Narrative:

I filed a VFR flight plan from ZZZ and had an uneventful departure. At [my destination airport]; I performed 6 full stop landings; refueled; and; flew back. Before crossing [a local waterway]; I received information papa at [the departure airport]; reported over [a wildlife viewing spot] to [the departure's airport] tower; and was instructed to report over [an] airstrip. Over [the] airstrip; I reported my position to ZZZ tower; began a descent to 900 feet and was instructed by ZZZ tower to report crossing [a] road. Before the road reporting point; I noticed all my radio panel went 'dark;' meaning I had lost two way radio contact ability. I immediately turned back to [the] airstrip; squawked 7600; climbed to 1;500 feet and proceeded to [the wildlife viewing spot]; and then east up [the waterway]; ascertained an electrical failure; manually put the landing gear down; contacted by cellular phone FSS; advised of my situation and position; stayed on the phone with FSS; who passed on to me instructions from ATC and ZZZ tower.following ZZZ tower instructions relayed to me by FSS via my cellular phone; I flew back to [the wildlife viewing spot] to [the] airstrip; and via a left base to runway xx at ZZZ; did the instructed low approach (was advised that ZZZ tower saw my three landing gear down) followed by left traffic to [runway] xx for a landing. Upon touch down; the main gear remained up; and upon touching the tailwheel down; as it was not locked (required electrical power); I had to use engine power and elevator to taxi with the tail wheel off the ground; exited at [a taxiway]; taxied on; shut down the engine; exited airplane after shut down; met the emergency support and ZZZ ground support teams; and; followed instructions until cleared by ZZZ tower to have my aircraft towed by ZZZ airport staff truck my hangar position. Later in the day; I was contacted by FAA personnel and gave him a verbal report of the events summarized above.during the entire flight; I remained in VFR conditions; and; except for 'breaking off' the initial VFR approach to runway xx ZZZ; before crossing [the] road reporting point to turn back to [the] airstrip reporting point; I followed all of ZZZ tower instructions (I made an instantaneous decision to abort the approach to ZZZ just before the [the] road reporting point; to have time and airspace to trouble shoot the electrical problem and to manually place my landing gear down).

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Globe Swift pilot reported electrical failure resulting in communication failure. Pilot established cell phone communications with ATC.

Narrative: I filed a VFR flight plan from ZZZ and had an uneventful departure. At [my destination airport]; I performed 6 full stop landings; refueled; and; flew back. Before crossing [a local waterway]; I received information Papa at [the departure airport]; reported over [a wildlife viewing spot] to [the departure's airport] Tower; and was instructed to report over [an] airstrip. Over [the] airstrip; I reported my position to ZZZ Tower; began a descent to 900 feet and was instructed by ZZZ Tower to report crossing [a] road. Before the road reporting point; I noticed all my radio panel went 'dark;' meaning I had lost two way radio contact ability. I immediately turned back to [the] airstrip; squawked 7600; climbed to 1;500 feet and proceeded to [the wildlife viewing spot]; and then east up [the waterway]; ascertained an electrical failure; manually put the landing gear down; contacted by cellular phone FSS; advised of my situation and position; stayed on the phone with FSS; who passed on to me instructions from ATC and ZZZ Tower.Following ZZZ Tower instructions relayed to me by FSS via my cellular phone; I flew back to [the wildlife viewing spot] to [the] airstrip; and via a left base to Runway XX at ZZZ; did the instructed low approach (was advised that ZZZ Tower saw my three landing gear down) followed by left traffic to [Runway] XX for a landing. Upon touch down; the main gear remained up; and upon touching the tailwheel down; as it was not locked (required electrical power); I had to use engine power and elevator to taxi with the tail wheel off the ground; exited at [a taxiway]; taxied on; shut down the engine; exited airplane after shut down; met the emergency support and ZZZ Ground Support teams; and; followed instructions until cleared by ZZZ Tower to have my aircraft towed by ZZZ Airport Staff Truck my hangar position. Later in the day; I was contacted by FAA Personnel and gave him a verbal report of the events summarized above.During the entire flight; I remained in VFR conditions; and; except for 'breaking off' the initial VFR approach to Runway XX ZZZ; before crossing [the] road reporting point to turn back to [the] Airstrip reporting point; I followed all of ZZZ Tower instructions (I made an instantaneous decision to abort the approach to ZZZ just before the [the] road reporting point; to have time and airspace to trouble shoot the electrical problem and to manually place my landing gear down).

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.