Page 21 - Volume 11 Number 1
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How many of you have been to the Beechcraft Heritage Museum (BHM) in Tullahoma, Tennessee? Isn’t that an awesome Beechcraft collection? It began in the 1970s as a place to collect and honor the Beech Model 17, better known as the Staggerwing. Under the careful and dedicated guidance of John Parrish, Sr., aided by his hardworking staff of volunteers, the Staggerwing Club grew and grew. What it has evolved into is mind boggling. Beechcraft factory memorabilia, instead of sitting forgotten in some musty Wichita warehouse corner, is now assembled here in this lovely setting of metal hangars and log cabins. Want to see the very first Beechcraft Staggerwing, serial number 1? It’s there, as is one of virtually every standard model Staggerwing. How about the very first Baron, serial number TC1, and the very first Army U21 Ute, serial number LM1? Yes, they’re present, too, as well as the Starship, and Bonanzas from serial number D9 to one of the last Vtails built, as well as 33 and 36 models. If you are a history buff, you’ll especially enjoy seeing the first Travel Air from the 1920s. (Travel Air was the Wichita company Walter Beech headed before founding his own business in 1932.) Also, Beech’s “Mystery Ship,” the Model R racer, is there. If your interest is in the famous Twin Beech Model 18, you’ll find both early and later examples. Dukes? The P596 is there; the last one built, a 1982 model in which I have spent many delightful hours conducting recurrent training for its only owners, Jim and Marge Gorman of Mansfield, Ohio. There
is also a Model 50 Twin Bonanza.
Get the idea? What started as a Staggerwing club has evolved into an organization that honors the entire Beechcraft heritage. I put it this way: “The factory of Beechcraft is in Wichita, but the heart of Beechcraft is in Tullahoma.”
In 2013, The Beechcraft Heritage Museum decided to add one more branch: The King Air Society, or KAS. In 2014, ’15, and ’16, the BHM Board of Directors asked me to present a brief seminar aimed at KAS members (although all interested folks were welcome to attend) during the annual October “Beech Party,” a fourday flyin aimed at Beechcraft enthusiasts of all types. I was happy to do so, even though the attendance at my presentation was limited, since few people had yet learned of KAS. I want that to change and this is an attempt to get that ball rolling.
I realize that some King Air ownerpilots couldn’t care less about seeing the museum, talking
JANUARY 2017
airplanes day and night, attending seminars, eating good food, enjoying an adult beverage while watching endless single and formation flybys of various Beechcrafts as daytime turns to dusk. Wait! What?! Are there really pilots who won’t have a blast doing these things?! Well, probably a few.
That is why I have concluded that gathering a large group of King Airs with their ownerpilots, once a year at the Beech Party in Tennessee, is not enough to develop an active, worthwhile, and successful owners’ group. If the owner is going to fly his King Air, perhaps quite a distance, pay for lodging and meals, be away from home and business for at least a couple of days, then the attraction of the Beech Party won’t be enough. That’s why we need the King Air Gathering (KAG).
As many readers know, I have been actively mentoring the instructors and helping the King Air Academy get started to becoming the best source of practical, accurate and enjoyable King Air initial and recurrent training. The facility is just west of Runway 25R at Deer Valley Airport (KDVT) in Phoenix, Arizona. Although still the new kid on the block, our client list continues to grow as people discover the value that we offer. In addition to having two Advanced Flight Training Devices, simulators, we also have an actual B90 for those who have never stepped foot into a real King Air before. Our founder, B200 owner Ron McAlister who was profiled in this magazine
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KING AIR MAGAZINE • 19
