Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing: The Plane That Proved Style Could Fly

Video from the channel Retro Transport about Beechcraft, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 3:34. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

A short documentary on the Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing, a 1932 American biplane with its wings staggered the opposite way from usual: the lower wing sits ahead of the upper one. It was the first project of the Beech Aircraft Corporation, founded by Walter H. Beech in Wichita after leaving Curtiss-Wright, and was designed by Ted Wells.

It first flew on 4 November 1932 and was conceived as an executive aircraft, with retractable landing gear, a fabric-covered steel-tube structure and a luxury cabin for up to five passengers. In the mid-1930s, the D17 version lengthened the fuselage. Before the Second World War 424 units were sold, and in 1936 Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes won the Bendix Trophy with a C17R.

During the war it served as the UC-43 Traveler in the United States Army Air Forces and as the Traveller Mk I in the RAF and the Royal Navy. Production ended in 1949 with 785 units, and the Bonanza took its place in Beech's lineup.