expediters, Merlin IVs and military C-26s plus about 350 short-fuselage Merlins — roughly 1,050 aircraft in all. Ed Swearingen resigned from Fairchild on 1 May 1982 and took his name back. His new venture’s SJ30 business jet was certified in 1996 and passed through Sino Swearingen and Emivest before surviving today as SyberJet.

Ed Swearingen began by hot-rodding other people’s Beechcrafts and ended up with the Metro, a 19-seat pencil of an airliner that ran out his money, fell to Fairchild and sold more than 700 copies.Swearingen Aircraft · verified 2026-10-03
De un vistazo

Swearingen Aircraft in numbers

La empresa

En breve
Founded 1959

  • Founded by Ed Swearingen in San Antonio, Texas
  • Started by modifying Beechcraft aircraft
  • 90 per cent bought by Fairchild, late 1971

Producción

Más conocido por
Merlin and Metro

  • About 1,050 Merlins and Metros built in all
  • 703 long-fuselage Metro family aircraft

Hoy

Ahora
Absorbed by Fairchild

  • Name revived by Ed Swearingen in 1982 for the SJ30 jet, now SyberJet

Los números

Metro family built (Metro, Expediter, Merlin IV, C-26)
703
Short-fuselage Merlins built
about 350 (Wikipedia figures range 158–350 depending on variants counted)
Fairchild stake acquired
90 per cent1971
El avión

Every notable Swearingen Aircraft aircraft

Aeronave Role Primer vuelo Construido Estado Nota
Swearingen SA26-T Merlin IIA Pressurised turboprop business aircraft 1965 36 Jubilado PT6-powered; Beechcraft-derived
Swearingen SA26-AT Merlin IIB Turboprop business aircraft 87 Jubilado Garrett TPE331 engines
Swearingen SA226-T Merlin III Turboprop business aircraft New wing, landing gear and longer fuselage
Swearingen SA226-TC Metro 19-seat commuter airliner 1969 703 (whole Metro family) Production launched under Fairchild; military C-26
¿Quién los pilota?

Swearingen Aircraft aircraft in the world’s air forces

1 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Swearingen Aircraft types. Ninguno de ellos todavía tiene uno en servicio.

Fuerzas aéreas En servicio Anteriormente volado
Fuerza Aérea de Seychelles Merlin IIIB
Lugares, personas, registros

Where Swearingen Aircraft built, who led it, what it achieved

Fábricas

  • San Antonio plant · San Antonio, Texas — Merlin and Metro production, taken over by Fairchild

Gente

  • Ed Swearingen · founder — Chairman under Fairchild from 1972; resigned 1 May 1982 and reacquired the Swearingen name
Cronología

Swearingen Aircraft, year by year

1959

Ed Swearingen founds Swearingen Aircraft

1965

First flight of the Merlin IIA prototype

1969

First flight of the Metro

1971

Fairchild buys 90 per cent of Swearingen

1972

Renamed Swearingen Aviation Corporation; Metro enters service

1982

Ed Swearingen resigns from Fairchild and reclaims his name

1995

SJ30 venture becomes Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corporation

1996

SJ30 certified

2011

Successor renamed SyberJet Aircraft

El árbol genealógico

Before and after Swearingen Aircraft

Llegó despuésFairchildBought 90 per cent late 1971; Swearingen Aviation Corporation, later Fairchild AircraftRead the Fairchild page
Preguntas y respuestas

Everything people ask about Swearingen Aircraft

Who founded Swearingen Aircraft?
Ed Swearingen, in San Antonio, Texas, in 1959.
What happened to Swearingen?
Short of cash while developing the Metro, it sold 90 per cent to Fairchild late in 1971. Its aircraft were later sold as Fairchild Swearingen and Fairchild types.
How many Metros were built?
703 aircraft of the long-fuselage Metro family, including Expediters, Merlin IVs and military C-26s.
Is SyberJet related to Swearingen?
Yes. Ed Swearingen reclaimed his name in 1982 for the SJ30 jet programme, which became Sino Swearingen, Emivest and, from 2011, SyberJet.

Continúa el recorrido

Around Swearingen Aircraft

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Fuentes y lecturas adicionales

Todos los datos, verificados

Verificado el 3 de octubre de 2026.