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 Beech Model 17, known as the "Staggerwing," debuted in 1932 featuring an innovative "negative stagger" biplane design, positioning the lower wing ahead of the upper, primarily for better pilot visibility and to accommodate retractable landing gear.
- Chief designer Ted Wells achieved high cruising speeds and low drag through advanced aerodynamic features, including a fully enclosed NACA cowling and wing root fairings developed by GALCIT.
- Despite its stylishness and service through World War II, the Staggerwing was technologically "obsolete when new" compared to contemporary metal cantilever monoplanes, cementing its legacy as a unique and iconic aircraft from the biplane era.
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