Walter Herschel Beech (January 30, 1891 – November 29, 1950) was an American aviator and early aviation entrepreneur who co-founded the

Beech Aircraft Company Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general aviati ...

(now called Beechcraft) in 1932 with his wife,

Olive Ann Beech Olive Ann Beech (September 25, 1903 – July 6, 1993) was an American aerospace businesswoman who was the co-founder, president, and chairwoman of the Beech Aircraft Corporation. She founded the company in 1932 with her husband, Walter Beech, a ...

, and a team of three others.

Biography

He was born in

Pulaski, Tennessee Pulaski is a city in and the county seat of Giles County, which is located on the central-southern border of Tennessee, United States. The population was 8,397 at the 2020 census. It was named after Casimir Pulaski, a noted Polish-born general o ...

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 The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during World War I, he joined the

Swallow Airplane Company The Swallow Airplane Company was an early manufacturer of airplanes. History In January 1920, the E.M. Laird Aviation Company Ltd. was started with the purchase of the six-month-old Wichita Aircraft Company, its aircraft and the factory of the Wa ...

as a test pilot. He later became general manager of the company. In 1924, he,

Lloyd Stearman Lloyd Carlton Stearman (October 26, 1898 – April 3, 1975) was an American aviator, aircraft designer, and early aviation entrepreneur. Biography Stearman was born in Wellsford, Kansas. From 1917 – 1918, he attended Kansas State Coll ...

, and

Clyde Cessna Clyde Vernon Cessna (; December 5, 1879 – November 20, 1954) was an American aircraft designer, aviator, and early aviation entrepreneur. He is best known as the principal founder of the Cessna, Cessna Aircraft Corporation, which he started in ...

formed Travel Air Manufacturing Company. When the company merged with

Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is an American manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation (business), consoli ...

, Beech became vice-president. In 1932, he and his wife,

, along with

Ted Wells Theodore Von Wells, Jr. (born April 28, 1950) is an American trial lawyer and defense attorney. He is a partner at the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he is co-chair of its litigation department. For his pract ...

, K.K. Shaul, and investor C.G. Yankey, co-founded the

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. Their early Beechcraft planes won the

Bendix Trophy The Bendix Trophy is a U.S. aeronautical racing trophy. The transcontinental, point-to-point race, sponsored by industrialist Vincent Bendix founder of Bendix Corporation, began in 1931 as part of the National Air Races. Initial prize money f ...

. 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 The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

navigator/bombardiers. The company went on to become one of the "big three" in American

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

aircraft manufacturing during the 20th century (along with

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufactu ...

and

Piper A piper is a musician, a player of the bagpipe. As a noun proper, Piper may also refer to: People * Piper (given name) * Piper (surname) Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Comics * Piper (Morlock), in the Marvel Universe * P ...

). Beech died from a heart attack on November 29, 1950. 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 The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with ...

. at the

National Museum of the United States Air Force The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is ...

, and 1982, he was inducted into the

International Air & Space Hall of Fame The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Sin ...

at the

San Diego Air & Space Museum The San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California. It is located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building (San Diego), Ford Building, which is li ...

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

References

External links

Biography at Hill Air Force Base website

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beech, Walter Herschel 1891 births 1950 deaths American aviation businesspeople American test pilots Beechcraft Curtiss-Wright Company People from Pulaski, Tennessee United States Army Air Forces pilots United States Army personnel of World War I Ford National Reliability Air Tour American aviation pioneers People from Wichita, Kansas National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees American company founders Businesspeople from Kansas 20th-century American businesspeople Kansas Business Hall of Fame inductees