Staggerwing Beech

"Staggerwing" by Lukas Gancarz -- CC BY-ND 2.0

Technically designated the Beech Model 17, this beauty from a bygone era is known almost universally as the Staggerwing Beech. As only a few other planes, it's named after a design feature---the placing of the lower wing staggered ahead of the upper one. Designed way back in 1933, the plane was born during the era of high-stakes air racing, where speed was pursued at all costs. The Staggerwing, with its dramatic lines and short-coupled fuselage, looked for all the world like it would be right at home at the Cleveland Air Races, rounding pylons with the fastest air racers of the day.

Unlike some designs with radial engines, the Staggerwing's look wasn't dominated by the radial engine---the plane was outfitted with a number of different radial engines, from 280 to 710 hp, over its lifetime. If anything, the shape of the plane underplayed the powerplant, making it something other than the driving element of the look of the craft. With small, short-rise windows, the fuselage, as was common in the day, looks more like a fortress than an observatory, but again, somehow that adds to the mystery and intrigue of the design. Some think of the Staggerwing as a rare bird, but Beechcraft actually sold nearly 800 of the planes in its lifetime, which stretched out until the last delivery, in 1949. Beauty dies hard.

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