Page 31 - Feb 23

Beech Aircraft Company built the muscular A17FS to compete in the 1934 MacRobertson race from London, England, to Melbourne, Australia, but it was withdrawn when financing failed to materialize. Powered by a 710 hp Wright Cyclone radial engine, the bullish Beechcraft served briefly with the U.S. Department of Commerce before it was bought back by Walter Beech and disappeared from the aviation scene.
(University Archives and Special Collections, Wichita State University Libraries)
quickly as possible. Undeterred, Beech began a vigorous campaign to sell the orphaned airplane. As the weeks passed, Walter grew increasingly irritated. Despite his best sales efforts, no serious buyers stepped forward to acquire the massive A17FS. In 1935, however, Walter finally found a willing and able buyer – the United States government’s Bureau of Air Commerce. The agency planned to have its aviation inspectors fly the airplane on inspection tours around the country.
After a series of modifications demanded by the Bureau were completed, the Beech Aircraft Company finally delivered the aircraft in July 1935. The Bureau’s pilots were awed by the ship’s power and speed, but those virtues also led to frequent repairs to the welded steel tubing that suffered from vibrations and cracking. In addition, the Wright Cyclone gulped fuel at an alarming rate that soon began to put a dent in the agency’s aviation budget.
The Bureau continued to operate its unique but controversial airplane for about one year before its high operating and maintenance costs could no longer be ignored. Despite the airplane’s drawbacks, Bureau officials initially decided to retain the Beechcraft. They eventually changed their minds, and in June the A17FS was flown to Cincinnati, Ohio, and relegated to a dark corner of a hangar to await its fate. These issues, coupled with the availability of new, more modern and fuel- efficient airplanes, led the Bureau to strike the A17FS from its fleet inventory in August 1936.
Although the reason remains unclear nearly 80 years later, Walter Beech bought back the ship from the Bureau and in August it was retrieved from the hangar and shipped to the Wichita factory. Its exact fate remains a mystery, although rumors persisted for years that Walter eventually resold the airplane to a buyer in California. Another possibility is that Beech had the aircraft dismantled and destroyed to prevent further use.
It is undeniable, however, that the A17F and A17FS were unique airplanes, the “sui generis” of their time. Not only were they the most powerful Beechcrafts built until the advent of World War II, but more significantly they were created as hand-crafted flying machines fabricated during the “Golden Age of Aviation.” Yet, Walter Beech’s “Thunder Birds” with their bellowing Cyclone radials will never be forgotten. They appeared on the aviation scene only briefly, but unlike any Beechcraft before or after them, they made a lasting impression on those pilots fortunate enough to experience the sheer thrill of flying airplanes that had no equal. KA
Ed Phillips, now retired and living in the South, has researched and written eight books on the unique and rich aviation history that belongs to Wichita, Kansas. His writings have focused on the evolution of the airplanes, companies and people that have made Wichita the “Air Capital of the World” for more than 80 years.
FEBRUARY 2023
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 29