Late in 1932, the newborn Beech Aircraft Co. flew its first product, a five-seat biplane with a 420 hp radial engine and fixed landing gear enclosed in huge fairings. Walter Beech gave it model number 17, since the last model built by the Travel Air company, which he had founded in 1925 with an all-star cast of Clyde Cessna and Lloyd Stearman and sold in 1929 to Curtiss-Wright, had been its 16th.
The Staggerwing was the Climax, and the End, of an Era
Key Takeaways:
- The Beechcraft Staggerwing (Model 17) was the first product of Beech Aircraft Co., launched in 1932 as a five-seat biplane during the Great Depression.
- Its distinctive "negative stagger" wing design, with the lower wing set forward, was strategically chosen to enhance pilot visibility and integrate retractable landing gear.
- Designed by Ted Wells, the Staggerwing achieved exceptional performance and low drag through advanced aerodynamic research, including NACA-developed engine cowlings and GALCIT-designed wing root fairings.
- Despite its innovative design and iconic status, being produced through WWII, the Staggerwing was considered technically "obsolete when new" due to the parallel emergence of metal cantilever monoplanes.
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