Beechcraft ranked 69th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts. In 1942 Beech won its first Army-Navy 'E' Award production award and became one of the elite five percent of war contracting firms in the country to win five straight awards for production efficiency, mostly for the production of the Beechcraft Model 18 which remains in widespread use worldwide. ДЄdvertisement for Model 17 'Staggerwing' 1937 Model numbers prior to 11/11000 were built under the Travel Air name, while Curtiss-Wright built the CW-12, 14, 15 and 16 as well as previous successful Travel Air models (mostly the model 4). Beech became President of the Curtiss-Wright's airplane division and VP of sales, but became dissatisfied with being so far removed from aircraft production and quit to form Beechcraft, using the original Travel Air facilities and employing many of the same people. Д«eechcraft was not Beech's first company, as he had previously formed Travel Air in 1924 and the design numbers used at Beechcraft followed the sequence started at Travel Air, and were then continued at Curtiss-Wright, after Travel Air had been absorbed into the much larger company in 1929. Over 750 Staggerwings were built, with 270 manufactured for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. With designer Ted Wells, they developed the first aircraft under the Beechcraft name, the classic Model 17 Staggerwing, which first flew in November 1932. The company began operations in an idle Cessna factory. PS The crank problem shouldnвЂ™t really be blamed on the Saratoga, especially if you are then going to praise Lycoming.Beech Aircraft Company was founded in Wichita, Kansas, in 1932 by Walter Beech and his wife Olive Ann Beech. The worst plane would likely not be one we would all recognize, and the best is not the same for everyone. The viking is a real budget buy for the performance though. Neither is the Viking the best (though the owners are fanatical, and wood is stronger than steel). Having been competing with Cirrus for airplane sales, I will have to tell you that itвЂ™s not the worst plane ever. If you are not specific, you have no right to whine about the 5 post rule!!! Alternately, look at one of the big CessnaвЂ™s. The bottom line on comfort is that it costs very little to sit in the plane, and that is the only way without measuring lots of body parts and filling out a 3 page questionnaire to know (and even that is not certain as all bets are off after a couple hours). If the two upfront are not bothered by rubbing elbows in the Bo, then you will likely find it more comfortable overall. beechcr вЂ¦ mance.aspxД®ven without the seats, the Saratoga is a bit cramped in the back for tall passengers because the seats are not on a level floor. Besides, havenвЂ™t you ever heard anyone say ' I couldnвЂ™t get an airplane, so I brought a Piper instead.' The Pipers will haul a load and get you there, but theyвЂ™ve got nothing on Beech for comfort and quality. The Lance was introduced 1975, and the Cherokee 6 dates back to 1965. As for the Bonanza being outdated, I wouldnвЂ™t call the ' 'Toga' a new design. Even the Turbo Saratoga doesnвЂ™t outrun the Bonanza until you get above 10,000вЂ™, and even then itвЂ™s only by 4 kts (at 10,000вЂ™), and it has only 30nm more range than the Bonanza. The Saratoga HP is slower ( 166kts high-speed cruise vs the BonanzaвЂ™s 176kts) and has less range than the Bonanza ( 859nm vs. DEAR LORD!!! I think Cirrus has been smoking crackвЂ¦ IвЂ™m guessing that he was comparing the Turbo Saratoga to the normally aspirated Bonaza.

Beech travel air performance