Throughout its illustrious history, the Beech Aircraft Corporation has distinguished itself as one of the world’s premier manufacturers of general aviation airplanes by consistently setting the pace for competitors to follow.
Early in 1932, Curtiss-Wright engineer Theodore “Ted” Wells was completing the design of a cabin biplane featuring a powerful static, air-cooled radial engine and a negative-stagger wing configuration. Wells had initiated his design work in 1931 as a staff engineer at the Travel Air Company’s factory in Wichita, Kansas. When Ted showed Walter H. Beech drawings of the airplane, Beech tried in vain to interest his current employer, the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, to build a prototype. Company officials, however, refused. They reasoned that there would be little demand for an expensive, five-place biplane. In addition, officials explained that the company was increasingly focused on expanding the development of transport aircraft for America’s burgeoning airline industry.
Nevertheless Walter Beech remained undeterred and became increasingly enthusiastic about Ted’s novel design. Beech believed it had great potential and embodied every characteristic he desired for a cabin business aircraft – a maximum speed of 200 mph, good visibility for the pilot, passenger comfort on par with any Packard or Cadillac, and a comparatively slow landing speed of 60 mph. The die had been cast, and with little prospect for advancement at Curtiss-Wright, Walter preferred to risk failure building Wells’ biplane than fade into oblivion behind a corporate desk.
In concert with his wife, the former Olive Ann Mellor, whom he had married in 1930, the duo decided to strike out on their own and the Beech Aircraft Company was open for business in Wichita, Kansas, April 19, 1932. The first Beechcraft, designated as the Model 17R, flew in November 1932, but sales were nonexistent. By mid-1933, the struggling company was approaching insolvency despite having been capitalized initially at $25,000. Fortunately, in June 1933, the second Beechcraft built was the first to be sold, and the sale saved Walter and Olive Ann’s company from financial disaster.
Beech and Wells realized that what the company needed was a more affordable version of the Model 17R. In 1934 Walter introduced the Model B17L that sold for $8,000 – more than $10,000 less the Model 17R. Sales soon accelerated, and 48 were built by the end of 1936. In the years that followed, Beech unveiled the C17-, D17-, E17- and F17-series that continued to sell as the Great Depression eased its grip on the economy.
Steady sales of the Model 17 series allowed the development of the twin-engine Model 18 that first flew in January 1937. The design of the “Twin Beech” (as it was unofficially known) was gradually upgraded to the Model C18S that formed the foundation for military versions that were widely employed during World War II by the United States and Allied air forces.
These included the C/UC-45, SNB-2, AT-7 and AT-11. Beech Aircraft Corporation built 1,400 C/UC-45, 800 SNB-series, 900 AT-7 (including airplanes equipped with floats and skis), but the most prolific version was the AT-11 with more than 1,500 built chiefly to train bombardiers how to use the top-secret Norden bombsight. In addition, hundreds of Model D17S designated UC-43 and GB-1/2 biplanes were delivered to the U.S. Army Air Forces, U.S. Navy and Allied nations during the war.
The factory also manufactured the Model 26 twin-engine pilot trainer designated AT-10 for the U.S. Army Air Corps. Built primarily of wood, the Beechcraft was flown extensively to teach airmen how to fly multi-engine aircraft. A total of 2,371 airplanes were built during the war – 1,771 by Beech Aircraft and another 600 by Globe Aircraft Corporation.
After the defeat of Japan in 1945, the company quickly returned to the production of commercial airplanes, beginning with the D18S that incorporated significant technical improvements not found in the B18/C18S designs. The factory delivered 296 D18S in 1946, and records indicate that more than 1,000 were built from 1946-1955. During the mid-1950s, the D18S was replaced by the upgraded Super E18S and Super G18S. Finally, after 25 years of continuous production, the company introduced the Super H18 featuring either a conventional or tricycle landing gear configuration. The last of nearly 8,000 Beechcraft Model 18 monoplanes built since 1937 was delivered to Japan Air Lines in November 1969.
In 1945 Beech engineers created the all-metal, V-tail Model 35 “Bonanza” that first flew in December 1945; production began in 1947. The Bonanza was continually improved during the next 32 years, and a total of 10,399 were built. The last V-tail Bonanza made was a Model V35B, serial number D-10403, delivered to the Beech production test flight department November 11, 1982.
In addition to the Model 35, there were many other versions of the Bonanza including the Model 35-33 “Debonair” (renamed “Bonanza” in 1970) and the six-place Model 36-series that included the A36 and G36 (currently in production as of 2022) as well the turbocharged A36TC and B36TC versions. In 1948 the Model 45 “Mentor” was developed to meet an emerging need for a small, modern, basic trainer for domestic and foreign military services. Engineers borrowed heavily from the Model 35’s airframe and powerplant to develop the T-34A for the U.S. Air Force and the T-34B for the U.S. Navy. Japan, Argentina and the Philippines also bought the B45 export version. A total of 1,904 trainers were built from 1948-1958, and in 1970 Beech Aircraft equipped the T-34 with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25 turboprop engine rated at 400 shp (shaft horsepower) to create the T-34C and T-34C-1 (the latter equipped with 550-shp PT6A-25 for export sales).
As customer and Beechcraft dealer demand for more performance, cabin comfort and utility increased during the postwar years, Beech Aircraft introduced the Model 50 “Twin Bonanza” to fill a gap in the company’s product line between the single-engine Model 35 and Model D18S “Twin Beech.” The first flight was in 1949. The Model 50 was adapted for military missions as the L-23A “Seminole” that spawned many versions, including the L-23/U-8D, RU-8D and the L-23 SLAR (Side-looking Airborne Radar). Between 1951-1963 Beech introduced the upgraded Model B50-J50-series Twin Bonanza that remained in production until 1961. The Model 50 series was a major success with 883 airplanes of all versions rolling off the assembly lines from 1951-1961.
In 1961 the Twin Bonanza was replaced by the Model 95-55 “Baron” that first flew in 1960. It was a significant technical improvement over the earlier Model 95 “Travel Air” built from 1956-1968 in three versions – 95, B95, D95A and E95. During the next few decades, many versions of the popular Baron were produced – the A55-B55, 95-C55 and D55; E55 and the powerful but rare 56TC Turbo Baron and A56TC Turbo Baron, of which only 93 were manufactured.
Next came the Model 58 Baron that mated the highly popular six-place cabin of the A36 Bonanza with the proven airframe of the E55 Baron. By 1986 more than 1,400 Model 58 aircraft had been built. The turbocharged Model 58TC was introduced in 1975 and was soon joined by the pressurized Model 58P in 1976. As of 2022, the current production version is the G58 Baron.
Beech Aircraft introduced the Model 23 “Musketeer” in 1963. The single-engine, four-place monoplane was designed to compete with similar aircraft produced by Cessna and Piper. The Model 23 was eventually upgraded to the A23, B/C23 and the A24R version with retractable landing gear. In the 1970s, general aviation aircraft manufacturers produced a group of lightweight, twin-engine designs for multi-engine flight training. For example, Grumman American introduced the “Cougar,” Piper Aircraft Corporation built the “Seminole,” and Beech Aircraft flew its Model 76 “Duchess” in May 1977. Only 437 were built before production ended in 1982. The Model 76’s single-engine sibling was the Model 77 “Skipper” that took to the skies in September 1978. Both the Model 76 and Model 77 aimed to supply Beechcraft Aero Centers with entry-level airplanes for student pilots. Only 312 Skippers were built before production was terminated in 1981.
Beech Aircraft took a bold step in design when it introduced the rakish Model 60 “Duke” in 1966 using technologies borrowed from the earlier A56TC Turbo Baron series. During 1968-1970, 122 were built before the improved A60/B60 replaced the Model 60 in 1970. Beechcraft built another 471 A60 and B60 Dukes before production ended in 1982.
In 1958 the U.S. Army began seeking a larger version of the Beechcraft Model 50 that possessed a more extensive, reconfigurable cabin adaptable to multi-mission tasks, a new interior and more windows. Beech engineers responded with the L-23F that could accommodate up to seven combat-ready troops and equipment. That year a commercial version of the L-23 known as the Model 65 “Queen Air” was revealed, making its first flight in August. The airplane quickly established itself as a fast, comfortable, twin-engine airplane with a useful load approaching 3,000 pounds. More importantly, however, the Model 65 represented the future direction Beech Aircraft Corporation would take in developing new cabin-class airplanes.
The Queen Air soon birthed several successful versions, including the A65, 70, 65-80/A80 and the 65-B80/B80A. Development of the airframe eventually led to the Model 88 Queen Air that first flew 18 months after the flight of the landmark, turboprop-powered Beechcraft 65-90 “King Air.” The bold decision by Olive Ann Beech ordering company engineers to mate a modified Queen Air airframe with Pratt & Whitney Canada’s new PT6A-series turboprops led to the first turbine-powered Beechcraft – the Model 87 (U.S. Army NU-8F) that first flew in May 1963.
A commercial version designated as the Model 65-90 “King Air” was formally announced in 1963, and a prototype flew in January 1964. Featuring PT6A-6 engines rated at 550 SHP (takeoff only) and a pressurized cabin, sales soon accelerated and 112 airplanes were delivered from 1964-1966. The improved A90 and B90 soon followed, and the
C90 appeared in 1971. The Model 100/A100 and B100 King Air featured a larger cabin and were offered with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-28 or Garrett AiResearch TPE-331 turboprop powerplants.
Beech Aircraft Corporation’s crowning achievement of the 1970s was introducing the Model 200 Super King Air that first flew in October 1972. Equipped with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-41 engines rated at 850 SHP and a T-tail empennage, the Super King Air soon established itself as the company’s flagship, followed in the next few years by the introduction of the B200, 300, 350 and 360 (currently in production).
In 1986 Beech Aircraft Corporation acquired rights to the Mitsubishi Diamond-series executive jet and renamed it the Model 400 “Beechjet.” More than 60 were delivered before the company introduced the improved “Beechjet 400A” that first flew in September 1989, followed by initial deliveries in 1990. That year a military version of the 400A designated 400T was chosen by the U.S. Air Force to instruct pilots for the service’s Tanker Transport Training System program. The first of 180 T1-A “Jayhawk” jets were delivered in January 1992 and the fleet continues in service as of 2022.
In addition, Hawker Beechcraft built Beechcraft jets beginning in 2006 and ending in 2013, including the entry-level Premier 1 and the super mid-size cabin Hawker 4000. The Premier 1/1A was built from 2001-2012 and totaled 292 airplanes, whereas the larger Hawker 4000 totaled 73 units before production ended in 2013.
A major misstep by the company occurred in the 1980s when officials unveiled the radical Beechcraft Model 2000 “Starship.” Unlike any Beechcraft ever designed, the Starship’s airframe was manufactured from graphite-epoxy and Nomex fiber technology.
The aircraft was powered by two 1,200-SHP Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67 turboprop engines mounted in pusher configuration. First flown in February 1986, the Model 2000 was certified in June 1988, and the upgraded Model 200A was introduced in 1991. Unfortunately, the airplane’s high price and absence of any significant performance improvements over the Super King Air series led to the program’s cancellation after only 53 airplanes had been built. As of 2020, only six were known to still be in airworthy condition.
After 48 years of ownership under the Beech name and in the wake of nearly five decades of unparalleled success, in February 1980, Beech Aircraft Corporation became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raytheon Company based in Lexington, Massachusetts. However, that corporate marriage ended in 2007 when the bankrupt company was sold to Goldman Sachs and Onex. The illustrious history of Beech Aircraft Corporation entered its final phase in December 2013 when Textron agreed to acquire the company for $1.4 billion. As of 2022, Textron Aviation continues to build the G36 Bonanza, G58 Baron, and the King Air 260 and 360 under the Beechcraft name.1
Notes:
When the acquisition by Raytheon took place, Frank E. Hedrick stepped down as president in January 1981. Edward C. Burns became the company’s fourth president, and Olive Ann Beech remained as chairperson of the board. In 1982 Hedrick, Burns, and Olive Ann Beech retired. They were replaced by Linden S. Blue, who became president, followed by James S. Walsh in 1984. Max E. Bleck succeeded him in May 1987. Jack Braly became president in March 1991 until replaced by Art Wegner in 1994, who was replaced by Hansel Tookes. Jim Schuster took control in 2001 until February 2012 when Steve Miller replaced Bill Boisture, who remained as chairperson of the company. Four months later, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.