8/26/1969: Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner First Flight

DALLAS — Today, in 1969, the long-fuselage prototype of the Swearingen Metro, later known as the Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner, made its first flight.

A contemporaneous Flight International report recorded the flight date as August 26, 1969. Published less than two months later, the report described the Metro prototype as a pressurized 20-passenger commuter aircraft powered by two Garrett TPE331-303 turboprops.

From Merlin to Metro

Swearingen had already developed the Merlin line of pressurized business aircraft. The Metro extended that work into a longer-fuselage commuter design. The 1969 report listed a gross weight of 12,500lb and said Fairchild Hiller was handling the aircraft's marketing.

At the time, Fairchild Hiller reported 58 firm orders and a similar number of options. Those categories matter: the options were potential future purchases, not firm orders.

Fairchild Steps In

In November 1971, Flight International reported Fairchild Industries' plan to acquire Swearingen Aircraft's assets, provide up to US$3m in working capital, and continue Merlin and Metro production at the San Antonio plant. The report said Swearingen's major creditors had agreed to the acquisition terms and that repayment would proceed through filings under the Federal Bankruptcy Act.

The aircraft family subsequently carried both Swearingen and Fairchild names. The preserved video below shows a later Metro III, while the featured image shows Vee H Aviation's Fairchild SA-227DC Metro 23, registered VH-VEK, at Brisbane Airport. The Commons file record attributes the photograph to Robert Frola under the GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2 or later.