Beech Party: Starship, Staggerwings and STOL

There was a bumper crop of Beechcraft at the 2021 Beech Party fly-in at Tullahoma, Tennessee, (KTHA) in mid-October.

The record-breaking attendance included more than 170 aircraft and 750 attendees, according to Jody Curtis, executive vice president of the Beechcraft Heritage Museum. The organization recently established a new Beech Fan Club, and all types of aircraft were welcomed, she noted.

A smorgasbord of programs included technical, round engine, and formation flying seminars, presentations about Beechcraft history, and an update on the museum’s AT-11 restoration. Tours of the world-class Beechcraft Heritage Museum were held daily and, as usual, pilots were happy to engage in airplane talk with each other and curious passersby.

Starship

Raj Narayanan of Addison, Texas, who has been flying since he was 14 and worked his way up in the field of aviation, thoroughly enjoys flying his Starship, a composite, turbo-prop pusher, to the Beech Party.

“Jody Curtis, who is one of the stars of this organization, called me about five years ago and said, ‘we’ve never had a Starship here — would you come?'” he recalls. “We’ve been coming ever since. They’re great people and it’s a great, low-key event. I bring a few of my engineers and maintainers in my company, Aerospace Quality Research and Development, with me. It’s my way of giving back to them and sharing the fun of looking at airplanes.”

“That’s my new thing — getting some of the younger kids into aviation and getting them excited about it,” he continues. “They show up in the Starship and everybody thinks they’re rock stars! I always kind of chuckle, because they get off the back of the airplane and everybody thinks they’re famous, and then I get off the plane and tell people that I’m just the pilot.”

Raj bought N723SC in 2010, and now owns two Starships — half the world’s fleet.

“It’s a great airplane to fly,” he says. “It’s smooth and has Beech reliability, and it’s quiet. I fly it around 35,000 to 36,000 feet, cruising between 300 and 330 knots true airspeed. So we’re hustling along and burning about 80 to 100 gallons of jet fuel an hour between both engines.”

“I call it my time machine, because I can be anywhere in the country in about 3-½ to 4 hours,” he adds. “I’m in the aerospace business — we design, build, and repair airplanes and parts — so for me, it’s the best calling card in the world. My customers are all aviators, and all I have to do is show up in the Starship. They know if I can keep that airplane going, we can pretty much take care of anything else.”

Staggerwings

Troy “Reb” Stimson of Frostproof, Florida, is a lifetime member of the Beechcraft Aviation Museum. He explains he’s attracted to Staggerwings for one simple reason: “I love beautiful things.”

“I had a couple of Wacos and Travel Air biplanes, but I always wanted a Staggerwing because it’s a beautiful airplane,” he says. “It’s a classic, art deco, so to speak.”

“In 1973, I met some Staggerwing guys at Oshkosh, and my boys Chris and Clint were with me,” he recalls. “There were StaggerBeech gatherings — as Dub Yarborough called them — in the mid-1970s in Wichita and Albuquerque, where we had about 40 Staggerwings, and Spartans and Howards as well. That was when I had NC419J, which was a 1941 civilian model I owned from 1971 to 1982.”

Reb’s father and uncles were pilots, and Reb has shared his aviation passion with his three sons and daughter, who are all pilots.

Reb said his father babysat him by “putting me in his Link trainer, closing it up, and turning it on. I’d sit there by the hour, and by the time I was 12, I had 500 hours in it. I soloed my dad’s Cessna 120 when I was 15, and ended up flying for American. I’ve been flying for 70 years, and have owned probably 35 airplanes in my lifetime, including two Bonanzas and Travel Airs, a Debonair, two Barons, and a T-34.”

Reb owned NC67716 from 1984 until his son, Chris, took on its restoration in 2011. Chris and his wife, Veronica, flew NC67716 to Beech Party from their home in Fort Worth, Texas. Chris, the Staggerwing’s third owner since World War II, finished its restoration in 2020.

Reb said he “provided a lot of the parts like an engine, prop, and wheels — stuff that I had collected over the years. They won a Bronze Lindy at Oshkosh this year.”

Across the field was Chuck Taylor of Evansville, Indiana, who arrived in N47D, a 1939 Staggerwing he’s owned for about three years.

“Duane Burnett spent many years restoring this Staggerwing, which started life with a Wright engine. It was a bit under-powered, and now it has a 450 hp Pratt & Whitney,” Chuck says.

One detail that visually differentiates this Staggerwing is the presence of a “cameo” on the boot cowling.

Chuck revealed the historical origin of this emblem: “It’s a caricature of Duane’s wife, Fran, that was made at the World’s Fair in 1942.”

STOL

Jay Stanford of Saint Mary’s, Georgia, flies in the experimental Bush class in STOL (Short Take Off and Landing) competitions around the country. He flew his experimental Super Cub to Beech Party in 2019, and struck up a conversation with Charles Parish, president of the Beechcraft Heritage Museum, about off-airport and recreational flying.

Intrigued by STOL flying, Charles contacted Jay earlier this year about putting on a STOL demonstration at Beech Party.

“In addition to Charles’ help, Jody Curtis was instrumental in getting all the cats herded for us to put on a safe and fun demonstration,” Jay says. “Safety is primary, so I invited Robbie Staton, of Air-Tech Coatings in Lonoke, Arkansas, to fly his Javron Cub — which just won a Kit Champion Bronze Lindy at AirVenture — and Chuck Kinberger and Rob Brady of Florida to fly their XCub and FX-3 Carbon Cubs with me.”

Jay’s airplane is one-of-a-kind.

“My father and I scratch built this experimental Super Cub over five years of Saturdays,” he says. “We modified it for STOL flying. It has ACME landing gear suspension, a Catto propeller, customized vortex generators, and a lot more.”

“There’s a lot of tech that goes into this, but anybody can go out with a standard airplane and practice STOL,” he continues. “There are classes and competition levels for all types of airplanes. I work for Lockheed Martin, so it’s just kind of a family hobby for us.”

The First to Arrive

Nelson Amen of San Antonio, Texas, was the first to arrive at Beech Party in his Bonanza. He earned his private pilot certificate in 1976, and attributes his interest in aviation to his father.

“My father was with the Air Force Flying Tigers,” said Nelson, “and out of seven children, I’m the only one who wanted to be a pilot. Aerobatics are my passion, and I have a single-place aerobatic Star-Lite homebuilt as well.”

He’s owned N4585D for about a year now.

“It’s a good traveling machine, and I’m very happy with it,” he says. “It flies at about 170 miles an hour, and I got a nice tailwind from Texas to Tullahoma, so I was all smiles.”

This was Nelson’s first visit to the Beechcraft Heritage Museum.

“John Parish, one of the benefactors, gave me a tour when I arrived on Monday, and I’m just amazed by the museum,” he says. “I’ll be back!”

A Beechcraft Historian

Edward H. Phillips of Montgomery, Alabama, was an invited guest presenter during the fly-in. Of the numerous aviation books he has written, four have focused on Beechcraft: “Beechcraft: Pursuit of Perfection,” “Beechcraft: Staggerwing to Starship, An Illustrated History,” “The Staggerwing Story: A History Of The Beechcraft Model 17,” and “Mystery Ship: A History Of The Travel Air Type R Monoplanes.”

Ed was inspired to write these books while working at Beech in Wichita.

“I just wanted to find out more about these men and women from Wichita who built this industry. I was just trying to educate myself,” he says. “Then I found out that some magazine articles were inaccurate when compared with the factual records I had access to. So I think I set the record straight on many things that were simply wrong because somebody never did their homework.”

Ed does not describe himself as an historian, but “a deep enthusiast.”

“Really, I’m an old round engine guy,” he says. “That’s one of my passions — you just can’t beat being at Beech Party and hearing a Model 17 flying over with its R-985.”

A Stellar Event

“As one of our members, Beech Fan Club Chairman Morty Lloyd, stated, ‘It was a stellar event that was executed with absolute precision.’ Without our amazing volunteers this Beech Party would have never earned that accolade,” says Jody Curtis. “We are most grateful for hosting a national general aviation event that celebrates the perpetuity of aviation education and fun!”

Beech Party 2022 will be Oct. 13-15, she adds.

“We will be celebrating the 90th anniversary of Beech Aircraft Corporation and the beloved Staggerwing,” she reports.

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