Page 28 - May 2022

Beech Aircraft Company completed the A17F in May 1934. It was the ultimate single-engine, four-place business airplane of the mid-1930s and could attain a maximum speed approaching 220 mph – a speed that placed it in the same class with only a few military or commercial airplanes of the day. To feed the thirsty Cyclone powerplant the A17F’s fuel tanks held 155 gallons; the A17FS would hold even more.
The aircraft was delivered to Goodall-Worsted pilot Robert Fogg on May 27. The airplane’s interior was plush, luxuriously outfitted with Goodall-Worsted velour and mohair fabrics made by Sanford Mills especially for the aircraft. As a final custom touch, the company had the Beech factory paint the words “Tailored by Goodall from the Genuine Cloth” on both sides of the aft fuselage. Priced at $24,500, the bullish biplane was resplendent in its glossy black and red paint scheme trimmed in cream to match the interior. As the A17F departed that day from the old Travel Air field in East Wichita, Fogg knew he was flying one of the world’s fastest biplanes, and speed was its most salient characteristic.
As he flew eastward to the company’s headquarters in New England, the big Beechcraft drew attention wherever it landed for fuel. After arriving in Boston late that day, Fogg wired Walter Beech expressing his admiration for the mighty A17F, “Breakfast in Wichita, dinner in Boston and headwinds all the way. Congratulations on your latest masterpiece – the world’s finest aircraft. Progress demands creation rather than imitation, and you have achieved it again.” Despite Fogg’s praise for the speedy ship, after only one year in reliable service to the company, the vagaries of an economic depression forced Goodall-Worsted to sell the A17F to the Hughes Tool Company.
The ship was later bought by race pilot Robert Perlick and prepared for competition in the 1937 Bendix Trophy race. Unfortunately, during the takeoff roll the heavy weight of fuel caused the landing gear to collapse and Perlick was out of the race. He tried again in 1938 and was poised to win the event when the Cyclone engine went silent due to fuel starvation. To add insult to injury, in 1944 the Beechcraft met its end in a hangar fire.
As for the A17F’s more powerful brother, the A17FS, its career was short-lived and uneventful. The airplane was completed too late to enter the MacRobertson race. The many promises of support and money made by Wichita businessmen and other people were not forthcoming and the situation was further compounded by the high cost of shipping the biplane to England. Louise Thaden, who was chosen to pilot the A17FS on its epic journey, estimated the cost of logistics to support the ship during the race would be at least $8,000, including the cost of shipping the disassembled Beechcraft to London. Further costs would be incurred to reassemble, fly the airplane and prepare it for a journey that promised to be fraught with more than its share of risks.
With his hopes of racing glory dashed to the ground, WalterBeechsuddenlyhadanexpensive“hangarqueen” ›
26 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
MAY 2022