Walter Beech

Walter Herschel Beech (January 30, 1891 – November 29, 1950) was an American aviator and early aviation entrepreneur who co-founded the Beech Aircraft Company (now called Beechcraft) in 1932 with his wife, Olive Ann Beech, and a team of three others.^[1]

Walter Herschel Beech
Born	(1891-01-30)January 30, 1891 Pulaski, Tennessee
Died	November 29, 1950(1950-11-29) (aged 59)
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Test pilot, entrepreneur, United States Army Air Forces aviator
Known for	Co-founder of the Beech Aircraft Corporation
Spouse	Olive Ann Beech

Biography

He was born in Pulaski, Tennessee on January 30, 1891. Beech started flying in 1905, at age 14, when he built a glider of his own design. Then, after flying for the United States Army during World War I, he joined the Swallow Airplane Company as a test pilot. He later became general manager of the company. In 1924, he, Lloyd Stearman, and Clyde Cessna formed Travel Air Manufacturing Company. When the company merged with Curtiss-Wright, Beech became vice-president.^[2]

In 1932, he and his wife, Olive Ann Beech, along with Ted Wells, K.K. Shaul, and investor C.G. Yankey, co-founded the Beech Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kansas.^[3] Their early Beechcraft planes won the Bendix Trophy. During World War II, Beech Aircraft produced more than 7,400 military aircraft. The twin Beech AT-7/C-45 trained more than 90 percent of the U.S. Army Air Forces navigator/bombardiers. The company went on to become one of the "big three" in American general aviation aircraft manufacturing during the 20th century (along with Cessna and Piper).

Beech died from a heart attack on November 29, 1950.^[4] He and his wife are buried at Old Mission Mausoleum in Wichita.

In 1977, Beech was posthumously inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.^[5] at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, and 1982, he was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.^[6]

In 2023, Beech was inducted, along with his wife into the Paul E Garber First Flight Shrine in Kill Devil Hills, NC.^[7]

References

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: https://web.archive.org/web/20060228063018/http://www.hill.af.mil/museum/history/walterbeech.htm

1. Dick, Ron; Dan Patterson (2003). "Great Names". Aviation Century: The Early Years. Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills. p. 206. ISBN 1-55046-407-8.
2. "Walter Herschel Beech". Hill Air Force Base. Archived from the original on 2011-11-04. Retrieved 2011-11-14. Walter Beech began a long and distinguished career in aviation at the early age of 14, when he built a glider of his own design. Then, after flying for the U.S. Army during World War I, he joined the Swallow Airplane Company as a test pilot. He later became General Manager of the company. In 1924, Beech joined Clyde Cessna in co-founding Travel Air Manufacturing Company, which was to become the world's largest producer of both monoplane and biplane commercial aircraft. ...
3. Edward H. Phillips (1996). The Staggerwing Story: A History of the Beechcraft Model 17. Eagan, Minn.: Flying Books International. ISBN 978-0-911139-27-3.
4. "Walter Beech, 59, Leader In Aviation". New York Times. December 1, 1950. Retrieved 2011-11-14. Walter Beech, founder and president of the Beech Aircraft Corporation died ...
5. "Enshrinee Walter Beech". nationalaviation.org. National Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
6. Linda Sprekelmeyer, ed. (2006). These We Honor: the International Aerospace Hall of Fame. Donning Co. Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57864-397-4.^{[page needed]}
7. "Paul E. Garber Shrine - First Flight Society - Aviation organization on the Outer Banks in Kill Devil Hills, NC". First Flight Society. Retrieved 2024-01-15.

External links

• Biography at Hill Air Force Base website Archived 2011-11-04 at the Wayback Machine
• Archive - Walter H. and Olive Ann Beech Collection at Wichita State University

• Walter Beech at Find a Grave