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, or "Staggerwing," was Beech Aircraft's distinctive first product (1932), a biplane noted for its unusual negative wing stagger which aided pilot visibility and facilitated retractable landing gear.
- Designed by Ted Wells, the aircraft prioritized high cruising speed and low drag, integrating aerodynamic innovations such as the NACA-developed round cowling and the GALCIT-developed wing root fairing.
- Despite being considered "obsolete when new" compared to emerging metal monoplanes, the Staggerwing was a stylish, fast, and charismatic aircraft produced until 1948, serving notably as a military personnel transport during World War II.
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