Newly-found photographs and advanced research shed light on the Tennessee farm boy’s initial foray into the world of aviation Editor’s note: I received an email from longtime contributor Edward Phillips excitedly sharing that he’d tracked down rare photographs of Walter H. Beech during World War I. Ed’s hope is that the photographs paired with his…
From Tennessee farm boy to famous aviator and respected entrepreneur, Walter was a driving force in the commercial aviation industry for 33 years. When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Walter Herschel Beech was working as a trained chauffer and automobile engine mechanic for the White Motor Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota.…
In 1948, senior management at Beech Aircraft Corporation saw the need for a new military trainer to equip postwar air forces. Their solution was the Model 45 Mentor, which would become one of the most popular Beechcrafts built. When World War II ended with the unconditional surrender of Japan in September 1945, the United States…
In 1928, the Travel Air Manufacturing Company introduced a series of enclosed cabin monoplanes aimed specifically at the emerging business aviation marketplace. It is safe to state that the nonstop flight of Charles A. Lindbergh from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, New York, to Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France, in May 1927 ignited a massive wave…
The pioneering airframe manufacturer began operations in 1925 and its legacy has greatly outlived its six-year lifespan. During a cold December in 1924, Walter H. Beech and Lloyd C. Stearman contemplated forming a new airplane company, but they needed help. They met with their friend Clyde V. Cessna, one of America’s true aviation pioneers, who…
In the late 1950s, the U.S. Army’s inventory of the versatile L-23/U-8 Seminole series of light military transports ended with introduction of the L-23F – the versatile Beechcraft that set a new standard for fixed-wing Army aviation. Thirteen years after the end of the bloodiest conflict on earth known as World War II, Americans were…
In 1945, Beech Aircraft Corporation built the most powerful ground attack aircraft of World War II – the mighty XA-38 Grizzly. Armed with a 75-mm cannon and six machine guns, the twin-engine gunship was large, powerful and fast, but the war ended before the enemy could feel its offensive punch. In 1944, Beech Aircraft Corporation…
Have you heard of The Flying Santa flights that have continued uninterrupted for 94 years? They started on Christmas Day 1929 in a floatplane built by Travel Air, the airplane manufacturer started in 1925 by Walter Beech, Clyde Cessna and Lloyd Stearman. Early aviation pioneer William Wincapaw loved flying, especially amphibious airplanes that were practical…
Starting with the Model E33A, in 1968 Beech Aircraft engineers dug deep into their airframe “cookbook” to create the company’s most popular and versatile Bonanza – the Model 36 series “The biggest, most versatile Bonanza ever built.” That was how Beech Aircraft Corporation described the new Model 36 Bonanza when it was certified in May…
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…