Page 25 - Volume 12 Number 12

The rst Beechcraft, Model 17R-1, was photographed soon after completion in October 1932. Note the rigid, non-steerable tailwheel and single brace wire on the empennage. Landing lights were integrated into the lower wing leading edge. The bullish Beechcraft could y faster than a majority of military ghters of the day.
(Wichita State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives)
critical in the three-point landing condition, not the side load condition that Wells had calculated. To ensure that the shock strut installation met the latest requirements postulated by the Aeronautics Branch, a test had to be performed to ensure that the shock strut could absorb landing loads in the three-point condition. To make matters worse, inspectors rejected Wells’ description of the tail brace wire, found fault with the engineering information provided for the trimming flap, and demanded load tests of the flap.
After sending a number of telegrams back and forth between Wichita and Washington, Ted and his assistant, Jack Wassall, quickly revised the technical drawings, recalculated loads on the tailwheel shock strut, conducted load tests on the empennage and trimming flap and resubmitted the paperwork as required. By early June, Walter Beech’s temper was heating up. He wanted to know why flight testing of the Model 17R-2 was being delayed and insisted that the ship be ready for delivery on the promised date of June 16.
DECEMBER 2018
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 23