The Rise Of Beechcraft, An American Aviation Icon
Any list of the early pioneers who shaped and built the aviation industry in America and beyond would be incomplete without mentioning Walter and Olivia Beech, co-founders of Beech Aircraft Company in 1932 in Wichita, Kansas. Now known as Beechcraft and a brand of Textron Aviation (owner of the Cessna, Hawker, and Bell Helicopter brands), the company gave life to such iconic airplanes as the biplane Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing and such product lines as Baron, King Air, and Bonanza. Beechcraft’s rise to prominence and long-lasting contributions to the business travel, military, general aviation, and recreational sectors, however, sprang from the same source that fueled numerous other trailblazing aviation companies, namely a desire to fly.
A Passion For Flight
Walter Beech’s passion for flight reportedly manifested itself while a teenager when he designed and constructed his own wood-based glider. This kick-started a tight, lifelong relationship with the aviation industry that included stints as an U.S. Army pilot in WWI and later as a test pilot at the Swallow Airplane Company, where he’d eventually become general manager.
Cessna & Travel Air
It was in 1924, however, when Beech really began to make his mark by joining forces with Clyde Cessna, founder of Cessna Aircraft Corporation, and Lloyd Stearman, a designer and later Lockheed Aircraft Company president, to launch Travel Air Manufacturing Company. Here, Beech met an employee named Oliva who he’d marry a few years later.
After Travel Air Manufacturing merged with the Curtis-Wright Corporation in 1929, Beech was tabbed president of the company’s airplane division, but within a few years, he reportedly longed for the direct connection to airplane production he previously enjoyed and left to found Beech Aircraft Company with Olivia. Along with designer Ted Wells, the Beeches set up shop in an unused factory Cessna owned in Wichita. Here, Beech and Wells developed the five-seat Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing specifically for business travelers. This led to the Model 18 “Twin Beech,” which saw extensive duty in WWII, won numerous awards, and remained in production for nearly 35 years.
World War II & Post-War Years
In the early 1940s, Walter Beech fell seriously ill, leaving Olivia to guide the company during WWII, for which Beech Aircraft produced nearly 7,500 airplanes. Post-war, the company introduced the single-engine Model 35 Beech Bonanza, a V-tailed model aimed at business travelers that has ties with the current Beechcraft Bonanza G36. Olivia Beech’s influence and leadership only heightened in 1950 after Walter died and she became the company’s president, making her one of few women holding such a position at the time.
Under Olivia’s leadership the company’s sales tripled. Also during this time, the company established 17 subsidiaries, put 10 production plants into operation, and contributed to NASA’s Gemini, Apollo, and space shuttle initiatives.
1980s & 90s
In 1980, Beech Aircraft became a subsidiary of Raytheon Company, and in subsequent years the company introduced the Beech King Air 300 in 1984; the Beechjet business jet in 1985; and a prototype of the first all-composite, twin-turbine business model in 1986 with the Beech Starship, which earned certification in 1989. In 1982, however, Raytheon restructured several of its divisions, a move that saw Olivia Beech leave her leadership position to eventually retire and focus on various personal projects until her death in 1993 at age 89.
Resurrection Of The Brand
In 1993, Raytheon Company bought Raytheon Corporate Jets, producer of Hawker jet aircraft, and a year later merged the Beech and Hawker lines to create Raytheon Aircraft. It wouldn’t be until 2002 until Raytheon would resurrect the Beechcraft brand. Textron, in turn, acquired Beechcraft in March of 2014. Textron continues to maintain the Beechcraft brand. Today, Beechcraft offers single- and twin-engine turboprop and piston aircraft under the King Air, Baron, and Bonanza lines.