The Swift is a luxury helicopter featured in The Ballad of Gay Tony and, as part of the San Andreas Flight School Update, Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. It is manufactured by Maibatsu in The Ballad of Gay Tony and Buckingham in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online.
Design[]
The Ballad of Gay Tony[]
The Swift is heavily based on the AgustaWestland AW109S Grand (undercarriage arrangement, slide doors, four-blade rotor and tail boom with a strike guard on the back), with some elements taken from the the Bell 222 (winglets on the tail, vents near the rotor and shapes on the upper side). The side engine intakes were borrowed from the Bell 430.
The Swift is considered a private shuttle helicopter with a long fuselage, which also makes use of marvellous aerodynamics, living up to its name. The aircraft has an angular nose with a relatively large cockpit, access doors for the pilot and copilot, and a nose landing gear. The main section features an open bay with relatively ample space (though unable to carry passengers), a tall engine compartment with a four-bladed main rotor and numerous intakes, along with side extensions that house the main landing gear and dual exhausts. The tail boom is slightly angled upwards and has small fins on the horizontal stabilizers, a four-bladed tail rotor on the right, and a strike guard on the lower vertical stabilizer. The interior features a small flight instrument panel with the corresponding control sticks and pedals.
The aircraft only spawns in a white primary colour for the fuselage and the tail boom, a secondary colour for the engine compartment, lower rear portion, part of the tail boom and the fins, and a blue pearlescent colour, together with a Santo Capro livery. It uses a set of industrial wheels derived from trucks such as the Benson, Mule and Phantom.
Grand Theft Auto V and Online[]
The Swift returns with the same design as in TBOGT, but it is re-elaborated in terms of details. It features a retractable landing gear system just like its real-life counterpart, and working taxi lamps on the side extensions. The windscreen and front door windows no longer have a light tint by default, and the bay doors have a sliding animation, along with additional seats that allow it to carry two more passengers. In the enhanced version, the instrument panel uses the "Flyer" dials derived from the Maverick and the Police Maverick, with a similar arrangement on both halves of the panel; the functional dials are located on the right side of both panel halves, as well as in the gauges on the left of the halves and on the rightmost side of the panel half. There are numerous blue displays on the upper side of the whole panel and the "Gear Up/Down" displays on the left-hand side. The red switches are also located on both side edges of the whole panel.
The Swift is available in two versions:
- A "classic" version which spawns in a black primary colour for most of its fuselage and a grey secondary colour in the form of stripes on the sides of the vehicle and most of the tail boom.
- A Flying Bravo version which spawns in a green/red livery with the brand's markings around the nose, engine compartment and tail boom. The aircraft is set to spawn in a white colour, which is only visible on the trimmings around the doors.
Current Design Gallery[]
Version History Gallery[]
Performance[]
The Ballad of Gay Tony[]
In terms of performance, the Swift is slightly faster and more maneuverable than other large helicopters, such as the Maverick. While it is not as fast and armed as the Annihilator or the Buzzard, the Swift makes up for it with its handling, which proves to be efficient when landing in a hurry, as well as having a decent take off speed.
The Swift is powered by twin turboshaft engines, which produce a similar sound to the Annihilator and the Skylift, albeit with slightly less intensity.
TBoGT Overview[]
Take-Off Speed (0-60 knots in Seconds) |
Top Speed (mph / kmh / knots) |
Engine Type | Engine Location | Mass (kg / lbs) |
---|---|---|---|---|
N/A | 99 / 160 / 86 | N/A | N/A | 3800 / 8378 |
N/A | N/A | Turbo Shaft (TBOGT official site) | N/A | N/A |
N/A | N/A | Twin turboshaft engines, 4-bladed rotor | Middle/Rear | Cannot be observed |
Grand Theft Auto V and Online[]
The Swift is one of the fastest and most maneuverable helicopters available, with a top speed of 150 knots (higher than the Buzzard Attack Chopper) and very fast acceleration. The helicopter is incredibly responsive to being able to quickly correct its flight path. The Swift can carry up to four players, with players in the back seats having access to assault rifles and light machine guns.
However, this comes at the expense of build quality. The Swift's armor is weak, making it just as vulnerable as other helicopters. While the pilot is relatively protected, the helicopter's engines will begin to fail after a small amount of gunfire, and it takes only one explosive round to destroy the Swift. For that reason, the Swift is best suited for transportation rather than combat. The Swift is also quite fragile, and it can sustain heavy damage such as severe deformation or engine damage during rough landings – parts such as the nose gear and even the tail also break off easily.
Again, the Swift is powered by twin turboshaft engines, which have a similar sound to standard helicopters like the Maverick and the Police Maverick.
GTA V and Online Overview[]
Take-Off Speed (0-60 knots in Seconds) |
Top Speed (mph / kmh / knots) |
Vertical Climb/ Descent Rate (ft/min) |
Engine Type | Engine Location | Mass (kg / lbs) |
Fuel Tank Size (litres) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A | 99 / 160 / 86 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 6500 / 14330 | 100 |
N/A | N/A | N/A | Twin engine (Website) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
N/A | N/A | N/A | Twin turboshaft engines, 4-bladed rotor | Middle/Rear | Cannot be observed | Cannot be observed |
Rockstar Games Social Club[]
Grand Theft Auto V and Online[]
- Only the Flying Bravo version can be seen on Social Club after 2019.
Modifications[]
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
Upon being converted into a personal aircraft, the classic Swift can be repainted with a primary colour and a secondary colour, The Flying Bravo variant, however, cannot be repainted due to the permanent green/red livery.
Category | Modification |
---|---|
Respray | Main article: Vehicle Customization in GTA V/Respray Colors |
Remove | Remove Aircraft |
Gallery[]
The Ballad of Gay Tony[]
Grand Theft Auto V and Online[]
Videos[]
The Ballad of Gay Tony[]
Variants[]
Swift Deluxe''Grand Theft Auto V & Grand Theft Auto Online'' |
(Rear quarter view) |
The Swift Deluxe is the "Deluxe" version featured as part of the Ill-Gotten Gains Part 1 update. It has a gold paintjob and additional features on the interior, as well as the ability for the player to drink champagne and browse the internet via this vehicle. |
Prominent Appearances in Gameplay[]
The Ballad of Gay Tony[]
- ...Blog This! - Used by Luis and Tony to bring the Celebinator for a "ride". Tony will comment it was borrowed from Yusuf Amir.
- Caught With Your Pants Down - Used by Yusuf Amir to intercept a Skylift and steal the APC.
- Club Management - Used to bring Bruce Spade to Maisonette 9 without flying too high.
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
- Transform - Vinewood Thrills (as a transform vehicle)
Locations[]
The Ballad of Gay Tony[]
- The Swift is available at the west Algonquin helipad near the West River during the beginning of the game to the end of the game. After the completion of the game, the Gold Buzzard will replace the Swift instead.
Obtaining after game's completion[]
- Swift with side doors closed
From the "Missions" menu on Luis' phone, choose the mission Caught With Your Pants Down and meet Yusuf Amir at Star Junction. Get in his helicopter and fly to any GTA IV/TLAD/TBoGT safehouse and land the helicopter in the parking space. Immediately kill Amir and the player. The mission will fail, spawning Luis at the hospital. The Swift will now be at that current safehouse for you to obtain.
The player can also obtain the Swift with side doors closed by doing the club management mission featuring Bruce Spade. One can either complete the mission and keep the helicopter, or kill Bruce and fly away. The player have to take it to any parking space to save. The player cannot, however, redo club missions after they are completed, so it is only available at one point.
- Swift with side doors open
From the "missions" menu on Luis' phone, select the mission ...Blog This! and meet Tony Prince at the helipad. Immediately, the player has to kill Tony and then The Celebinator (killing The Celebinator first will fail the mission and Tony will fly away). The mission will fail and the player will now have a Swift at their disposal. One have to save it at any parking space if they want to keep it.
Grand Theft Auto V[]
- Original version
- Available on the protagonists' helipads after downloading the DLC. It will spawn either in a classic black scheme or in a Flying Bravo red/green livery. However, the last one spawns frequently when selected in the helipad.
- Enhanced version
- A black Swift can be seen taking off at the NOOSE Headquarters on Sustancia Road, in Palomino Highlands.
- The Flying Bravo and black variants can be seen landing at the helipads of Los Santos International Airport.
- Can be bought for $1,500,000 (Classic) or $1,600,000 (Flying Bravo) on Elitás Travel. Note that the player cannot purchase two vehicles of the same model, meaning one has to purchase each version with two different protagonists (the first one owning the Classic version and the second one the Flying Bravo version).
- A Flying Bravo variant can often be seen flying along the coasts of Blaine County, usually near the RON Alternates Wind Farm.
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
- Can be bought for $1,500,000 (Classic) or $1,600,000 (Flying Bravo) on Elitás Travel, and will be available through Pegasus Lifestyle Management. Unlike in GTA V, the player can own both versions, provided the player's money can afford both.
- In the enhanced version, it is classed as a Medium aircraft when stored in a Hangar.
Trivia[]
The Ballad of Gay Tony[]
- Yusuf Amir's Swift bears a "Santo Capro" livery ("Santo" meaning "Holy" in Italian and Spanish and "Capro" being Italian for "Billygoat") with an emblem resembling a Sea Goat (Capricorn) and the year 1898. The same emblem can be seen on Yusuf's tracksuit jacket that he wears. Combined with the fact that he owns the helicopter, and wears the jacket, Santo Capro might be a company that the Amir estate runs.
- There is a similarly named clothing store company in Grand Theft Auto V called Santo Capra. Both shares the same logo and year.
- When the blades of the Swift rip apart, they will turn black instead of white and before they rip apart, one blade will be of darker colour and will be twisted. This explains that the "white blades" are actually blades with white colour, as part of the entire color scheme.
- This version of the Swift can only hold two people. However, in ...Blog This!, Luis, Tony, and The Celebinator all ride in one.
Grand Theft Auto V[]
- When an NPC lands a Swift, they won't always lower the helicopter's landing gear, and as a result land on the Swift's undercarriage, sometimes tipping over and exploding as a result.
- The yellow tips on the Swift's main rotors cannot be seen when the blades are spinning, unlike other helicopters.
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
- The Rockstar Games Social Club image of the Swift shows a blue and gray version of the Classic livery, despite this version only spawns with the black and gray color.
- However, it is possible to paint a Classic Swift to resemble this particular version via the Hangar customization, in the Smuggler's Run update on Grand Theft Auto Online (enhanced version).
See Also[]
- Maverick - another civilian helicopter appearing in various Grand Theft Auto titles
- Frogger - another civilian helicopter appearing in Grand Theft Auto V.
- SuperVolito and SuperVolito Carbon - two luxury-type helicopter appearing in Grand Theft Auto Online, as part of the GTA Online: Executives and Other Criminals update.
- Swift Deluxe - "Deluxe" version of the vehicle added in the Ill-Gotten Gains Part 1 update.