Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing

Model 17 Staggerwing
1944 Beechcraft D17S
Role Utility aircraft
Manufacturer Beech Aircraft Corporation
Designer T. A. Wells
First flight 4 November 1932
Introduction 1933
Primary users Private sector
United States Army Air Forces
Produced 1933-1949
Number built 785
Unit cost
US$14,000-17,000 (1933)
US$29,000 (1949)
Vintage Wings of Canada Beechcraft D17S Staggerwing
1943 Beech D.17S Staggerwing
Assembly line at the beginning of Staggerwing production (note the fixed landing gear).
An F17D Model Staggerwing

The Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing is an American biplane with an atypical negative wing stagger (the lower wing is farther forward than the upper wing), that first flew in 1932.

Development

At the height of the Great Depression, aircraft executive Walter H. Beech and airplane designer T. A. "Ted" Wells joined forces to collaborate on a project to produce a large, powerful, and fast cabin biplane built specifically for the business executive. The Beechcraft Model 17, popularly known as the "Staggerwing", was first flown on November 4, 1932. During its heyday, it was used as an executive aircraft, much as the private jet is now, and its primary competition were the Waco Custom Cabin and Waco Standard Cabin series of biplanes.

The Model 17's unusual negative stagger wing configuration (the upper wing staggered behind the lower) and unique shape maximized pilot visibility while negligibly reducing interference between the wings.[1] The fabric-covered fuselage was faired with wood formers and stringers over a welded, steel tube frame.[1] Construction was complex and took many man-hours to complete. The Staggerwing's retractable conventional landing gear, uncommon at that time, combined with careful streamlining, light weight, and a powerful radial engine, helped it perform well.

In the mid-1930s, Beech undertook a major redesign of the aircraft, to create the Model D17 Staggerwing. The D17 featured a lengthened fuselage that improved the aircraft's handling characteristics by increasing control leverage, and the ailerons were relocated to the upper wings, eliminating interference with the flaps. Braking was improved with a foot-operated brake linked to the rudder pedals.

Operational history

Sales began slowly. The first Staggerwings' high price tag (between US$14,000 and $17,000, depending on engine size) scared off potential buyers in an already depressed civil aircraft market. Only 18 Model 17s were sold during 1933, the first year of production, but sales steadily increased. Each Staggerwing was custom-built by hand. The luxurious cabin, trimmed in leather and mohair, held up to five passengers. Eventually, the Staggerwing captured a substantial share of the passenger aircraft market. By the start of World War II, Beechcraft had sold more than 424 Model 17s.

Air racing

1937 advertisement for the Model 17 Beech Staggerwing

The Staggerwing's speed made it popular with 1930s air racers. An early version of the Model 17 won the 1933 Texaco Trophy Race. In 1935, a British diplomat, Capt. H.L. Farquhar, successfully flew around the world in a Model B17R, traveling 21,332 miles (34,331 kilometers) from New York to London, by way of Siberia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and back across Europe.

Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes won the 1936 Bendix trophy in a Model C17R Staggerwing. Thaden also won the Harmon Trophy for her achievement. Jackie Cochran set a women's speed record of 203.9 mph (328 km/h), established an altitude record of over 30,000 feet (9,144 m), and finished third in the 1937 Bendix Trophy Race, all in a special Model D17W Staggerwing. The aircraft made an impressive showing in the 1938 Bendix race, as well.

In 1970, due to a dispute with the T-6 racing class, the Reno National Air Races invited five Staggerwings to perform a demonstration race. Two G models and two D17 models raced. The five pilots were Bryant Morris, Bert Jensen, Don Clark, Noel Gourselle, and Phil Livingston, the only pilot to have prior racing experience in the T-6 class. The race was flawless with ABC Wide World of Sports coverage, but protesting T-6 racers prevented the class from future competition with allegations of safety issues.

World War II

As World War II loomed, a number of Model B17Ls were pressed into service as bombers by the FARE, the air forces of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. China ordered a number of Staggerwings to use as ambulance planes in its fight against Imperial Japan. Finland had one C17L as a liaison aircraft between 1940-1945.[2] On October 2, 1941, Beech shipped a special camouflaged D17S to Prince Bernhard of Lippe, who was in exile in London after the German invasion of the Netherlands. He used it for refugee work in and around London.

YC-43 Traveler

The Beech UC-43 Traveler was a slightly modified version of the Staggerwing. In late 1938, the United States Army Air Corps purchased three Model D17Ss to evaluate them for use as light liaison aircraft. These were designated YC-43. After a short flight test program, the YC-43s went to Europe to serve as liaison aircraft with the air attachés in London, Paris, and Rome.

Early in World War II, the need for a compact executive-type transport or courier aircraft became apparent, and in 1942, the United States Army Air Forces ordered the first of 270 Model 17s for service within the United States and overseas as the UC-43. These differed only in minor details from the commercial model. To meet urgent wartime needs, the government also purchased or leased (impressed) additional "Staggerwings" from private owners, including 118 more for the Army Air Force plus others for the United States Navy. In Navy service, the planes were designated as GB-1 and GB-2. The British Royal Air Force and Royal Navy acquired 106 "Traveller Mk. I" (the British name uses the UK double "l" spelling) through the Lend-Lease arrangement to fill its own critical need for light personnel transports.

The production UC-43 differed in minor details from the service test YC-43. Two distinguishing external features of the UC-43 are the circular automatic direction finder antennae mounted between the main landing gear and landing lights near the lower wingtips. They were all powered by the 450 horsepower (336 kilowatt) Pratt & Whitney R-985 engine.

Postwar

After the war's end, Beech immediately converted its manufacturing capabilities back to civil aircraft production, making one final version of the Staggerwing, the Model G17S. They built 16 aircraft, which they sold for US$29,000 apiece. Norway sold one D17S to Finland in 1949, which the Finnish Air Force used from 1950 to 1958.[2]

The lightweight V-tail Beechcraft Bonanza, a powerful four-passenger luxury aircraft, soon replaced the venerable Staggerwing in the Beech product line, at about a third of the price. The Bonanza was a smaller aircraft with fewer horsepower, but carried four people at a similar speed to the Staggerwing. Beechcraft sold the 785th and final Staggerwing in 1948 and delivered it in 1949.

Critical praise

In March 2003, Plane & Pilot magazine named the Staggerwing one of its Top Ten All-Time Favorite aircraft.[3]

In the April, 2007 issue of AOPA Pilot magazine, it was reported that the Staggerwing was voted by nearly 3000 AOPA members as the Most Beautiful Airplane. "Members said it's the perfect balance between 'muscular strength and delicate grace,' and rated it highly for its 'classic lines and symmetry.'"

The November 2012 issue of Aviation History magazine ranked the Staggerwing fifth in their top 12 list of the Worlds Most Beautiful Airplanes. Stating that "Some might think 'the Stag' ungainly, backward wings and all, yet it has become the prime example of vintage beauty." and "...the aftward upper wing led to the big, steeply raked windscreen that is also a key element of what some have called an art deco classic."[4]

Variants and design stages

Production by Model
Model
Designation		 Number
Produced
17R 2
A17F 1
A17FS 1
B17B 2
B17E 4
B17L 46
B17R 15
C17B 39
C17E 22
C17L 6
C17R 17
D17A 8
D17R 27
D17S 67 civilian
412 military
D17W 2
E17B 54
E17L 1
F17D 60
G17S 20
Total 785
17
Fixed gear prototype made first flight on November 4, 1932.

By 1934, Beechcraft had designed and built four models. They were the 17R (420 hp Wright engine); the A17F (690 hp Wright engine); the A17FS (710 hp Wright engine); and the B17L (225 hp Jacobs engine). All were fixed gear models with the exception of the B17L, which had a pneumatically retractable undercarriage. Of the three models, the B17L proved best suited to meet the market demands, and became the first production model.

B17
First production model, manufactured from March 1934 to March 1936.
C17
Manufactured from March 1936 to March 1937.
D17
Manufactured from March 1937 to 1945 (All were military models after 1941).
E17
Manufactured from March 1937 to 1941.
F17
Manufactured from April 1938 to 1941.
G17
Manufactured from 1946 to 1948.
Tachikawa-Beechcraft C17E Light Transport
20 built in licence production in Japan by Tachikawa, plus two assembled from imported parts for Dai Nihon Koku KK. Manshu, Chuka Koku and agencies such as provincial police headquarters.

Military designations

YC-43 (S/N 39-139) assigned to the American Embassy in London, England
YC-43
Three Model D17S with a 450hp R-985-17 engine for evaluation by the United States Army Air Corps
UC-43 s/n 43-10859
UC-43 Traveler
Production version with a 450hp R-985-AN-1 engine, 75 ordered for the USAAC and 63 for the United States Navy as the GB-1, 132 were later transferred from the USN to the USAAC.
UC-43A
Model D17R with 440hp R-975-11 engine, 13 impressed into service.
UC-43B
Model D17S with 450hp R-985-17 engine, 13 impressed into service.
UC-43C
Model F17D with 300hp R-915-1 engine, 37 impressed into service.
UC-43D
Model E17B with 285hp R-830-1 engine, 31 impressed into service.
UC-43E
Model C17R with 440hp R-975-11 engine, five impressed into service.
UC-43F
Model D17A with 350hp R-975-3 engine, one impressed into service.
UC-43G
Model C17B with 285hp R-830-1 engine, 10 impressed into service.
UC-43H
Model B17R with 440hp R-975-11 engine, three impressed into service.
UC-43J
Model C17L with 225hp R-755-1 engine, three impressed into service.
UC-43K
Model D17W, one impressed into service. This aircraft was originally built in 1937 for famed aviator Jacqueline Cochran. Cochran flew the plane in the 1937 Bendix cross-country race and placed first in the Women's Division and 3rd overall. She also set a Women's National Speed Record of 203.895 miles per hour using the plane.
A GB-1 Traveler
GB-1
United States Navy transport version of the D17, ten bought in 1939 and ten impressed into USN service.
GB-2
USN version as GB-1 but with a 450hp R-985-50 or R-985-AN-1 engine, 271 built, 132 later transferred to USAAF as UC-43s. Also additional aircraft from a cancelled British contract and impressed aircraft.
JB-1
One Model C17R as an executive transport for the United States Navy.
Traveller I
British designation for the former US Embassy in London's YC-43 and 107 UC-43 and GB-2 aircraft delivered mainly for the Royal Navy.

Engine selection

Beechcraft Model 17 Engine Selections
Suffix Engine (radial configuration) Cylinders Power (hp)
A Wright R-760-E2 7 350
B Jacobs L-5 (R-830-1) 7 285
D Jacobs L-6 (R-915A3) 7 330
E Wright R-760-E1 7 285
F Wright R-1820-F11 9 690
FS Wright SR-1820-F3 (supercharged) 9 710
L Jacobs L-4 (R-755D) 7 225
R Wright R-975-E2 or E3 9 420-450
S P&W R-985-AN-1 or AN-3 9 450
W P&W R-985-SC-G (supercharged & geared) 9 600

Operators

Military staggerwing operators

Numbers operated from[5]

 Australia
 Bolivia
 Brazil
 China
 Cuba
 Ethiopia
 Finland
 Honduras
 Netherlands
 New Zealand
 Peru
 Spain
 United Kingdom
 USA
 Uruguay

Aircraft on display

Survivors

The Fighter Collection's Staggerwing, G-BRVE, in 2003

Many Staggerwings remain registered with the FAA in flyable condition, or undergoing restoration. Several military versions are on display.

Specifications (Beech Model D17S)

Beechcraft Model 17DS was designated YC-43 by the US Army Air Corps and used as liaison aircraft for the US Air Attachés in London, Paris and Rome

Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II[21]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 "The Beechcraft Biplanes". Sport Aviation. January 1961.
  2. 1 2 3 Heinonen, Timo; Valtonen, Hannu (2010). Albatrossista Pilatukseen - Suomen sotilaslentokoneet 1917-2010 (in Finnish). Tikkakoski: Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseo. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-952-99989-2-0.
  3. ↑ "Top 10 All-Time Favorites". Warner Publishing Corporation. March 2003. Archived from the original on 18 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  4. ↑ Wilkinson, Stephan (2012). Aviation History Magazine; "The Worlds Most Beautiful Airplanes". Leesburg, VA: Weider History Group. pp. 22–29. ISSN 1076-8858.
  5. ↑ Chris Thornburg (3 December 2006). "World Air Forces: Historical listings of the aircraft used". www.worldairforces.com. Chris Thornburg. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 6 Aug 2012.
  6. ↑ Beechcraft Heritage Museum (2009). "Collection". Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  7. ↑ "Aircraft & Exhibits > General Aviation". 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  8. ↑ Frontiers of Flight Museum (2005). "About". Archived from the original on 20 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  9. ↑ Legacy Flight Museum (March 2009). "Library of Planes". Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  10. ↑ Mid America Air Museum (2002). "Displays". Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  11. ↑ Museu Aeroespacial (n.d.). "BEECHCRAFT D17S "Staggerwing"". Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  12. ↑ National Air and Space Museum (2009). "Collections". Archived from the original on 20 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  13. ↑ National Museum of Naval Aviation (2001). "GB-2 Traveller". Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  14. ↑ National Museum of the United States Air Force (n.d.). "BEECH UC-43 TRAVELER". Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  15. ↑ Vintage Wings (n.d.). "Beechcraft Staggerwing D-17S". Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  16. ↑ "Beech D-17S Staggerwing (G-BRVE)". The Fighter Collection. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  17. ↑ "Yanks Golden Age of Flight". yanksair.com. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  18. ↑ "FAA Registry - Aircraft - N-Number Inquiry". registry.faa.gov. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  19. ↑ Eastern Daily Press Staggering sights on offer at this year's Old Buckenham Airshow, 25 March 2014
  20. ↑ "Mustard TV" News item 25 March 2014 on the Airshow
  21. ↑ Bridgeman, Leonard. “The Beechcraft Traveller.” Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. p. 205. ISBN 1 85170 493 0.
Bibliography

External links

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