In the wake of E.M. Laird’s departure from Wichita, Walter H. Beech, Lloyd C. Stearman and Clyde V. Cessna joined forces to create the city’s first major airframe manufacturer – the Travel Air Company When Billy Burke resigned from the E.M. Laird Company Partnership in 1920, Matty Laird lost a key mediator between himself and…
A year after the end of World War I, a talented aircraft designer from Chicago and a roustabout from the oil fields of Kansas transformed a sleepy city on the Plains into the epicenter of America’s general aviation aircraft industry The question has often been asked, “Why Wichita?” What has made that city, long hailed…
During more than 30 years of production, the Beechcraft Model 18 series distinguished itself in peacetime and in war, emerging as one of the most successful small, twin-engine transports in aviation history. Beech Aircraft Corporation test pilot H.C. “Ding” Rankin eased both throttles forward as the latest version of Ted Wells’ Model 18 accelerated down…
In 1937, the Beech Aircraft Company introduced its first multi-engine, cabin-class transport that would become the undisputed icon of business aviation and the grand patriarch of the legendary Beechcraft King Air. It had been five years since the dreadful “Black Thursday” of October 1929 had inaugurated the worst collapse of prosperity in American history. Millions…
In the wake of World War II, America’s lethargic general aviation market was ripe for an airplane that was fast, comfortable and above all, affordable. Walter H. Beech and his “Beech Boys” answered that call with the all-metal Model 35 “Bonanza.” When the world’s bloodiest conflict ended in 1945, thousands of military pilots returned home…
In September 1936, Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes became the first famous female pilots to capture the coveted Bendix Trophy, and they did it flying a stock Beechcraft “We think you’ve won the Bendix!” yelled a man as he ran along beside the biplane as it taxied across the grass at Mines Field near Los…
Louise Thaden’s dream of flying became a reality in 1927 when Walter H. Beech set her on a path to earning her wings and a reputation as one of America’s foremost female flyers “I want you to meet Warren, our new Pacific Coast distributor. Warren has agreed to take you out to San Francisco. Your salary…
Three months after “Lucky Lindy” landed in Paris, eight airplanes took off from California westbound toward Hawaii in a free-for-all race to win $25,000. Two of those airplanes were built by Travel Air, thanks to company CEO Walter Beech’s optimism that at least one would win the prize. Hawaii – sun, surf and hula girls.…
The union of Pratt & Whitney Canada’s revolutionary PT6 turboprop engine with a pressurized Beechcraft airframe proved an unbeatable combination that set a new standard for small, cabin-class business aircraft. As World War II drew to a close, the introduction of turbojet-powered military fighters did not escape the notice of Walter H. Beech. Speed was…
The revolutionary PT6 engine gas turbine nearly died during development, yet managed to survive its detractors, cost overruns and a dearth of orders to become one of the most successful turboprop engines in the history of business aviation. Old pilots and antique airplane enthusiasts never tire of watching a “round engine” start up, belch a…