Walter Beech
Walter Herschel Beech (born January 30, 1891 in Pulaski , Tennessee , † November 29, 1950 ) was an American pilot , aircraft designer and entrepreneur.
The son of a farmer already had to do with agricultural technology as a child on his parents' farm, an entry point for the adolescent who left the farm as a teenager and became a representative at a truck manufacturer.
Beech has always been interested in aviation, and that's how he got his pilot's license. His first solo flight was on July 11, 1914.
When the USA entered World War I, Walter Beech enlisted in the Air Force, where he not only served as a pilot, but also as a flight instructor and aircraft technician.
After his military service, Beech was one of the " Barnstormers " who moved from place to place with their machines to get people excited about flying. As a machine, Beech used a Curtiss model called "Jennie" at this time.
In 1921 Beech sold the machine, bought a piece of land with the proceeds and took a job in a small aircraft factory in Wichita , the EM Laird Company , where he worked in the design office and also as a test pilot. Beech also took on the role of demonstration pilot and salesman. In addition, he successfully took part in the aircraft races that were extremely popular at the time with the "Swallow" machines produced by Laird, in which aircraft manufacturers were able to demonstrate the capabilities of their products.
In 1924, Walter Beech was promoted to general manager of the company through his commitment, but left the company a short time later and together with Clyde Cessna founded his first company, the Travel Air Manufacturing Company .
It is said that Walter is said to have tried to build an airworthy glider from all possible materials on his parents' farm as a child - allegedly, some of the sheets his mother had just bought are said to have fallen victim to these attempts - Walter's first Constructions are said to have been unsuccessful.
It was different with the first aircraft, which was manufactured in his new company, a three-seat single-engine biplane, which was equipped with an engine from old military stocks; this engine received a streamlined fairing, which was unusual for the time.
The company quickly had a name and within 4 years became one of the best-known manufacturers of small transport aircraft.
The reasons for the success were on the one hand Walter Beech's unconditional will to build not only good, but the best aircraft, and on the other hand the long-haul boom in the USA after Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight in 1927. Beech took advantage of this trend and sent an aircraft from its production facility, the "City of Oakland", from California to Hawaii ; the distance was covered by the machine in 25 hours and 36 minutes.
This success earned Beech significant manufacturing orders. Economic success continued, and by the late 1920s, Beech had the highest production figures of any US aircraft manufacturer. In addition to the series machines, Beech also built a one-off racing machine, the "Mystery Ship", which in early 1929 reached a top speed of over 300 km / h.
Despite all the success that went global economic crisis also Beech not over, and to save the company carried out a merger with Curtiss-Wright Company , connected to a closure of the old production facilities in Wichita. Walter Beech became vice-president of the Curtiss-Wright-Company, but got out there in 1932, went back to Wichita and dared a new start with the Beech Aircraft Company (later Beechcraft).
Beech had married his long-time secretary Olive Ann Mellor as early as 1930 . His wife, with whom Beech later had two daughters, was responsible for the business side of the new company, while Walter focused intensively on his new goal, the construction of a fast, but nevertheless comfortable business aircraft, actually an anachronism in this time of empty coffers.
The first draft, a biplane called Beechcraft No. 1 , flew on November 4, 1932, but remained a one-off. The further development, called Model 17, reached series production and was later given the catchy name Staggerwing due to its staggered, stacked wings . The Staggerwing was the first in a series of hugely successful aircraft to leave the Beechcraft factory.
On November 29, 1950, Walter Herschel Beech died of a heart attack. His wife then continued the company in the spirit of her husband and remained a member of the management until 1982 after the takeover by Raytheon .
Web links
- detailed biography (English)
- short biography (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Beech, Walter |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Beech, Walter Herschel |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American pilot, aircraft designer, and entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 30, 1891 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pulaski , Tennessee , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 1950 |