During the mid-1930s Walter Beech and his engineers developed a new series of Model 17s that added laurels to Beech Aircraft Company’s reputation and black ink to its battered balance sheets.
The decision in 1933 to downsize the bullish Model 17R into the popular Model B17 series had proved to be the correct one for Walter Beech and his company. Although the B17 was still selling well in 1936, it was time to upgrade the venerable biplane to keep the basic design marketable.
For the 1936 model year, Ted Wells and his staff improved the B17 into the C17 series that featured four different versions. The entry-level C17L was priced at $8,550 and was powered by a Jacobs L-4 air-cooled, static radial engine, while the more expensive C17B was powered by a seven-cylinder, 285-hp Jacobs R-830 radial engine and sold for $9,250. Priced at $10,000, the C17E used a 285-hp Wright R-760E and the C17R cost $18,500, in large part because of the 420-hp Wright R-975E powerplant.
In addition, key changes made to the C17B and C17L included relocating flaps to the lower wings from the upper panels, but the flaps remained on the wing panels for the C17E and C17R. Thanks to lessons learned from certification of A17F, the incidence angle of the horizontal stabilizer’s leading edge was decreased slightly in an effort to improve pitch control during landing. Unfortunately, the change had little effect on handling and was exacerbated if the airplane’s center of gravity was near the forward limit.
Whereas the C17B and C17L featured a single elevator trim tab, the C17E and C17R incorporated two, as did the rudder on those airplanes only. The electrically-operated landing gear system remained essentially the same but added two small light bulbs that indicated gear position – a green light to indicate that gear was extended and locked, and a red light to warn if the gear was not.
Fuel capacity varied from 46 gallons for the C17B and C17L (optional tanks were available), 75 gallons for the more powerful C17E and 98 gallons for the C17R and its fuel-thirsty engine. All four versions of the C17 had received Approved Type Certificates by August 1936, although the first production airplane had rolled off the assembly line in February of that year.
It is interesting to note that the last B17R built before production of the C17 commenced, was constructor number 66, registered as NC15811 for export purposes but later registered in France as F-APFD. It briefly led a somewhat cloak-and-dagger life that smacked of international intrigue. French pilot Rene Drouillet reportedly planned to use the Beechcraft in a proposed plot to fly Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie out of that country if the Italian army overran Ethiopia.
In May 1936, the Italians did just that, capturing the capital city of Addis Ababba and forcing Selassie to flee the country by train instead of the Beechcraft. According to historian Peter Berry, the B17R later served with Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War, was returned to France and was captured by the Germans in 1940. The airplane was reportedly destroyed by Allied bombing raids on the city of Nanterre.
In terms of performance, the C17R reigned as the fastest of the four versions, and the C17E was the most rare with only two built at the Beechcraft factory. These were shipped to Japan and served as templates for another 20 that were reportedly built under license between 1938 and 1940. Plans called for using the Beechcrafts to fly passengers and mail on proposed routes within Japan, according to historian Rene J. Francillon. It is unknown whether any of the C17Es built in Japan survived World War II.
Perhaps the most famous C17, however, was C17R constructor number 77 flown to victory in the 1936 Bendix Trophy coast-to-coast race by pilots Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes. The two women took off from Floyd Bennett Field in New York City and arrived in Los Angeles after flying for 14 hours 55 minutes. It was a triumph for women aviators and the Beech Aircraft Company, a triumph made all the more sweet because the C17R had defeated some potent competitors such as Joe Jacobsen in a Northrop “Gamma” monoplane, Benny Howard in his “Mr. Mulligan” and Amelia Earhart and Helen Richey flying a twin-engine Lockheed “Electra.”
Never content to rest on his company’s laurels, in 1937 Walter Beech unveiled the Model D, E and F17 series that possessed significant improvements not found on the C17 biplanes. Of these, the D17 would prove to be the most popular with Beechcraft customers and featured a majority of the upgrades.
First and foremost among these was the fuselage. It was lengthened by 13 inches and greatly improved landing characteristics, enabling pilots to make three-point landings with ease. Another significant change was installation of a full-cantilever empennage assembly that eliminated the strut bracing of the C17 series. Other changes included toe-operated brakes on the rudder pedals and new main landing gear shock struts.
Four versions of the D17 were offered: D17A, D17S, D17R and D17W. The chief differences centered on the engine, the most powerful being the D17W with its geared, supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-985 SC-G rated at 600 hp at 2,850 RPM. By contrast, the D17A featured the 320- or 350-hp Wright R760 engine, the D17S used a Pratt & Whitney R-985 of 420 hp, and the D17R was powered by a 420-hp Wright R-975 engine.
Developed in concert with the D17 series were the less powerful (and less expensive) E17L, E17B and the F17D. The latter airplane, with its higher cruise speeds and load carrying ability, filled a gap in the Model 17 product line and fit nicely between the entry-level E17 series and the top-of-the-line Model D17.
As the economy in America continued to expand and slowly recover from the ravages of the Great Depression, the production lines at the Beech Aircraft Company expanded as well. From 1936 to 1940 more than 65 C17 series airplanes had been built followed by more than 100 D17 series ships, 55 E17 series and 60 F17 series aircraft.
By late 1939, it was becoming increasingly evident that England and France were bracing for a second war with Germany. It was only a matter of time before Chancellor Adolph Hitler would unleash his “Blitzkreig” warfare on a nearly defenseless Poland. Late in 1941, any hopes of America maintaining its policy of isolationism were crumbling, and when war finally came to America on a peaceful Sunday morning in Hawaii, Walter Beech and the Model 17 stood ready to serve their country.