thumb|right|[[Vintage Wings of Canada Beechcraft D17S Staggerwing]]
thumb|right|1943 Beech D17S 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). It first flew in 1932, and was sold on the civilian market, being used for transport and air racing. During World War II, it was used by allied forces, and after the war continued in civilian production until 1949, with 785 having been produced.
Development
In 1932, Walter H. Beech, formerly head of the aircraft manufacturer Travel Air, left Curtiss-Wright, which had purchased Travel Air in 1929, to set up a new company, Beech Aircraft Corporation, based in Wichita, Kansas. Beech took the airplane designer Ted A. Wells from Curtiss-Wright, and the first project of the new company was the Model 17, a fast biplane with an enclosed cabin designed to meet the needs of business executives. It was based on a design drafted by Wells while at Curtiss-Wright, but rejected by the Curtiss-Wright board. 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 and was intended to reduce interference drag between the wings (although it was later found to have negligible effect). The fabric-covered fuselage was faired with wood formers and stringers over a welded, steel tube frame.
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
thumb|left|1937 advertisement for the Model 17 Beech StaggerwingThe 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 , 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
thumb|[[Assembly line at the beginning of Staggerwing production; the sole A17F (with fixed landing gear) is being constructed in front of the frames of the first and second production B17Ls.]]
As World War II loomed, a number of Model B17Ls were pressed into service as bombers by the Spanish Republican Air Force, the air forces of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. China ordered a number of Staggerwings to use as air ambulances in its fight against Imperial Japan. Finland had one C17L as a liaison aircraft between 1940 and 1945.
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."
Variants
{| class="wikitable" align="right"
|+ Production by Model
! Model<br>Designation
! Number<br>Produced
|-
|17R
|align="right"| 2
|-
|A17F
|align="right"| 1
|-
|A17FS
|align="right"| 1
|-
|B17B
|align="right"| 2
|-
|B17E
|align="right"| 4
|-
|B17L
|align="right"| 46
|-
|B17R
|align="right"| 15
|-
|C17B
|align="right"| 39
|-
|C17E
|align="right"| 22
|-
|C17L
|align="right"| 6
|-
|C17R
|align="right"| 17
|-
|D17A
|align="right"| 8
|-
|D17R
|align="right"| 27
|-
|D17S
|align="right"| 67<small> civilian</small><br>412<small> military</small>
|-
|D17W
|align="right"| 2
|-
|E17B
|align="right"| 54
|-
|E17L
|align="right"| 1
|-
|F17D
|align="right"| 60
|-
|G17S
|align="right"| 20
|-
|Total
|align="right"| 785
|}
;17
:Fixed gear prototypes, manufactured from 1932 to 1933.
:;17R
::Prototypes, powered by Wright R-975-E2 engine. Made first flight on November 4, 1932. Two built.
;A17
:Fixed gear, plans for production abandoned in 1935.
:;B17E
:: Wright R-760-E1 engine. Four built from 1935.
:;B17L
:: Jacobs L-4 engine. 48 built.
:;SB17L
::B17L fitted with floats. One built.
:;C17R
:: Wright R-975-E2/E3 engine. 16 built.
:;D17S
:: Pratt & Whitney R-985-SB Wasp Junior. 23 built.
:;SD17S
::Floatplane version of D17S.
Military designations
thumb|right|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
thumb|right|UC-43 s/n 43-10859
;UC-43 Traveler
:Production version with a 450hp R-985-AN-1 engine, 75 ordered for the Army Air Corps and 63 for the United States Navy as the GB-1, 132 were later transferred from the Navy to the Army Air Corps.
;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 airplane 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 airplane.
thumb|right|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.
;D1Be
:Brazilian Navy designation for the Model D17A.
Engine selection
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Beechcraft Model 17 Engine Selections
|-
!align="center"| Suffix
!align="left"| Engine (radial configuration)
!align="center"| Cylinders
!align="center"| Power (hp)
|-
|align="center"| A
|align="left"| Wright R-760-E2
|align="center"| 7
|align="center"| 350
|-
|align="center"| B
|align="left"| Jacobs L-5 (R-830-1)
|align="center"| 7
|align="center"| 285
|-
|align="center"| D
|align="left"| Jacobs L-6 (R-915A3)
|align="center"| 7
|align="center"| 330
|-
|align="center"| E
|align="left"| Wright R-760-E1
|align="center"| 7
|align="center"| 285
|-
|align="center"| F
|align="left"| Wright R-1820-F11
|align="center"| 9
|align="center"| 690
|-
|align="center"| FS
|align="left"| Wright SR-1820-F3 (supercharged)
|align="center"| 9
|align="center"| 710
|-
|align="center"| L
|align="left"| Jacobs L-4 (R-755D)
|align="center"| 7
|align="center"| 225
|-
|align="center"| R
|align="left"| Wright R-975-E2 or E3
|align="center"| 9
|align="center"| 420–450
|-
|align="center"| S
|align="left"| P&W R-985-AN-1 or AN-3
|align="center"| 9
|align="center"| 450
|-
|align="center"| W
|align="left"| P&W R-985-SC-G (supercharged & geared)
|align="center"| 9
|align="center"| 600
|}
Operators
Military
Numbers operated from
thumb|Lineup of GB-2 Travelers in early 1943
thumb|UC-43 Travelers in foreground, and GB-2 Travelers farther down the line with their two-tone paint job
;
- Royal Australian Air Force (operated three from 1941 to 1947)
;
- Bolivian Air Force (received one in 1941)
;
- NAB – Navegação Aérea Brasileira (airline)
- Brazilian Air Force (operated 54 from 1942 to 1960)
- Brazilian Naval Aviation (operated four from 1940 to 1941)
;
- Chinese Nationalist Air Force (operated 21 from 1937 to 1945)
;23px|link=Reorganized National Government of China Republic of China-Nanjing
- Nanjing air force (operated one from 1941 to 1945)
;
- Cuban Army Aviation Corps (operated two in 1945 and 1958)
;
- Ethiopian Government (operated two from 1935 to 1936)
;
- Finnish Air Force (operated one C17L from 1940 to 1945 and one D17S from 1950 to 1958)
;
- Honduran Air Force (operated two from 1936 to 1958)
;
- Netherlands Naval Aviation Service (one from 1942 to 1945)
;
- Royal New Zealand Air Force
- No. 42 Squadron RNZAF
;
- Peruvian Air Force five from 1946 to 1958
;
- Spanish Republican Air Force (operated nine in 1936)
;
- Royal Air Force
- Royal Navy - Fleet Air Arm
- 701 Naval Air Squadron
- 712 Naval Air Squadron
- 730 Naval Air Squadron
- 740 Naval Air Squadron
- 776 Naval Air Squadron
- 778 Naval Air Squadron
- 781 Naval Air Squadron
- 782 Naval Air Squadron
- 787 Naval Air Squadron
- 799 Naval Air Squadron
;
- US Army Air Corps
- US Army Air Force
- United States Navy
- Civil Air Patrol
;
- Uruguayan Air Force (operated one from 1944 to 1962)
Aircraft on display
;Brazil
- 6691 – D17S on static display at the Museu Aeroespacial in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
thumb|Beech UC-43 Traveler at the National Museum of the Air Force
thumb|Beechcraft B17L at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum
;United States
- 1 – 17R on display at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee. This airframe is the prototype Model 17.
- 21 – B17L on display at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee.
- 100 – C17B on display at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee.
- 305 – D17A on static display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. This airframe was impressed into service during World War II as UC-43F 42-49071.
- 333 – F17D on display at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee.
- 6700 – GB-2 on static display at the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola near Pensacola, Florida. It has the US Navy Bureau Number 23688.
- 6880 – UC-43 on display at the Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.
- 6897 – D17S on display at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston, Texas. Registration N666TX.
- 6913 – GB-2 on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. It is painted as UC-43 39-139.
- B-3 – G17S on display at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee.
- 4874 – D17S airworthy owned by 1138110 Alberta Ltd. of Edmonton, Alberta. It was previously owned by Vintage Wings of Canada in Gatineau, Quebec.
;United Kingdom
- 4803 – D17S airworthy at Old Buckenham Airport in Norwich, Norfolk.
- 6701 – D17S airworthy at The Fighter Collection in Duxford, Cambridgeshire. It was built in 1943 as a US Navy model GB-2. It was shipped to the UK and flown by Royal Navy's 782 Naval Air Squadron as Traveller Mk.I FT475. Postwar, it was returned to the US and flown by the US Air Force before passing into private hands. It came back to the UK in 1990 and has since flown with several owners under the UK registration G-BRVE. (see also media commons Gallery of G-BRVE)
thumb|Beechcraft Staggerwing D17S
;United States
- 102/110 – C17B airworthy with Christine M. St. Onge of Wexford, Pennsylvania. It is operated out of Grove City Airport in Grove City, Pennsylvania. The aircraft is painted in the colors and scheme used by Blanche Noyes and Louise Thaden for the 1936 Bendix Air Race.
- 198 – UC-43D airworthy at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas.
- 3098 – D17S airworthy at the Legacy Flight Museum in Rexburg, Idaho.
- 6704 – UC-43 airworthy at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, New York.
- 6914 – D17S airworthy at the Historic Flight Foundation in Spokane, Washington.
Specifications (Beech Model D17S)
frameless|right|3-view line drawing of the Beechcraft UC-43
See also
thumb|Staggerwing cockpit, for 21st century flying
References
;Notes
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