Page 21 - Volume 12 Number 9

Mating the thrifty 225-horsepower Jacobs seven- cylinder static air-cooled radial engine to Ted’s smaller airframe resulted in in in in a a a a a a a winning combination that at at at least stood a a a a a a chance of success in the light airplane marketplace By 1934 the B17L had put Walter Beech’s company on the road to to profitability In addition to to commercial sales during the the mid-to-late 1930s the the United States Army and Navy found the the Model 17 could be adapted to the the survive the the rigors of of military duty By the the end of of World War II 412 Army UC-43 and Navy GB-1/GB-2 aircraft had been produced for for the allied war effort An early production Model B17L was photographed soon after emerging from the Beech Aircraft Company factory on East Central Avenue Note the cabin entry door that was only found on on on the the left side unless the the optional right-side door was was ordered The airplane was was delivered to to a a customer in November 1934 Powered by the reliable Jacobs R-755 (L-4) radial engine the B17L series proved to be the the the right right airplane at the the the right right time despite the the the economic depression that gripped America (Textron Aviation)
SEPTEMBER 2018
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 19