Beechcraft

Beech Aircraft
Type	privately-held company
Founded	1932
Headquarters	Wichita, Kansas
Industry	general aviation
Website	www.hawkerbeechcraft.com/beechcraft

Beechcraft is a American manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft, ranging from light single engine aircraft to business jets and light military transports. Previously a division of Raytheon, it has been a unit of Hawker Beechcraft since 2007.

History

File:Beech.bonanza.arp.750pix.jpg

1978 Beech Bonanza F33C

Beechcraft was founded in Wichita, Kansas in 1932 by Walter H. Beech and his wife Olive Ann Mellor Beech. The company began operations in an idle Cessna factory. With designer Ted Wells, they developed their first aircraft, the classic Model 17 Staggerwing, which first flew in November 1932. Over 750 Staggerwings were built, with 270 manufactured for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. In 1942 Beech won their first Army-Navy ‘E’ Award production award and became one of the elite five percent of war contracting firms in the country to win five straight awards for production efficiency.

After the war, the Staggerwing was replaced by the revolutionary Beechcraft Bonanza with a distinctive V-tail. Perhaps the best known Beech aircraft, the single-engine Bonanza has been manufactured in various models since 1947. The Bonanza has had the longest production run of any airplane, past or present, in the world. Other important Beech planes are the King Air/Super King Air line of twin-engine turboprops, in production since 1964, the Baron, a twin-engine variant of the Bonanza, and the Beechcraft Model 18, originally a business transport and commuter airliner from the late 1930s through the 1960s, which remains in active service as a cargo transport.

In 1950, Olive Ann Beech was installed as president and CEO of the company, after the sudden death of her husband from a heart attack on November 29 of that year. She continued as CEO until Beech was purchased by Raytheon Company on 8 February 1980. Ted Wells had been replaced as Chief Engineer by Herbert Rawdon, who remained at the post until his retirement in the early 1960s (he continued as a part-time consultant to Cessna President Dwane Wallace in Wichita until shortly before his death).

In 1994, Raytheon merged Beechcraft with the Hawker product line it had acquired in 1993 from British Aerospace, forming Raytheon Aircraft Company. In 2002, the Beechcraft brand was revived to again designate the Wichita-produced aircraft. Randy Groom, now President of Groom Aviation LLC , was President from 2003 to 2007, when Raytheon sold Raytheon Aircraft to Hawker Beechcraft. Since its inception Beechcraft has resided in Wichita, Kansas, also the home of chief competitor Cessna, and the birthplace of Learjet.

Aircraft products

File:Beech.staggerwing.750pix.jpg

1943 Beech D.17S Staggerwing

File:NASA-2000Starship.jpg

Beechcraft Model 2000 Starship

File:Air Labrador Beech 1900D.jpg

Beechcraft 1900D.

Civilian

• Model 16 Single-engine, all-metal training aircraft. Designed and flight tested in Liberal, KS in 1970. The wings and tail section were two feet shorter than the Model 19. It had a Lycoming O-235 engine rated at Template:Convert. Only one was ever built because Mrs. Beech did not like the aircraft.

• Model 17 Staggerwing Single-radial-engine fabric-covered biplane utility aircraft, tailwheel landing gear

• Model 18 Twin Beech Two-radial-engine all-metal utility aircraft, tailwheel landing gear

• Model 19 Sport Single-engine, all metal training aircraft, tricycle landing gear

• Model 23 Musketeer and Sundowner Single-engine all-metal training aircraft, nosewheel landing gear

• Model 24 Sierra Development of the Musketeer

• Model 34 Twin-Quad Prototype small airliner; the largest aircraft ever built by Beechcraft

• Model 33 Debonair Development of the Bonanza, with conventional empennage

• Model 35 Bonanza Single-engine utility aircraft, nosewheel landing gear, V-tail

• Model 36 Bonanza Single-engine utility aircraft, nosewheel landing gear, conventional tail

• Beechcraft Model 40 A Twin engined Bonanza, only one produced unique "over-under" arraingment of engines

• Model 50 Twin Bonanza Two-engine utility aircraft; despite its name was not a development of the Bonanza

• Models 55, 56 and 58 Baron Two-engine high-performance utility aircraft; derived from the Model 95 Travel Air, Model 58 with fuselage derived from the Model 36 Bonanza

• Model 60 Duke Two-engine high-performance utility aircraft

• Models 65, 70, 80 and 88 Queen Air Two-engine transport aircraft; derived from the Model 50 Twin Bonanza

• Model 76 Duchess Two-engine development of the Musketeer

• Model 77 Skipper Single-engine two-seat primary trainer with fixed nosewheel landing gear

• Models 90 and 100 King Air Two-turboprop-engine transport aircraft, developed from the Queen Air

• Models 200 and 300 (Super) King Air Development of the King Air

• Model 95 Travel Air Two-engine development of the Model 33 Bonanza

• Model 99 Airliner Two-turboprop-engine small airliner; derived from the Queen Air

• Model 390 Premier Two-turbofan-engine utility aircraft (Entry Level Jet)

• Model 400 Beechjet Two-turbofan-engine utility aircraft, originally designed and manufactured by Mitsubishi

• Model 1900 Airliner Two-turboprop-engine airliner development of Model 200 Super King Air

• Model 2000 Starship Two-turboprop-engine utility aircraft with canard configuration and pusher propellers.

Military

File:T-6A Texan II.jpg

A USAF T-6A Texan II out of Randolph Air Force Base

• XA-38 Grizzly Two-radial-engine ground attack aircraft. Two prototypes were built (1944)

• AT-7 Navigator Military derivative of the Model 18

• AT-10 Wichita Two-engine military trainer aircraft built primarily of wood

• AT-11 Kansan Military derivative of the Model 18

• C-6 Ute "Off the shelf" USAF VIP King Air

• C-12 Huron Military derivative of the Super King Air

• C-43 Traveler Military derivative of the Model 17

• C-45 Expeditor Military derivative of the Model 18

• CT-128 Expeditor Canadian military derivative of the Model 18

• CT-134 Musketeer Canadian military derivative of the Musketeer

• CT-145 Super King Air Canadian military derivative of the Super King Air

• T-6 Texan II Joint Primary Aircraft Training System - single-turboprop-engine two-seat training aircraft

• CT-156 Harvard II trainer Canadian derivative of the T-6 Texan II

• RC-12 Guardrail Derivative of the C-12

• T-1A Jayhawk Military derivative of the Model 400

• T-34 Mentor Single-engine two-seat training aircraft, derived from the Bonanza

• T-42 Cochise Military derivative of the Baron

• U-8 Seminole Military derivative of the Twin Bonanza (U-8A through E) and Queen Air (U-8F and later)

• U-21 Ute Military derivative of the King Air

Drones

• AQM-37 Jayhawk Air-launched target drone aircraft with single rocket engine

• MQM-61A Cardinal Drone aircraft with single horizontally-opposed two-stroke piston engine and propeller

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Beechcraft

• Beechcraft Division of Hawker Beechcraft web site
• Beech Aero Club (International Type Club for "Baby" Beeches)
• Beechcraft Heritage Museum
• Aerofiles - Beechcraft model information
• Aircraft-Info.net - Beechcraft
• RTP-TV AeroSpace Show: 1942 Beech C-45 Aerobatic Video

Beechcraft aircraft models

Civilian: 17 · 18 · 23 · 24 · 30 · 35 · 36 · 50 · 55 · 58 · 60 · 65 · 76 · 77 · 90 · 95 · 99 · 100 · 200 · 300 · 350 · 390 · 400XP · 1300 · 1900 · 2000

Military: AT-7 · C-6 · C-12 · C-43 · C-45 · CT-128 · CT-134 · CT-145 · RC-12 · T-1 · T-34 · T-42 · U-8 · U-21 · XA-38

Drone: AQM-37 · MQM-61A

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Beechcraft".